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Tips for a first time ski instructor interview?

mountainwest

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Does anyone have any tips for a first time ski instructor interview? I have one next week, and I’m super excited. I have no prior ski instructing experience & was assuming the initial test would be more of an on-snow clinic than an office interview. I took the free PSIA new instructor course online & have my completion certificate - is there anything else I can do to prepare?
 

Skier31

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Be yourself and be ready to show them how you teach something. We had to choose something to teach -I played baskbetball and taught the guy how to shoot a free throw.

Be enthusiastic about being willing to learn.

Good luck!
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Best of luck!

Where are you applying (Grand Targhee???), and do you want to do part-time or full-time? You know this job won't bring you much money, right? Some mountains make you pay for the initial training; others train you but don't pay you for that time, and a few mountains pay you for the initial training. You might ask about the initial training they offer. Get a sense from your interviewer of where in the ski school (children's program, line-up, seasonal programs, beginners, off-piste, etc.) they would place you before walking out of that interview so you know if the placement will be something you want to do.

The ski school should want you to be interested in teaching your students -- do you have a story of something you taught someone to do, even if it's not related to skiing? Do you care about gaining PSIA certification beyond Level I? If so, tell them this, because it indicates that you may be someone who will stay beyond one season. They will want you to be someone who will show up reliably despite weather issues, teach the students they assign to you, and be willing to show up for training and put that training to use. If you have stories you can tell that illustrate these personality characteristics, be ready to tell them. If they ask you why you want the job, be ready to answer that too. If you know someone who is a ski instructor and their experiences have influenced you to become an instructor, be ready to tell that story.

Do you know if you want to teach children or adults? They may need you to be flexible about that. Some mountain ski school directors assume all women are good with children, so they assign them to the children's program. If that's ok with you, no issue, but if you are more interested in teaching adults at line-up, do talk about that as a goal of yours. But if you have a strong preference, you can tell them that as well; they may be able to accommodate your preference. They will probably have a number of days you have to commit to work, and some of those days will be holidays. Bring a calendar and be ready to say yes when they ask you if you can meet their calendar needs. Keep a record of what days you just agreed to teach and be sure to show up.

All of these things may be seen by your interviewer as more important than how well you ski.

The mountains I know are desperate for teachers. They will hire just about anyone. The mountain you are applying to may not have that problem. You may be able to tell which is the case when you are done with the interview.
 
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mountainwest

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Best of luck!

Where are you applying (Grand Targhee???), and do you want to do part-time or full-time? You know this job won't bring you much money, right? Some mountains make you pay for the initial training; others train you but don't pay you for that time, and a few mountains pay you for the initial training. You might ask about the initial training they offer. Get a sense from your interviewer of where in the ski school (children's program, line-up, seasonal programs, beginners, off-piste, etc.) they would place you before walking out of that interview so you know if the placement will be something you want to do.

Thank you! And yes. I applied for part-time work - this will not be a primary source of income. I will definitely ask about their training procedure & where they would place me.

The ski school should want you to be interested in teaching your students -- do you have a story of something you taught someone to do, even if it's not related to skiing? Do you care about gaining PSIA certification beyond Level I? If so, tell them this, because it indicates that you may be someone who will stay beyond one season. They will want you to be someone who will show up reliably despite weather issues, teach the students they assign to you, and be willing to show up for training and put that training to use. If you have stories you can tell that illustrate these personality characteristics, be ready to tell them. If they ask you why you want the job, be ready to answer that too. If you know someone who is a ski instructor and their experiences have influenced you to become an instructor, be ready to tell that story.

Excellent advice! I answered why I want the job in my application (will be sure to have it memorized) & do have a teaching story I can share. I am interested in getting certified above Level 1 & will mention that. And weather issues have yet to stop me. (I also live very nearby.)

Do you know if you want to teach children or adults? They may need you to be flexible about that. Some mountain ski school directors assume all women are good with children, so they assign them to the children's program. If that's ok with you, no issue, but if you are more interested in teaching adults at line-up, do talk about that as a goal of yours. But if you have a strong preference, you can tell them that as well; they may be able to accommodate your preference. They will probably have a number of days you have to commit to work, and some of those days will be holidays. Bring a calendar and be ready to say yes when they ask you if you can meet their calendar needs. Keep a record of what days you just agreed to teach and be sure to show up.

I’m open to both kids and adults & would probably enjoy a mix of both most. My former neighbor instructs at the same mountain and from what he shared, it sounds like meeting the minimum days requirement will be no problem. I will be ready to add days to my calendar! And yeah, I figured holidays are probably in demand.


All of these things may be seen by your interviewer as more important than how well you ski.

The mountains I know are desperate for teachers. They will hire just about anyone. The mountain you are applying to may not have that problem. You may be able to tell which is the case when you are done with the interview.

I’m surprised to hear that, but - good to know! Thank you for all of the helpful tips.
 

echo_VT

Angel Diva
i am taking notes but also have heard quite a bit from DH who is an instructor as well. it's been hard to retain ski instructors b/c of the pay and also b/c of the way the teaching staff gets treated. a few have gone to other mountains who offer competitive pay and treat their instructors a little better. mainly the terrain can't be beat so a lot do stay. i'd agree with @liquidfeet that they are desperate. mainly it is about making newcomers to the slope happy, so it's really very much customer service. learning something is a bonus, but having a good time is first and foremost the goal and objective so they return to the slopes!
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
How did it go? I know my school looks for people skills, as in someone who is a good listener and enjoys the social aspect of teaching more than the idea of skiing all day.

In terms of the skiing we really look for people in the hiring clinics that demonstrate the ability to listen to instructions, follow them, and most importantly are able to change their skiing. This is because the technique, as with all sports, evolves, and a low level future instructor who can change it up in a hiring clinic shows more promise than the advanced skier who is "stuck" in only one mode (be it the size turn, or the type of turn, etc...).

I remember teaching my group how to do a penguin belly slide down a steep little pitch with no run out. Not on skis. Focused on safety and SIMPLE explanations. The goal was having fun in the mini teaching segment.

I agree with the previous posts that getting hired is not the hard part these days. Taking advantage of free in house and local training is the key to keeping it fun as a career, full time or part time. Setting personal goals and adjusting or adding to them is helpful.

Hope to see you in a PSIA clinic if you are in Northern Intermountain division? Hope to keep taking them until the day I stop teaching and maybe even after.
 

mountainwest

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Unfortunately they were looking for someone who could work at least 3 days per week, which is not me. So it's not going to happen for me this winter.
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What a bummer. Would they consider you for 2 a week of you jad your PSIA level 1? A different way to approach it. Also, some resorts will then hire just during holidays if that's a better fit for you.
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Do be careful about taking on very temporary holiday work as a ski instructor. If you are not an official mountain employee, and if you are being "paid" with a free season pass or a certain number of day passes instead of a pay check, then you might be classified as a "volunteer."

If this is the case, get something in writing that says you are covered by the mountain's liability insurance should a student get hurt during one of your lessons and sue you. You really need the mountain to have your back on that one. If they are not willing to give you something in writing that indicates you are covered, then you'll need a rider on your personal insurance to cover something like that should it happen. Or just don't take on that kind of instructing.
 

mountainwest

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What a bummer. Would they consider you for 2 a week of you jad your PSIA level 1? A different way to approach it.
Possibly. They said the 3x per week requirement is only for new instructors with no experience, because it's too hard to get them up to speed if they are there less often (which is totally understandable). Is it possible to get PSIA certification if you are not employed already as a ski instructor?
 

mountainwest

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Do be careful about taking on very temporary holiday work as a ski instructor. If you are not an official mountain employee, and if you are being "paid" with a free season pass or a certain number of day passes instead of a pay check, then you might be classified as a "volunteer."

If this is the case, get something in writing that says you are covered by the mountain's liability insurance should a student get hurt during one of your lessons and sue you. You really need the mountain to have your back on that one. If they are not willing to give you something in writing that indicates you are covered, then you'll need a rider on your personal insurance to cover something like that should it happen. Or just don't take on that kind of instructing.
Yikes, good to know! I have considering trying holidays only, but I don't think it would work for me.
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
While a school affiliation is usually necessary, it might be that they would allow you, at your school of choice to list them as the school. Call the PSIA office of the region you are in to see. It is not the same as the hiring training, but would show them that you are motivated. The school I work for definitely pays even their super short-term holiday instructors the same wage as the full-time instructors based on experience and certifications and such. However even the two days a week instructors need to commit to multiple days during our Rush. Which is mostly the week after Christmas and presidents. But some of the kids that come back from college teach only 5 to 10 days for the whole season. They get paid and they get free passes based on the number of days that they taught. Another option might be to see if you can volunteer with an Adaptive ski program at the mountains you are interested in.
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The ski school director (employer, boss) has to sign a paper registration form for an eastern PSIA member to take any on-snow PSIA-E certification exam, and it has to be snailmailed into PSIA's home office (Albany). I'm not sure about the other PSIA regions.

Go to your region's PSIA website and take a look at what they have on registering for the Level I exam. The registration form should be there somewhere. PSIA-E's website is difficult to navigate; hopefully other sites aren't so annoyingly complicated. I think the form is also in the back of every winter PSIA-E magazine, just after the event schedule. Maybe other PSIA regions do the same.

Here's where to start the hunt for exam registration info for PSIA-E members reading here:
https://www.psia-e.org/ev/schedule/sort/offline-reg/
 
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