What Real Staff Say About Working at Your Camp
5 Questions to Help Camp Staff Write Real, Useful Reviews of Working at Your Camp
Helping your team write meaningful reviews doesn’t have to be complicated. You just need a structure that brings out honest stories and practical insight.
When someone is thinking about working at your camp, they’ll probably look you up online before reaching out or applying.
Websites like Indeed and Glassdoor show reviews from people who have worked with you. These reviews can shape someone’s first impression of your camp in a big way.
Even when camp is not in session, your camp’s reputation is still growing—or changing—based on what people say. That’s why it’s helpful to pay attention to those reviews.
It’s also a good idea to kindly ask your team to share honest and thoughtful feedback about their time at camp. When people speak with care and truth, it helps others see what your camp is really like.
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Here’s a quick framework you can use in a 1:1, in a feedback form, during a staff debrief, when asking staff to give you an honest review on Indeed.com or Glassdoor.com. Each question is designed to highlight what camp really felt like—and to give future staff a clear, honest picture of what they can expect.
Be sure to stress and underline that you want an honest review. A whole slew of 5-star reviews delivered quickly will be a warning sign to both the website and anybody reading that site to see what it's like working with you.
✅ *Add To Your Monthly To Do List:
Along with any websites that you are monitoring to make sure you see all parent reviews when they happen, you need to make sure you watch for your reviews on job review websites. At the bottom, I'll attach a table of all of the places that we have found camp job reviews online.
The best questions they can answer:
1. What moments from camp stuck with you?
Get them thinking about the real stuff. The things they still talk about.
Ask for one or two specific memories—big or small. A camper breakthrough. A silly tradition. A win with their co-staff.
🟢 Specific = believable. Believable = useful.
2. How did you grow this summer?
Most people come to camp expecting to give.
They don’t always expect how much they’ll grow.
Prompt them to reflect on skills they gained, risks they took, or how they see themselves differently now. Personal or professional—either counts.
3. Who or what helped you succeed?
Good teams make the hard days better.
Ask them to name names (if they’re comfortable). Highlight support, coaching, or strong leadership moments that made a difference.
💡 Tip: It’s OK if some things didn’t go perfectly. That’s part of the story, too.
4. What was hard about working at our camp—and how did you handle it?
You don’t need staff to pretend camp was all sunshine.
Invite them to share one real challenge and what got them through it.
This is where you build trust. The balance of struggle + growth makes their story relatable—and valuable.
5. What would you tell someone thinking about working here?
This is the heart of a good review.
It’s peer-to-peer advice—and future staff trust it more than any brochure.
Ask: “If you were talking to a friend who was on the fence, what would you say?”
A Few Coaching Tips To Give Your Staff
Keep it balanced.
Positives first. Challenge next. Wrap with helpful advice.
Push for specifics.
“It was amazing” doesn’t help much. A quick story? That lands.
Highlight change.
If they (or their campers) walked out different than they walked in, say so. That’s what camp is.
Invite kind critique.
If they’ve got ideas for how camp could improve, welcome them. Staff are more engaged when they know their voice matters.
Bottom line: These reviews are more than testimonials.
They’re trust-builders.
And when they’re honest, reflective, and practical, they do more than just attract great people—they keep them.
Could Your Camp Be Getting Reviewed Without You Knowing It?
If you’ve ever wondered what your year-round and seasonal staff are saying about working at your camp—off the record—you’re not alone.
There are plenty of platforms where people share anonymous reviews of their workplace. And yes, camps show up on them more often than you might think.
These reviews aren’t just for big corporate offices. If someone had a great summer—or a hard one—there’s a good chance they’ve told the internet about it.
Why This Matters
You care deeply about creating a positive staff culture.
Anonymous reviews can offer helpful insight—stuff you might not hear in person.
Are they always fair? No.
Are they always useful? Not always.
But should you know what’s out there? Definitely.
Here are the top sites I recommend checking (and yes, I’ve linked each one so you don’t have to go digging):
Major Review Sites to Start With
Still the go-to for anonymous company reviews. Staff share pros, cons, and suggestions for leadership.
Job board first, but also home to thousands of employer reviews—camps included.
More common in tech, but still worth a look. Anonymity is central here, so it can attract unfiltered feedback.
Focused on women’s experiences at work—especially relevant if you’re trying to improve equity or inclusivity at camp.
Focuses on job satisfaction, culture, and compensation—common staff pain points.
Popular in Europe but available globally. Known for transparency and structured reviews.
Useful if you offer internships or hire younger staff. Vault often includes internship rankings and early-career reviews.
Similar to Vault but UK-based—geared toward grads and young professionals.
Canadian site where staff rate employers on fairness, respect, and support.
Newer site designed specifically to help employers collect and display anonymous reviews (you might even claim your profile there).
Anonymous professional chatter organized by industry. If you’re in a niche or networked space, it might be here.
Search your camp name—sometimes people share long-form stories in response to questions.
If you host interns, this Canadian site might have reviews you haven’t seen.
Australia’s biggest job site—especially relevant if you hire Aussie staff through camp exchange programs.
A feedback site where job seekers report companies that went silent during hiring.
iOS-only app where workers rate employers anonymously—no account or email required.
Not Review Sites—but Worth Monitoring
Subreddits like r/antiwork and r/jobs often feature anonymous work stories—including from camp staff.
The r/summercamp subreddit constantly has staff asking questions (and complaining about) the camps they work at.
Tools You May Already Be Using
These tools aren’t public-facing, but they’re commonly used to collect anonymous staff feedback internally:
If you use any of these tools for mid-summer or end-of-season surveys, keep in mind that some folks may still prefer outside channels when they want to speak freely.
So—What Should You Do With This?
Search for your camp on a few of these platforms (just your name—no log-in required).
Read with curiosity, not defensiveness. Some feedback might sting. That’s okay.
Look for patterns. One review is just one voice. Three saying the same thing? That’s a signal.
Don’t panic. Most of the time, people just want to be heard. Even the critical reviews show they cared enough to say something.
If you find something surprising—or you’d like help thinking through your next steps—I’m happy to chat.
Being intentional about staff culture starts with listening.
These sites are just one more way to do that.
