Today I will be interviewing a couple who has been RVing in a recently-renovated school bus. They have enjoyed some interesting experiences and discovered a way to earn a few extra dollars by finding jobs in the local community in addition to their Workamping jobs.

Allen and Mandy Hallengren were in Leavenworth, Wash., working at a KOA when I interviewed them several months ago. While Allen was involved in maintenance duties, Mandy would help plan and lead activities for kids and adults.

The couple bought a school bus and spent $15,000 renovating it because they liked some of the safety features on the vehicle. By gutting the seats, they could completely design it to fit their needs. For example, they created a bigger-than-average kitchen and set up solar to have the option for off-grid camping.

Allen worked in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and Mandy calls herself a “Jill of all trades,” but she really enjoys restaurant work.

In fact, she will work for local restaurants while Alan takes care of Workamping duties. It’s the best of both worlds as they get a free RV site, and Mandy makes pretty good money as a waitress at a local restaurant.

Yet, she really enjoys working with people on special activities, which makes their RVing experience even more fun for the couple.

They love RVing for the ability to go to climates that better suit them instead of the snow and cold of Michigan, which Allen had to endure for 47 years.

Allen and Mandy found a unique way to put Workamping to their advantage. Allen’s skills in construction, electricity and engineering can often be put to use at campgrounds. He’s retired so he has a military pension to augment his income.

Mandy, on the other hand, is still working. So she finds jobs at local restaurants where she can often make better income through tips than she could at a paid Workamping job. When she’s not working at a restaurant, she’s helping to organize special activities at the campground.

Because they live in 275 square feet of space inside the converted school bus, Allen and Mandy had to develop some good communication skills to ensure they could work and live together in that tightly-confined space.

Mandy said she’s a verbose storyteller, and she’s often describing their adventures on their Facebook page called Beulah Beluga Adventures. You can connect with them there. They also have a YouTube channel.

Today’s episode is brought to you by the featured employers at Workamper.com These Workamper employers have taken the extra step to share some photos and detailed information about their Workamper programs with you.

Opportunities exist for solos, couples and families, whether they are full-time, part-time, seasonal or even long-term jobs. Some are income opportunities and others involve volunteering at locations throughout the United States. Go to www.workamper.com/fe to meet the featured employers today.

If you are an employer seeking to hire Workampers, then you can learn how to benefit from year-round recruiting by becoming a featured employer. Visit www.workamper.com/fedetails.

That’s all for this week’s show. Next week I will be talking with someone from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about what sounds like an amazing opportunity to spend some time volunteering at a wildlife refuge along the coast of Oregon. I’ll have more details on the next episode of The Workamper Show. Thanks for listening!

The post Allen and Mandy Hallengren describe their Workamping adventures in Episode 301 appeared first on The Workamper Show Podcast.

Today is a special day for The Workamper Show. We are releasing our 300th episode. It’s quite a milestone for our five-year-old podcast. We will celebrate the occasion with a special show about finding the ideal Workamping job.

Today’s episode is actually hosted by Jody Anderson Duquette and her husband, Luke. They became the owners of Workamper News a few years ago when Jody’s parents retired after running the company for about 15 years.

The entire focus of the Workamper News operation centers on helping RVers to find great jobs, as well as helping employers to connect with people looking for those jobs.

So, Jody and Luke are going to have a discussion to offer tips for finding the ideal Workamping job. They have identified 11 steps people can take to follow a path from looking for work to actually landing a job.

The 11 steps they identified to find and secure a great job will be a tremendous help for anyone who wants to travel and enjoy a more adventurous life.

The Workamper News organization has truly changed the scope of RVing for the better. When I first started working in the RV industry in January 2000, the average age of first RV ownership was 65. That’s because people usually retired and then went RVing.

Today, the average age when people buy their first RV is 45. That’s because the former Workamper News magazine, and now the Workamper.com website, opened the door for people to afford to travel while they were still young enough to enjoy it.

There are literally thousands of jobs available every year to people of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels. Most are paid positions, but some are volunteer opportunities.

Two features of Workamper membership that literally pays for themselves are the Awesome Applicants Resume Builder and the corresponding Awesome Applicant Resume Database.

The resume builder guides people through a step-by-step process to create effective resumes that provide exactly the type of information employers are looking for and in places where they expect to find it.

The resume database allows employers to scan all the resumes submitted by Workampers to search for people with specific skills and interests. It has become such an effective recruitment tool that some employers never advertise their jobs anywhere.

They simply scan the database and extend invitations directly to Workampers encouraging them to apply. As a result, Workampers who don’t have their resumes in the database miss out of some great opportunities.

If you are not a Workamper member, I encourage you to check out the membership options by visiting www.workamper.com and clicking on Join in the upper right corner. It will cost you nothing to try out all the features and benefits for a full 30 days.

Do you have more questions than answers when it comes to the Workamping and RVing lifestyle? If so, listen to the free Workamping Q&A videos to get your questions answered.

Each video answers questions submitted by folks, just like you, who are learning about the RV lifestyle, just getting started, or have been Workamping for a while.

The videos cover topics like what kind of Workamping jobs are out there, what do these jobs pay, tips for writing your Workamper resume, questions to ask an employer, what type of RV is best, how to get your mail as an RVer, and much more!

Listen to detailed answers now by watching the videos at workamper.com/answers. In the description of each video, you’ll find a list topics that were discussed so you can quickly jump to the answers you want to hear.

That’s all we have for today’s special 300th episode of The Workamper Show. I’ll be back next week with an interview of a couple who are relatively new to the RVing and Workamping lifestyle. I’ll have details on the next episode of The Workamper Show.

If you like this podcast, please consider leaving a review wherever you download the episodes. Thank you for faithfully listening to this show for more than five years!

The post The steps to finding your ideal Workamping jobs in Episode 300 appeared first on The Workamper Show Podcast.