How To Find A Great Job At A Ski Resort

Moving to a ski resort for the winter and finding a job is a the dream of many young travellers around the world, regardless of if the move is from Australia/ UK/ New Zealand to Canada or simply from Vancouver to Whistler.

The task can seem daunting at times and the options for jobs are seemingly endless, depending on the type of job you are looking for. For our recommendation on what types of ski resort jobs are the best CLICK HERE.

However, we can help with 3 hot tips that can assist with your job search so you can find the best possible job for you, and one that will make your winter season at a ski resort the best it can be!

1. Look for Staff Accommodation Options

Often, finding a job in a ski resort is not the most difficult part about setting yourself up for a successful winter season. The hard part is finding a place to live.

For this reason, we recommend looking into job opportunities that have staff accommodation options available. If you find a job with the actual ski resort (ie. Whistler-Blackcomb, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, etc.) they will most likely offer staff accommodation which is a huge plus.

Also, if you work at a hotel they will typically have a section of the hotel reserved for staff accommodation. Alternatively, other employers may own houses which are used to house their employees. Regardless, if you can lock down a job and accommodation in one fell swoop, this is going to take alot of stress out of your life!

Click here to check out available jobs in Whistler, British Columbia!

2. Find a Job That Suits Your Winter Schedule

If you are heading to a ski resort specifically to ride as much as possible, there is nothing worse then watching your friends go up the mountain on a powder day when you are stuck at work. Alternatively, if you are going more for the social life and partying scene, you will want your evenings and nights free so you can enjoy all of the fun during those hours.

For these reasons, we recommend to look into the working hours for the jobs you will be applying for so you can find the job that suits your needs. If you want to ride every day, find a job where you will be working in the evenings such as Front of House or Back of House in hospitality (bars, restaurants, clubs). This way you can ski from 9am-3pm and then head to work with a face full of snow and a big smile for 4pm!

If you are the life of the party (or aspire to be) and want to hit the town every night, this schedule will not work for you, so for these folks we recommend a job in retail, an office, or even tourism so you can work during the day and party at night.

Looking to maximize both on mountain time and your social life? An On-Mountain Job could be a great option for you so you can get paid to ride or be on the ski mountain and also have nights off!

Click here to check out available jobs in Revelstoke, British Columbia!

3. Look For a Job Where You Can Earn Tips

In it for the money? We all are to some extent, after all we have to eat and pay the bills! If you want to maximize your earnings during your winter season, we recommend finding a job that pays not only an hourly wage, but also pays tips. Minimum wage in British Columbia is $13.85/hr, and in Alberta it is $15.00/hr, and living off of these wages in expensive ski resort towns can be a challenge.

By working as a server, bartender, or food runner at a restaurant you will earn tips. The amount depends on if there is a tip sharing system where the tips are distributed evenly, or if the servers and bartenders keep most of the tips (this will vary in each establishment). Either way, this is there the money is at.

Kitchen workers will also be tipped out by the front of house in some situations, but this is best for you to ask the individual employer about.

Other options to get tips include working as a ski or snowboard instructor who often get tipped by their clients for showing them a great day on the mountain, or hotel housekeepers who receive tips from guests in their rooms when they check out.

Follow these 3 tips and you should be able to find a great job at a ski resort which finds you a place to live, suits your schedule, and provides you with plenty of cash money to make your winter season one for the books!