Forget your corporate CV
A season CV is not the same document you'd send to a graduate scheme. Seasonal employers don't care about your degree classification, your predicted A-level grades, or the fact that you "worked well within a team environment" at a management consultancy.
They care about three things: Can you do the job? Will you stick it out? Are you someone they'd want to live and work with for four months?
Your CV needs to answer those questions in one page.
The format
Keep it to one page
This isn't optional. Seasonal employers are reviewing dozens of applications. They'll spend 30 seconds on yours. One page, clean layout, no filler.
Lead with availability
Put this right at the top, under your name:
"Available for chalet host roles, French Alps, December 2026 – April 2027."
This immediately tells the employer you're a match for their timeline. It's the single most important piece of information on your CV.
Structure
1. Contact details: Name, email, phone, nationality, age (standard in the season world)
2. Availability statement: Role, location preference, dates
3. Key skills & qualifications: Food Hygiene, driving licence, first aid, languages, STCW (for yachting)
4. Work experience: Most recent first. Focus on transferable skills
5. About me: 2–3 sentences. Why you want a season, what you bring
Making no experience sound like experience
Reframe everything
You've probably done more relevant work than you think. The trick is framing it in terms that matter to seasonal employers:
- Retail: Customer service under pressure, cash handling, working to targets
- Pub/bar work: Hospitality experience, working evenings and weekends, dealing with difficult customers
- Babysitting/nannying: Childcare experience (directly relevant for chalet nanny roles)
- Cooking for friends/flatmates: Catering for groups, menu planning, working to dietary requirements
- University society events: Event management, teamwork, organisation
- Volunteering: Reliability, initiative, working without supervision
Be specific
Don't say "I have excellent communication skills." Say "I served 50+ customers per shift at a busy pub in central London." Specifics are convincing. Vague claims are invisible.
The cover note
This is where you win the job
For first-timers especially, the cover note matters more than the CV. It's your chance to sound like a real person, not a template.
Write 3–4 paragraphs:
1. Who you are and what you're looking for. "I'm a 22-year-old from Bristol looking for my first chalet host role this winter in Méribel or Val d'Isère."
2. Why you want to do a season. Be honest. The mountains, the lifestyle, the challenge. But show you understand it's hard work, not a holiday.
3. What you bring. Transferable skills, relevant qualifications, your attitude. "I've worked in customer-facing roles for three years and I'm used to long hours on my feet."
4. Commitment. "I can commit to the full season from early December to late April."
What NOT to write
- "I just want to ski for a season." (Everyone does. That's not a selling point.)
- "I'm a hard worker and a team player." (Show it, don't say it.)
- Generic templates where you've only changed the company name. Employers spot these instantly.
Common mistakes
- CV is too long: More than one page means you haven't edited ruthlessly enough
- No availability dates: The employer doesn't know if you're a match
- Photo in formal business attire: A friendly, natural photo is fine. A suit-and-tie headshot looks out of place
- Listing every GCSE: Nobody cares. Include your highest qualification if it's relevant, skip the rest
- Typos and formatting errors: Print it out and read it. Then get someone else to read it. A sloppy CV suggests a sloppy worker
One more thing
Make sure you're discoverable. Having a great CV is important, but many seasonal employers find candidates rather than the other way around. Create your PeakWave profile with your availability and skills, and let employers come to you.