Coney Island Employment Opportunities

[Coney Islander]

Next summer, I am planning on applying for a job at Coney Island. Before this time comes, I'd like to get some of these questions answered.

1. What is the earliest time I'll be able to apply?

2. Will I get an opportunity to choose what position I take?

3. I'm thinking about suggesting for myself a landscaping position. If whatever I choose doesn't have any position open, will I be put into one of the less desirable positions (ie. parking lot duty)?

4. I've finished all but one requirement for the Boy Scouts of America Eagle rank, including the community service project. (But, since school has been so demanding, I haven't made any progress since August.) How much of a help will it be to finish this before my job interview?

5. Is there anything I'll need to do in preparation for the job interview?

Thank you.

[CoastersRZ]

These questions seem tailor made for me to answer.

Well, one of the most important questions is how old are you? Some positions like rides require that you be at least 16 years of age. Some departments like the grove (picnic grove) hire 15 year olds. But because the grove is usually busiest on weekends, expect to work lots of weekend hours. I know we have received some people in rides who also worked in the grove but were not getting enough hours there.

Because of the size of the park, the landscaping department is not very big, and thus there are not many opportunities to be had there.

You can typically start applying in February or March. You can apply online, or by swinging by the park to turn fill out an application.

On your application, you will rank the top positions you want to work for. While ideally you will be placed in your number one choice, some positions get filled and you may be given a position in a different department than the one you applied for. Some departments, like rides, have more available positions than other departments like Guest Relations or pool porters. Each department has its perks and downsides.

Having or not having your eagle scout will not likely impact your status to be hired at Coney. Although, it certainly would look good when applying to colleges, and would definitely help in getting hired at Coney. Coney doesn`t have very stringent hiring standards. The earlier you get your application in, the better though.

The hiring process has changed a little bit since I was hired on at Coney. You now have an interview with one of the two seasonal personnel managers before interviewing with the department you had been selected for. When I interviewed for rides way back in 2002, there were about three other people with me at the interview with one of the rides managers. The interview itself only lasted about five to ten minutes, and I was hired on the spot and filled out my paperwork. The best piece of advice I can give you, is just be yourself at the interview!

Myself, I`m partial to rides, so I`d suggest you apply for that department. I`ve been in Coney`s rides department for 9 seasons, and will be back for my tenth season in 2011.

Good luck, and be sure to let us know what departments you apply for and if you get the job. I realize that it is still November and the hiring process is still a long ways off. And in case you were wondering, the first weekend that Coney`s rides are open in 2011 is for the Appalachian Festival the weekend of May 7th and 8th.

[Coney Islander]

Thank you for all that!

Since the 1970s, most of my family (on my father's side) has worked at Coney, so I'm off to continue the tradition.

All I have left to do... Leave my excitement to build until the day when interviews finally begin.

[CoastersRZ]

You`re going to leave us hanging? What department are you applying for? Please keep us informed. Especially me, since I may see you on the weekends, at the very least in the employee cafe, if not more often if you end up in rides.

[Coney Islander]

I haven't entirely decided... I believe I will talk to park managers about the landscaping department, just in the case there is an opening, but my application will most likely have ride operation as my number one choice.

After all, I've been talking about rides ever since I began to speak in full sentences. At one point in time, I began every morning with the question, "Are we going to the ride rides today?" Unfortunately, there's something we call the offseason.

[CoastersRZ]

I have a couple of questions for you. Why are you so eager to work in landscaping? Keep in mind, that their hours typically are earlier than say ride operators, since most of their work is done before the park opens. And if you have been so interested in rides, why not just go for rides. You can typically work as many hours as you want. Not to mention I know one of the rides managers quite well, lol.

[Coney Islander]

I see it like this...

With either a landscaping or a general maintenance position at Coney Island, I'll be able to stroll around beautiful Coney Island, enjoy the park's natural landscape, and try my hand at making Coney even more appealing.

In addition to that, either one of these positions (I'd expect) would teach you an especial amount about the upkeep and operations of an Amusement Park. Considering this is the industry I'd most like to form my career around, such knowledge is indispensable.

Though, and on second thought: I probably will end up doing ride operation. The more hours I work, the more money I'll have to spend on an extensive college education. Besides, I've always loved "the ride rides..."

[CoastersRZ]

Well, like I said, maintenance and landscaping has rather limited openings every year compared to rides, the grove, games, lifeguards, pool porters, and food stands.

Working in rides, you will get to see some of the basic operations of an amusement park, and you will get to see some aspects of maintenance as well, as the rides mechanics will occasionally stroll around and check up on things throughout the day (or if something breaks).

If you end up in rides, I will definitely see you on the weekends!

[Coney Islander]

I'm completing my job application right now, and I wonder wether or not anyone knows anything about the 'Warehouse Operations' position.

[The Interpreter]

Typically such positions include receiving, organizing and dispatching merchandise and freight from a warehouse. Such positions are often physically demanding.

Nevertheless, paging CoastersRZ...your assistance is needed in Aisle 3...

[CoastersRZ]

As the Interpreter, stated that is usually the tasks of the warehouse position. I do believe that there are not that many positions available in warehouse, simply because Coney is not that big of a park, compared to places like Kings Island. I do know that the warehouse operations position is typically responsible for filling up the few vending machines that are located around the park. The only interactions that I`ve ever had with warehouse, is when we need to get another box of plastic cups for our water coolers...

So what positions are you putting on your application? Is rides one of the departments you are listing? Because you know that I am now a rides manager this season. As of March 7th, we had about 90 applications, but that included returners as well. We have not yet conducted interviews or hired anyone officially for the 2011 season. We will likely start that process in the next week or two. Training sessions will typically be held mid-to late April. I`d put in your application as soon as you can though. In the peak of the season, we typically max out at around 130 people in the rides department. That may increase a little bit this season, since we have to staff an additional ride every shift though... Let me know if you have any additional questions. Feel free to drop me a PM as well, if you wish to talk to me privately...

Robbie

[The Interpreter]

Wow, the words the filter lets through, while it won't let us say ****y. Go figure.

(Third from last sentence, CoastersRZ...you will want to fix that one...) (even if it is literally true as written)

[CoastersRZ]

Wow. It looks like I need to go check on the word filter for these forums. Fortunately, I suppose, I made that typo. And fortunately you read those post and pointed it out. Goes to check the word filters on the forums...

Hmmm. That word is supposed to be filtered as ****. I wonder why it didn`t filter that typo out? I didn`t post if from my iPhone. I`ll have to look into that.

[The Interpreter]

One of the other many forums that I frequent does not insert ****'s for the filtered out words.

It does things like:

He's full of *I'M A BAD PERSON*

and

She stepped in *DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW YOU TALK THAT WAY?*

It's rather amusing...

For a while, one person's name sometimes came out:

*I'M A BAD PERSON* Kinzel or

*DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW YOU TALK THAT WAY?* Kinzel. Honest.

[KIfan1980]

Robbie - I've noticed before that you can type things that others can't, like there is a moderator exception.

[The Interpreter]

So...he's done this before?

(And he has the nerve to kid me about big blue things?)

Easy to test: Robbie, type this sentence, but the way it was meant:

Alfred Hitch****'s The Birds is a fine film.

[CoastersRZ]

I don`t need to test it in a public forum. It does appear that I have special privileges as a moderator, and the bad word filter does NOT apply to me. Case in point (see below).

And what other things have I typed that others can`t?

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Alfred Hitchcock`s The Birds when I was on vacation one year, I might have even been at a hotel outside of Kings Dominion, when I saw it!

[Diamondback FOF]

^^Wait, did you type that sentence with the ****'s or were those filtered in?

Edit: Wait, nevermind...I tried it

[KIfan1980]

And what other things have I typed that others can`t?

Nothing too bad - it was a thread where people were complaining about the funny things that couldn't be typed. If I recall, what tipped it off for me was that you typed something that wasn't **** out but when someone replied to you it was.

[CoastersRZ]

Good, I`m glad it was nothing too bad.

So Coney Islander, back onto your topic. Did you submit your application? Do you have any last minute questions?

[Coney Islander]

It was a very tough decision, but I eventually decided to place my picks in the following order: Landscaping, then Rides.

Do you happen to know when the interviews will be conducted? / Will you be one of the interviewers?

[Diamondback FOF]

It was a very tough decision, but I eventually decided to place my picks in the following order: Landscaping, then Rides.

Do you happen to know when the interviews will be conducted? / Will you be one of the interviewers?

Conflict of interest there?

[CoastersRZ]

Hey now, one of the managers over the last few years has had a brother working as a ride operator for several seasons. And in fact, two other managers have had their brothers work in the department when they were managers... In fact, my cousin applied to work in rides this summer as well.

As far as hearing from someone, that depends in part on how many applications the personnel department is handling. And, if it gets forwarded onto landscaping or rides. If it gets forwarded onto rides, then we will review the applications. (That should happen either this week or next). From there, we will call people to set up interviews (likely starting sometime the first week of April). Yes, I maybe doing some interviews, but that depends when the interview times are set up. Since I have a full time job, the earliest I could get down to Coney during weekdays would be 5:15 or 5:30, so unless your interview was set up for early evening, I wouldn`t be the one conducting the interview, but one of the other rides managers would be. Honestly, we haven`t talked about how we are going to be handling interviews and hiring this year. We are supposed to have a meeting with our boss sometime this week I believe to discuss hiring and interviews. We don`t have much time to get our ducks lined up. Opening day for the rides is the first full weekend in May (May 7th and 8th) for the Appalachian Festival.

When you receive a call about your interview, the person calling will tell you where to go and what to bring. Typically, we ask that all interviewees bring proper paper work to complete the necessary hr paperwork, should they be hired. In short, you will know by the conclusion of your interview with rides if you have been hired. At the conclusion of your interview, you will also be given a date for a rides training.

[Coney Islander]

Thank you for all this information, Robbie.

Diamondback FOF, I worded it that way as I don't particularly expect very many landscaping positions to be available, and any adults asking for those limited positions would probably get hired first. But thanks for pointing that out; my rhetoric has always been a little dopey.

[The Interpreter]

It was a very tough decision, but I eventually decided to place my picks in the following order: Landscaping, then Rides.

Do you happen to know when the interviews will be conducted? / Will you be one of the interviewers?

Conflict of interest there?

No.

Get used to real life. It IS not only what you know but who you know, so get to know the right people. That is called networking. An employers job (see what I did there?) is to hire the best people it possibly can to deliver the products and services of the organization. If employees' friends and family are the best source of employees, many employers go for it. Nepotism is NOT illegal, but some companies/organizations have policies forbidding it, for reasons of their own.

Public sector employment has more restrictions, as taxpayers' monies (and borrowed monies) are being used, and fairness, and the perception of fairness (that latter can be different from the former) are deemed more important than even hiring the best person sometimes is. Not to mention societal goals that Government is seen as best being able to implement and to serve as an example for others. Yes, EEO, for instance, comes to mind. EEO does apply to both the public and private sectors, but in slightly different ways.

To sum up, networking is one of the very best ways of getting a job. So do it!

[CoastersRZ]

Very well said!

In fact, I have my current full time job, because I spent six months working at this firm on a co-op. And, I have been in constant contact with the person that hired me for another co-op at another firm. (He has since left the firm I co-oped at, but still contacts me from time to time. Networking is big, and it is all about who you know.

With a place like Coney, where turnover of employees is generally very high, we like to be able to find good employees anyway we can. Cousins and brothers of current workers is often a good way to find solid workers, because we have a built in reference. Does Coney sometimes get lets than quality employees? Sure. What place doesn`t? But once you find a good employee, you want to hold onto them as long as possible, because they help display the image for your company, whether it be an amusement park, a fast food restaurant, a grocery store, or other service oriented store.

[CedarPointer]

Do you know if new employees get paid minimum wage, or is the pay above that?

[CoastersRZ]

I think it is safe to say that new employees get paid minimum wage, It has been that way since the minimum wage jumped from $5.15. Also, returning seasonal workers have made the same as minimum wage as well, save for some rare exceptions.

[CedarPointer]

Thanks, just curious.

[CoastersRZ]

And yet, I still find myself going back there to work weekends this year! Granted, I have officially been promoted for this season, but I just love working there too. To me, it's not about the money. Yes, I do like getting the extra paycheck. But not one time have I ever NOT looked forward into going into work at Coney. Which is somewhat rare, since this will be my tenth season working there.