10 reasons why you should be a lifeguard this summer

“Shaping the Future” is a sponsored column written by Manassas Park Community Center. The column highlights the many ways you can have fun, get fit, and improve your life.

This week’s weather probably has you thinking that WINTER is finally here, but believe it or not, here at Parks and Recreation, we are already starting to think about SUMMER!  

We are diligently planning for summer camps, swim lessons, special events, and the 20th year of operation at Signal Bay Water Park! One of the major components in planning for summer is making sure we have the right staff to carry out our plans. It takes us months to interview, select, and train all of our employees, which is why we start in the dead of winter!

Within our department, we have many different options for part-time employment. For those who love working with children, we have summer camps leaders and aides. 

If you are passionate about a specific sport or hobby, you may be the perfect fit as an instructor for one of our athletic summer camps. Enjoy spending time outdoors? Perhaps working as a park laborer or lifeguard is the job for you.

I am responsible for hiring all of our employees for Signal Bay Water Park. We hire around 50 lifeguards in order to keep the water park safe during the summer.  

When I was a teenager entering the job force, life guarding was the quintessential summer job. Nowadays, however, teenagers and parents tend to look for summer jobs that support computer or money handling skills. This trend has made hiring enough employees to operate an aquatic facility, much more difficult. Some facilities even have to hire lifeguards from overseas in order to maintain adequate coverage.

Perhaps the stereotype is that lifeguards just soak up the sun and don’t do much work, therefore do not gain any marketable skills. This could not be more inaccurate; there are MANY important work related skills that can be gained through life guarding. I have listed the top 10 job skills that lifeguards gain through work experience.

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1. First Responders: At aquatics facilities, lifeguards are the first responders to emergencies. They have to make quick decisions and work fast under pressure.

2. Conflict Resolution: Lifeguards are the primary enforcer of rules at any swimming facility. They have to know how to talk to a variety of different patrons – and fellow employees – and enforce rules in a way that eliminates embarrassment, but gets the point across.

3. Customer Service: Lifeguards learn quickly that if patrons are happy and having a good time, while being safe, it makes their job easier and more enjoyable. Getting to know your regular patrons is both fulfilling and beneficial. Regular pool patrons often bring snacks and treats for their favorite lifeguards.

4. Cleanliness: Although this may go under Customer Service in any other summer job, as a lifeguard, you learn quickly that patrons often have a different standard of “clean” than they do. Lifeguards have to develop a “critical eye” and look at facility cleanliness from the patrons perspective. Lifeguards are often responsible for the cleaning and upkeep of the pool and the bathrooms, so it is important that they learn what “clean” means to their patrons.

5. Teamwork: Lifeguards rarely work independent of others. In fact, they are usually required to work as a team to make a rescue and/or administer CPR/First Aid. Additionally, most day to day tasks like rule enforcement and daily opening and closing chores, require teamwork to get done efficiently.

6. Communication: Lifeguards must be able to communicate to a variety of patrons and staff. How they communicate a rule to a 4 year old will be different then how they communicate the rule to a 12 year old or a 35 year old. Additionally, they quickly learn what information is important or beneficial to communicate to their co-workers. If they are continually having to enforce a rule to a child on the diving board, they should communicate that information to the lifeguard who rotates them down for their break.

7. Endurance: I am not talking about the endurance required to run a marathon. I am talking about maintaining your focus for an hour at time in hot, humid, sunny and loud conditions. There is a sense of accomplishment after you complete an 8 hour shift on the hottest day of the summer, while stay mentally sharp the entire shift!

8. Time Management: When lifeguards are down from rotation, most of the time they are not “on break”. They have other chores and responsibilities that they must complete in the 15-30 minutes that they are out rotation. In addition to chores like cleaning restrooms, picking up trash, stacking tubes, checking chemicals, and performing first aid; they also need to squeeze in a bathroom break and a snack. There is often very little time for shenanigans.

9. Work Ethic: As a lifeguard you can quickly learn how having a strong work ethic is beneficial and how having a sub-par work ethic affects everyone. A lifeguard with a strong work ethic is normally promoted or tasked with additional responsibilities very quickly. Because they are reliable and hardworking, they will often get scheduled more and identified as a leader. On the flip side, it is noticeable and frustrating when someone on staff doesn’t pull their weight. Lifeguards are more successful if they have a strong work ethic.

10. Asset and Facility Management: Normally the lifeguards know the facility and equipment better than anyone. They are there day in and day out witnessing what doesn’t work and what does. Lifeguards are given many tasks to complete throughout the day, they have to use their knowledge and best judgement on when to complete the tasks. Additionally, they may be able to troubleshoot an issue quicker than someone who isn’t working at the pool 30 hours/week. Finally, they are entrusted with a lot of expensive equipment. With most pool budgets being tight, they learn very quickly to protect and repair the equipment they are given.