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Hey there,

With exams going on all around us and the summer sun starting to warm it’s a time of the year when feet can be itchier than ever – especially when your friends are making plans for amazing adventures all around the world!

In this month’s BUNAC Experiences we’ll be focusing on employment and work abroad - often a very big part of any summer or gap year adventure. You'll find tips, past experiences, facts, statistics and more as we bring to life what it's really like to work in another country.

As employers often tell us, finding work experience overseas has always provided a wealth of benefits to any young job seeker. Now, more than ever, is a timely opportunity to experience a new culture, earn some money and build on essential career skills such as teamwork, leadership and communication, which will be invaluable when returning to the UK.

The summer is also a time of the year when we’re busily out and about at graduate recruitment fairs right across the UK. Be sure to get along to one of our events to discover more about international career and gap year opportunities.

Do you Twitter? Catch up with us on Twitter for the latest insights and anecdotes from BUNAC Experiences and follow Summer Camp USA over this years summer camp season!!

Happy travels!

Haydn - Co-editor, BUNAC Experiences

ps - check out some of this month's BUNAC Experiences photo competition entries - congratulations Andy!

Organising your visa, banking, tax, orientation and accommodation are all fundamental elements of any working holiday experience in Canada – which are made really easy with BUNAC's comprehensive support and experience. But it’s also employment and job hunting where we really can help out.

Without doubt one of the most popular regions for working holiday makers in Canada is the Canadian Rockies. One of the leading winter resorts, Sunshine Village, is famed for its long seasons, amazing mountain landscapes and location in the Banff ‘tri-area’. BUNAC have teamed up with Sunshine Village for a London job fair in mid-June in which accepted candidates will interview and secure positions with the resort! What better way to get your Canadian experience underway than having a job at Sunshine Village and a Canadian Rockies lifestyle to look forward to.

BUNAC also has employment links with many other resorts throughout Canada and our offices in Toronto, and particularly Vancouver, have close links with employers and offer direct recruitment advice for individual mountains. With the Winter Olympics fast approaching, Canadian resorts are soon to become international hot spots in more ways than one - why not add one to your CV!

Student visa options: Are you a full time student? Have you graduated in the last 12 months? Do you have a confirmed university place next year? Then click here for our more flexible student Work Canada programme.

Travelling around Canada? With tours throughout the entirety of North America be sure to take advantage of Trek America's exclusive 15% discount for BUNAC participants!

Finding a job on Work New Zealand is easier than you think with BUNAC’s support. Travellers are often surprised at the difference an accent and flexibility can make when looking for work abroad - none more so than in NZ!

To give you an insight into what past participants felt about our employment support and working in New Zealand, we’ve compiled the following insights and figures.

3: The average number of jobs participants work whilst on the Work New Zealand programme.

30 - 40: The average number of hours per week participants work.

65: The percentage of participants who work mainly on the North Island.

Walk in: The most popular and successful method of job hunting in New Zealand. Particularly ideal for hospitality, tourism and customer service roles.

40: The percentage of participants who secured work within a week of arriving.

Regardless of your travel plans or your working holiday expectations our offices in New Zealand are there to support you throughout your entire stay. From your initial arrival orientation you’ll be geared with everything necessary to find work, including hot spots, CV checking, internet and faxes, recruitment referrals, job references and lots more.

We also offer recruitment focused arrival packages such as 'Skills and Thrills' which focus on hospitality employment - an industry in which over 50% of Work New Zealand participants secure roles in!

What better way to get an insight into working in Oz, than getting the lowdown from the Work Australia Employment Co-ordinator, Amanda.

How hard is it to find a job in Australia? Finding any job is easy as there is a lot of work available and many jobs on offer, across the nation. Finding work in a specific field and location can take a little longer and requires dedication, but success can be achieved for people with the right skills and experience.

What tips would you give someone finding a job in Australia? Be flexible, professional, motivated and tell everyone you meet what you do and what you want to do in Australia; this increases your chances and opens many doors.

What’s the most amazing job/story you’ve heard a participant doing? I'll always remember a very enthusiastic guy who ended up working on a Crocodile Farm – which included moving crocs from one location to another and feeding them up close!!!

Any secrets you can share on when to find a job Down Under? Timing - knowing where to be and when to be there is invaluable eg. Cairns from March-April to take advantage of pre-season recruitment (and for Easter) and the beginning of October for the summer recruitment drive around major cities BEFORE students break-up from school.

How do you help participants find a job in Oz? We're all about providing great advice for job hunting - in lots of different ways:

So, what would be your dream job in Oz? My dream job would definitely be on an island or resort somewhere in far North Queensland or the Great Barrier Reef!

Offering a unique working holiday opportunity, and an action packed summer, Summer Camp USA and KAMP are a unique travel experience. With pre-departure orientations completed around the UK and Ireland it’s now time to wave goodbye to this years excited campers - best wishes to all those departing! Demand has been high for this years camp programmes, so if you're interested for next year we would encourage you to apply early.

To get an insight into what sort of working lifestyle you'll be leading at a summer camp, here's a guide to a typical camp day. It's not hard to see why camp is often described as the hardest job you'll ever love!

The 2010 programme will be opening in August 2009 so keep an eye on the Summer Camp USA website for details!

Volunteering abroad offers travellers a working holiday like no other. Not only are you exploring amazing destinations and seeing a different side to life and cultures abroad, but you’re also contributing to a worthwhile project.

None more so than Rachel, who recently left the comforts of life in London to participate in Volunteer USA. There she’s tackling heat, remote and isolated camps and long days full of hard physical work – yet absolutely loving it!

"My first project was great and the rest of the crew were too. Our first job was to help some of the rangers fix a fence. That sounds easy enough, but first of all we had to hike down the logs and fence posts to where the fence was. To say it was hard is an understatement! I thought that perhaps I'd be eased in gently, but noooo....this was straight into the hard stuff. And it was boiling hot too! But it was really rewarding to know that you've pushed yourself so hard and that you have helped to construct something which will actually be useful."

There are so many different options when volunteering abroad, with everything from the physicality of Volunteer USA, through to women empowerment on Volunteer India to working at schools on Volunteer Ghana – anything really is possible!

Below you'll find a list of typical work areas and project themes whilst volunteering. Be sure to check out which destinations you can do these various activities in:

• Teaching
• Work with children
• Community development
• HIV/AIDS awareness
• Care work
• Environmental and conservation work
• Manual work
• TEFL
• Special Needs Education
  

With Work America closing for 2009 applications last week it's now time for participants to wave goodbye, pack their bags and follow in the footsteps of thousands before them who’ve loved working throughout the US over the summer break!

Over the years we’ve heard lots of amazing stories from participants working in the US. The majority of employers who have placed BUNAC participants are now listed in our Work America Job Directory – the employment ‘bible’ for those looking for employment on Work America! Here are some of BUNAC's top summer jobs that consistently provide great working holiday experiences:

Restaurant or bar hospitality work: Once you get your head around the tipping-based hospitality industry, use it to your advantage in this relatively flexible and interactive workplace environment. Hot spots include coastal areas, tourist destinations and big cities.

Amusement parks: Due to the summer holiday peak season, a fun way to spend your time State-side may be working in various roles at a theme park. With 290 to choose from there are plenty of options - recommendations include South Carolina, New Jersey and Florida.

Resorts & Hotels: Again, thanks in part to their busy peak season, hotels can be a great place to secure short term employment that's fun and allows you to meet lots of different people. Hotel bars and restaurants, as well as activities staff, cleaners and front desk agents are often in higher demand over the summer - tourist hot spots and coastal destinations are often where the best opportunities can be found.

Beach patrol: Ever watched Baywatch and thought that could be you? Well the guys and girls at Myrtle Beach are always on the lookout for the next Mitch or CJ! Working as a lifeguard, in beach patrol or rental can be a fun way to spend your summer whilst maximising your tan - be sure to pack a beach towel, sunglasses and sunscreen!

If you're interested in travelling on Work America next summer, applications will be available later in the year.

We’ll be attending a number of university and national events this summer, as well as hosting free information sessions all around the country. Of particular interest over the coming weeks may be the following Graduate and Career's Fairs. Click here to learn more about these events.

Our on the road team would love to meet you and answer any questions you may have before embarking on your BUNAC experience.

If you would like to receive an email about any regional events coming up in your area, please sign up to BUNAC’s mailing list or keep an eye on the BUNAC events section.

Web: www.bunac.org.uk
E-mail: enquiries@bunac.org.uk
Facebook: BUNAC Fan Page
Twitter: BUNAC Experiences
Twitter: BUNAC Summer Camp USA

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