Seasonal Resort Worker CV Examples & Writing Guide

This is a CV for someone who has worked seven full seasons at a mountain ski centre and at lakeside and coastal resorts, and moves between winter and summer work. The name and resorts are made up. Look at the contact line: the availability dates and the accommodation note are right at the top, where a seasonal recruiter needs them.

A big holiday park operator or a ski tour operator hires several hundred people in about six weeks. The person reading your application is not looking for polish. They are filling beds in staff accommodation and shifts on a rota.

• Dates. Exactly when you can start and exactly when you must leave. A worker who can stay through closing weekend is worth more than one with a better CV who leaves on 12 August.
• Whether you finished your last season. Early departures are the single biggest problem in seasonal hiring. If you have finished seasons, say so in those words and say you were invited back.
• Accommodation and transport. Do you need staff accommodation? Do you have a car? Can you get to a staff bus stop? Say it plainly.
• Flexibility across departments. People who will take lift operations in the morning and food service at weekends get hired first, because the recruiter can slot you anywhere.
• Certificates that let you start earning immediately: food hygiene certificate, alcohol service training, pool lifeguard, first aid, a clean driving licence.

“I hire four hundred people between September and Thanksgiving. The two lines that move an application to the top are your exact start and end dates and the sentence "finished all three previous seasons, eligible for rehire". Everything else I can train.”

This is the one section that belongs on a seasonal CV and on almost no other CV. Put it directly under your contact line, before the personal statement. Four to six short lines.

Three lines. Seasons completed, departments worked, certificates, and the fact that you stayed to the end. If this is your first season, use a career objective instead.

Seasonal CVs usually say "provided excellent guest service". Every applicant writes it. Put the volume in: guests an hour, rooms a shift, covers a night, campers in your group.

Cheap certificates matter more in seasonal hiring than anywhere else, because a certified person can be put on the rota on day one instead of week two. Rules differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and between countries for seasons abroad, so check what the employer needs before you buy a course.

• Food hygiene certificate. Anyone handling food must be trained in food hygiene to the level their job needs, and most employers ask for a Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety certificate. It is cheap and can be done online in an afternoon.
• Alcohol service training such as Challenge 25 and responsible-serving courses. In Scotland, staff who sell alcohol must complete set training before they serve, and most resorts expect it for bar and waiting shifts.
• A pool lifeguard qualification such as the RLSS UK National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ), plus first aid, if you want pool, waterfront or camp work. An outdoor first aid course helps for hill and camp roles.
• A clean driving record and a full licence open shuttle, car park and delivery shifts. A D1 minibus entitlement opens staff and guest minibus driving, often at a higher rate.
• Ski and snowboard instructors: the entry qualification for British instructors is BASI Level 1. Some employers will take you on for a first season before you have it and help you train.
• Job skills to list: EPOS tills (Square and similar), property management systems (Opera), room cleaning standards, radio use, snow clearing, ski and board servicing, cash handling, second languages spoken by guests or colleagues.
• Personal facts that count as skills here: standing for 8 hours in the cold, lifting 20 kg repeatedly, working 6-day weeks in peak season, and sharing staff accommodation without drama.

Almost nobody arrives with resort experience. Recruiters expect first-timers, and the entry departments are lift operations, housekeeping, kitchen portering, food running and retail. What they cannot risk is someone who leaves in the middle of the season.

1. 1Start with the availability block and the accommodation question. That alone puts you ahead of half the pile.
2. 2Get a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate before you apply. It costs little, takes a couple of hours online, and lets a recruiter place you in food service instead of on a waiting list.
3. 3Use any job that shows attendance and physical work: retail, warehouse, fast food, farm work, landscaping, removals, babysitting, school sport. Write the attendance record as a number.
4. 4Say one honest sentence about the conditions: you have worked outdoors in cold weather, or you have shared a room before, or you are comfortable with a 6-day week.
5. 5Name two or three departments you would take. Naming only one narrows your chances for no benefit.
6. 6One page. No photo, no date of birth. Apply early; the best staff accommodation goes to the people who apply in the first two weeks.

One page. Plain layout, one column, no photo, no graphics. Save as PDF. Most resort applications go through an online system such as a recruitment portal, so keep the headings standard.

• Group repeat seasons at the same employer into one entry with the season count in the title line: "Lift Operator, then Lift Supervisor (3 winter seasons), Nov 2023 to Apr 2026". That reads as loyalty, not as three short jobs.
• Mark every entry as seasonal so the gaps explain themselves: "seasonal position, full season worked" or "summer season contract".
• Say "eligible for rehire" where it is true. It is the strongest three words on a seasonal CV.
• If you have worked several small seasonal jobs, add a short section called Other seasonal work and list them on one line each rather than giving each one a block.
• Mirror the words in the advert: seasonal, full season, staff accommodation, lift operations, room attendant, food and beverage, guest services, activities, opening crew, closing crew, weekends and bank holidays.
• UK conventions: no photo, no date of birth, no marital status. File name: cody-blanchard-seasonal-resort-cv.pdf.

In the US the same jobs are advertised as seasonal positions and applications ask for a resume, and US resorts talk about a summer or winter season rather than a season contract. For US resorts and camps, send a one-page US resume; for UK and European employers, use the CV conventions on this page.