Tips for a Successful NW Job Application | Northwoods Stewardship Center

General Tips

Apply for any-and-all NorthWoods positions that interest you, and feel free to tell us if you would prefer one over another. You might not get your first choice, but we try to match applicants to the best job for them.
NorthWoods has several different departments and hiring teams for various jobs. If you apply for multiple positions, you can expect to hear from different people hiring for each position (a hiring contact person is listed for each job).
We try to coordinate interviews if we are considering you for multiple NorthWoods positions, and we do our best to communicate this clearly. If this gets confusing, please reach out to any of your hiring contacts.
If you’re having tech trouble with your application, please reach out to us. For example, if we ask for a PDF with your cover letter/resume and you aren’t sure how to create that, we can point you toward some resources or figure out a different format that works for you. The application process isn’t supposed to be an obstacle!
If you are a past NorthWoods employee or AmeriCorps member, please be sure to include that information in your application materials — we love to see returning folks, but we don’t necessarily check your name against a list of past employees.

Tell us why you want to work at NorthWoods! We want to hire folks who are excited to work here, and who will gain something from their work experience at NorthWoods. Tell us what interests you about NorthWoods, what you hope to gain through the position, or what you’re curious about.
If you are re-using a cover letter template, double check that you have edited the details (the position you’re applying to, who your letter is addressed to, etc). We get it; you’re probably applying for a bunch of seasonal jobs and don’t have time to write a brand-new cover letter for each. But DO take the time to check these details!

Make sure to include all of your relevant coursework, trainings, certifications, licenses, etc. They all help your application! Even common certifications like a driver’s license or CPR are good to include.
- If you are including college or other formal education, include a list of relevant courses (to the position) or other details about what you learned.
Details matter! Make sure to include past employer (for jobs), school name (for education/training), and dates (month and year for both start and end dates, or a graduation date)
Include as much relevant work experience, education, skills, etc as you can. Even informal jobs like mowing lawns for your neighbor, helping out on your family farm, or volunteering with a local animal shelter show us that you have used those skills and knowledge. Celebrate your accomplishments! And don’t worry if you have limited work/education experience; part of the NorthWoods mission is helping you build your experience.
While celebrating yourself, also be honest and don’t exaggerate your accomplishments. We understand that most folks applying for seasonal jobs have limited past experience, and that is totally fine. If you helped out in a lab, include something like “assisted with processing wildlife scat samples,” and DON’T inflate that to “managed a multi-year, multi-million dollar lab-based wildlife research project” — unless that’s what you actually did.

Don’t be nervous! The person interviewing you is a real human, and better yet, we pride ourselves on having hiring teams who are thoughtful, respectful, and all-around great people. Our goal is to get to know you, not to intimidate or trick you.
Make sure that you’re available for the time and interview format you scheduled. For example, if you’re scheduled for a phone interview, make sure you’re in a place with cell service and won’t be distracted at your interview time.
If your schedule is tight and the interview spots offered don’t work for you, let us know. We do our best to accommodate tricky schedules.
If you are in a time zone other than Eastern, please be sure to let us know so we can set interview times accordingly.
Have a list of questions you’d like to ask. Examples can be: questions regarding project/position specifics, general interest in NorthWoods/Department, what is the ideal candidate for the position?..etc.

Your life is ahead of you. Make the best of it.
Answer the essay question thoughtfully and honestly. This question is meant to be a simple and direct way of getting an idea of your enthusiasm for working with us in the outdoors this Summer. We encourage you to write more than one sentence.
See “Interview Tips” above, and remember: Don’t be nervous! We are humans who were teenagers once too.
Make sure you answer any emails or communications in pre- or post-interview in a timely fashion or within any stated time frames or deadlines given.