You’ve thought about working abroad for the summer but have no idea how to go about it? This blog post will help guide you to your first job, where to stay and some essential do’s and don’ts of working a summer abroad.
Firstly, there is no job centre, no job sites and limited ways of getting in contact with your future employers. We’ve tried our best by writing a jobs notice board here but Greeks often leave it right until May / June to start looking for their staff when potential workers fly over.
Bar and restaurant owners advertise their jobs by putting signs up outside their establishments usually with the words “PRs WANTED” or “JOBS AVAILABLE” so it is as simple as walking in, showing some interest and requesting a job trial or interview. Job trials will usually be working a night unpaid (but paid with free drinks). By all means take advantage of this but if you can’t remember the end of your shift, maybe take it a little easier on your next job trial.
The main bars and restaurants on the strip usually open around mid May. Clubs will open first week of June. With that in mind, we don’t recommend heading over until May / June, any earlier and you’ll be painting swimming pools and picking olives.
If you’ve been to Kavos before and have your eye on a specific bar or restaurant do try and get in contact directly with them via their Facebook pages or Twitter but don’t hold out hope. Head out with an open mind and the willingness to find a job, you can always change jobs through the season, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to find a job (as long as you can hold a conversation together).
Where to stay? Rooms are advertised online and within the resort. ClubbingAway offer rooms opposite Buzz Bar on the main strip (with a Job trial at Buzz included) and also at the Alefki complex which is located at the north of the strip. Rooms cost between 60 and 70€ per person, per week. All bills are included. Having a place to stay for a week or more before you head over is one less stress to sort until you find your feet. Put a budget aside for at least 2-4 weeks rent (max 240€) to give yourself a fall back plan should you not get a job (highly unlikely but could happen).
It may be a daunting thought heading somewhere where you don’t know anyone but a lot of people will be in the same position as you are, the people you work with and people staying in the same apartments as you become mates for life. You’ll share laughs, tears, underwear, alcohol, stories and more with these people and wonder why you ever gave it a second thought, all the workers become one big family.
What about food? One of the perks of working in Kavos is that you’ll receive discount on food at many of the restaurants along the strip. Discounts range from 25-50% and you’ll probably won’t need to cook a meal for yourself for the whole season. Some landlords will even put on dinner for their guests for a couple of euros each.
Flying to Kavos – some of you reading this won’t know that Kavos is in Corfu (Kerkyra), Greece. You’ll need to book a single flight from the UK to Corfu. Flights range from £30 to around £150 depending on airline, departure airport and the time of departure. Bare in mind that if you get to Kavos at 2am and have no where to stay, don’t expect to try and find an apartment that night.
Transfers from Corfu airport to Kavos take around an hour and 15mins and can be booked via Hoppa.com (use promo code HOPPA20 for 20% off), average price is around £15. Thinking of getting a taxi? The average cost of a taxi from the airport to Kavos is now 80€
We’re here to offer you as much advice as possible, drop us as email here if you have any questions or purely need additional guidance. We know the resort inside out and have built up an array of contacts over the years.
Good luck, enjoy the experience and remember… first impressions are very important.
