Things I Wish I’d Known Before My First Season

At Summer Takeover HQ, our total number of seasons combined reaches well into double digits.  With so much experience under our collective belts, it would be rude not to share some of our insight – here’s some things we wish we’d known before our first seasons…

Make sure you’re going out there for the right reasons.

Want to force yourself into a situation that’ll make you more confident?  Be my guest, that’s perfect.  Want to completely reinvent yourself, change your name and come home with a full body tattoo?  You’re probably better off staying under the watchful gaze of your mum, to be honest.

Working abroad is a busy lifestyle.  Opportunities for downtime are pretty minimal – you’ll be tanning, working, then partying every day.  It’s intense!  If you’re out there for a summer of excitement and amazing memories then you’ve come to the right place.  If you’re on a mission to meet the love of your life – well, just don’t be disappointed if you’re having too much fun to watch every sunset with someone special…

If you plan on spending your wages on amazing parties – this will be your dream job.  If you’re there to save up for the deposit on a house – this probably isn’t your jam.  This is a popular summer job for students on a gap year, so everone is usually in the same boat when it comes to budgeting! Always game for a party, a pre-party, and an after-party, this is the philosophy to be encouraged.  Sure, read a book and chill by the beach every now and again.  But fear of missing out should get your heart racing for all the right reasons!

Think before you pack.

There’s a fairly fine line to tread here.  Pack too much and you’ll be handing over some of your carefully saved spending money to a surly looking check in attendant at the airport because your bulging suitcase is – shock – overweight.  Pack too little and you’ll run out of clothes by the third day, and be completely unprepared for events with a theme.

Assume that you’ll be doing laundry once a week – aim for versatility, things that you can mix and match.  Girls, you probably need one pair of heels max.  Chances are you won’t wear them, but if it helps you sleep at night then chuck them in the case.

Bear in mind, there are shops there.  Do not do a BMcG and pack three months worth of toiletries like you were going for a remote mission to the arctic.  There will be plenty of opportunity to stock up on conditioner when you run out – leaving the value packs at home will help massively with your baggage allowance.

Everyone’s in the same boat – so don’t worry about making friends

It’s only natural to be nervous when you’re doing something for the first time.  Fear of the unknown will play a big part, which is why we’ve taken proactive steps to take the guesswork out by adding all our crew into private Facebook groups, so you can begin chatting months before you jet off.  Most of our workers head out to their respective resorts on their own, meaning the first thing on everyone’s agenda is to get to know one another.

For those of you that have gone away to uni – it’s a similar atmosphere.  Remember in freshers week when you would just natter on with anyone?  Seeing another Summer Takeover band is a great ice breaker, and believe me there will be plenty of those kicking about in your resort!

Be prepared to work

The wages in each resort are great, and you can make an absolute killing each week.  Bear in mind that this means putting the graft in, you won’t be rolling in euros if you treat this as an extended holiday.  By all means, if you have plenty of saving money stashed, then be my guest and go for it.  But if you’ll be living off your wages you need to put the hours in and fit your sunbathing hours in around this!

I often get asked are jobs guaranteed – workers will always be in high demand as the resorts are so busy.  We will arrange trial shifts until you have a job offer, make sure you showcase your skills and you’ll have plenty of options to choose from…

The wages in some resorts can be better than others too! Working in Ibiza or Magaluf, you can expect salaries to be higher, but it usually aligns with the cost of living.

Don’t forget the sun cream

Just because you’ve been under the heat of the Mediterranean sun for a few weeks solid doesn’t mean you should venture out without any suncream.  Stop yourself from ending up crispy / at the risk of sunstroke and make sure you’re putting something on your skin – you don’t want to be missing out on any antics because you’re being forced to lube up your lobster glow with aloe vera gel and cold towels.

I’m no stranger to a factor zero carrot oil, keep this for beach days when you can monitor the sizzle – if you’re strolling up and down a beach or serving drinks in an open top bar and you get busy, you’ll not notice an unhappy epidermis before it’s too late…

Bring more money than you think you’ll need!

In an ideal world, partying would be free and the biggest night outs would happen just after pay day so you can sort out a fleeky outfit.  In reality, it never works like this, so you’re going to want a safety net to fall back on in case the squad wants to go snorkelling and you spent the last of your wage packet last night on a drunken KFC.  It happens – just be prepared!

Best case scenario, you’ll be able to bring the spare money home with you and convert it back into pounds to help with the post-season blues.  Worst case scenario?  You’ll spend it on some epic parties, and you can’t put a price on those memories…

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Want more?  ‘Course you do.

If you’re wondering which resort is for you, see a brief summary of Summer Takeover resorts here!

Be sure to check out our seasonal jobs for all the roles on offer.

Ready to go?  Here’s more information on the booking process!