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When asked how they recruit and retain lifeguards, here is what your colleagues have said...
"We sponsor a Lifeguard Training Weekend. This year, we will include all the modules in the Lifeguarding Program and the opportunity to challenge and review courses. It involves many instructors. We train 50 plus lifeguards at one location. It is a long weekend - this year we will start on Wednesday - but it is great!"
George Zimmerman
York, PA
"We have done in-house job fairs with preliminary interviews the same day. We send out letters to all college career offices and send press releases to local radio stations."
Mary Barnes
Gaithersburg, MD
Work with your local American Red Cross chapter and use the Red Cross lifeguard recruitment theme, Lifeguarding: A Job so Hot, It's Cool, to tie your recruiting events together.
The following event ideas are a great way to recruit lifeguards:
- Host an Aquatics Job Fair. Showcase your program and send out invitations to local high schools and youth organizations. Offer interviews and screenings on-site. Be sure to have your training schedules set. Include all full- and part-time opportunities and include your local facility managers.
- Host an Open House. Give your facility partners an opportunity to shine and honor your current guards with special certificates. Invite the local media and let them know how you are addressing the lifeguard shortage.
- Create a Lifeguarding Traveling Display. Collect pictures from local libraries, former lifeguards and your own volunteers. Visit local shopping malls, schools and libraries and share your historical display. Be sure to have class and schedule information available.
- Teen Night at a Local Theater. Schedule time with your local theatre, school or library to have a movie night. Invite youth groups and schools to come. The theme of the movies should be centered around lifeguarding. Provide lifeguarding information that youth can take home with them.
- Résumé Workshop. After school and on weekends, offer expert advice on filling out job applications and lessons on how to build a résumé. Set aside 2-3 hour "open office hours" when kids can come in and ask questions.
The American Red Cross has created tools to help spread the word about Lifeguard Training courses. Recruitment postcards and posters are available to target the potential lifeguard directly with the theme: Lifeguarding, A Job so Hot, It's Cool. A TV PSA featuring Olympic Gold-Medalist Misty Hyman can be placed with local cable and network TV stations to encourage people to become lifeguards. Click on the following link for more information on these recruitment tools and other visibility items.
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