As you will see from the blog shared on Tuesday this week, I started working for Eurocamp in 2014 at the age of 26 having previously worked in an office based job in Operational Management within the Betting industry for the same company for 10 years, and now I am in my 6th season and have never looked back!
I left my previous employment as I had the urge to travel and felt if it was not then it would be never – so I handed in my noticed (which was very daunting) and took a leap into the unknown. Having done this, my partner and I traveled around Australia for the experience of a lifetime. Coming to the end of the trip the thought of returning to a “9 til 5” office based job in the UK just didn’t fill us with excitement, so having searched for “jobs as a couple working abroad” we found Eurocamp online and both filled out our application forms. Fast forward 3 months later we were offered Team Leader positions on La Croix Du Vieux Pont (Berny Riviere) which is a site in France, not far from Paris.
We were very excited and a little nervous as this was so much out of our comfort zone, we were told on our training that this parc is the largest for the company. We went from wearing suits, having a briefcase and driving a car to wearing the bright green Eurocamp uniform, having a backpack and cycling around parc, but were soon used to and loving the new job and way of life. As Team Leaders we were responsible for delivering exceptional holidays to our guests through managing the day-to-day tasks of all 30+ Reps and maintaining standards of service, both at reception and providing guests with fully prepared and clean accommodation. During the season we met so many wonderful people from such a diverse background ageing anywhere from 18 all the way up to 70+, from all over Europe and from all kinds of different backgrounds. For me this was the best thing about the first season – we worked really hard but had so many fantastic social events within the year – everything from Halloween parties, Rock climbing, numerous BBQ’s to Courier Christmas, which is held in the 25th June each year (exactly half way between each Christmas) where everyone from all companies get together to have a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.
Following on from our first season we had well and truly got the bug for the lifestyle and the job and decided to return for a second year. This year I was promoted to Area Manager and worked this season in Holland, whilst also looking after a site in Germany. My partner worked as an Area Trainer, and delivered all the training courses to the Reps on parc. As an Area Manager you look after multiple parcs and are more hands on with the operational planning of the parcs pre and post season and have the overall accountability for performance on the parcs you look after. This was great for me as I was able to use a lot more of my skills I had gained in my previous employment. I now looked after different team structures including big team sites, smaller teams and parcs run by only one person or two people who tend to be a Couple. As an Area Manager although you do have to have a certain level of professional distance you are still very much part of the team in area for social events and I made so many lifelong friends on this season. As an Area Manager you also build up relationships with campsite managers, our colleagues in our departments and also other people from other Tour Operator – again giving you the opportunity to meet, work alongside and socialise with people from such a diverse background.
For the last 3 seasons I have worked in the beautiful area of Adriatic Coast in Italy, just outside of Venice. Myself and my partner were lucky enough to find an area where we could both be Area Managers and live together. I now look after both Eurocamp and Al Fresco Holidays as an Area Manager and am responsible for 7 parcs with over 10 services (this being that some parcs have both Eurocamp and Al Fresco teams working on them). I love everything about working in Italy, the work is hard, but it is varied and I have had the pleasure to work with some amazing people from so many different backgrounds – from ex-Prison Wardens to Structural Engineers, some people having never worked in the service industry before but thrive in the environment. The lifestyle very much revolves around good food and good wine and I like to enjoy this as often as I can! All of the parcs, including the one I live in, has direct access to the beach and as the weather is so good you can enjoy the beach on days off with a glass our two of cold Prosecco whilst relaxing! On the parc itself I have a mobile home that I live in with a BBQ that gets used pretty much every day and most of my time is spent in the evenings outside on my deck, playing darts with a cold glass of wine and good company. The accommodation and all bills are provided free of charge which means you have very little outgoing money which enables you to save money.
This job has well and truly allowed me to live my dream of travelling, both in work, visiting beautiful parts of Italy among many other countries but, also in the winter as I choose to not work in the winter period. In the last 6 years alone I have visited nearly 30 countries and always take a two and a half month break, visiting places all throughout Asia and the Far East as well as the Caribbean… I don’t know of any other job which enables this type of lifestyle and provides you with an opportunity to live your dreams!
I truly do love working for Eurocamp & Al Fresco, it’s a dynamic company who love to celebrate success and promote from within. It is a fun company to work for and everyone really does pull together to have an amazing time and provide our guests with the best holidays possible.
If Michelle has inspired you to start your career in camping, click here to view our latest vacancies.
Disclaimer: this is a real blog written by a real member of our team, any recommendations are personal to the individual who wrote the blog and are not sponsored by the company.