Ditching the 9-5 to bring my Career Skills to a Party Hostel

From an office in Canada to a youth hostel in Greece, I keep my experience as a professional alive in an environment I love

When my job contract ended at an office working 8:30am-5pm every day, I was lost not knowing what to do. As the weeks approached to my official end date, I desperately applied to jobs on LinkedIn but hoped that the company I’d grown to love would have another position for me.

Applying to roles in marketing or publishing in office Downtown Toronto seemed like the right thing to do. Although I’d always hoped to return to the Caribbean, obtaining professional jobs down there is challenging and a job I can put on my resume is nessecary as a 25 year old.

When I decided to go and wing it on a crazy unplanned trip to find work in Europe, I’d given up the idea of a so-called “Big-Girl Job” and sought to find employment doing anything to get me by.

I was hired by a Legendary Youth Hostel in Corfu, Greece, which has earned a reputation as being one of the world’s best party places for backpackers. When I arrived I knew nothing of what to expect but knew I’d be an “Activities Runner”.

When I spoke with the management I discussed my experience beyond bar and hospitality work and offered to help with the social media and web content.

The job of Activities Runners are usually for party people, and although that’s true, I wanted to offer more to The Pink Palace and gain an experience I could add to my professional resume.

Every day I plan and coordinate activities, host nightly events, update the social media, and work on blog articles and web marketing strategies for The Palace. After only a week of working, I developed a passion for the hostel and wish to make each guest have an incredible experience during their stay.

The work I do is incredibly hard and I work almost twice as many hours as I would doing a typical “9-5” job. Having to constantly be social and interact with guests is exhausting, but I love meeting people and hearing about the stories of their travels.

The other day I sat at “the office”, or the table I’ve been working at at The Beach Bar today and me and the Royal Family brainstormed ideas for parties, playlists, and goals for the summer. Just two days ago a brand new Blog section was launched on the website with my posts which I will continue to add to during my time here.

This summer I hope to expand our presence on social media and spread the word about The Pink Palace and give our guests the experience every backpacker wants.

We love to party, dance, and have fun. I don’t drink a whole lot, but I dance on the tables every night because you know what, IT’S FUN. Yes, I am a professional and take my job very seriously, but from working here I realise that you don’t need to work in an office in order to have a career.

Your job is what you make of it, and this summer I hope to get the most rewarding experience from working here, both for myself and for the owner’s of Greece’s famous Youth Hostel.