We're asked those two questions a lot. We have many different jobs, and because it takes so much time to go through them on the phone (with hundreds of people), we've put together a page of short job descriptions. There's usually more to those jobs than what you'll find described there, but they'll give you the general idea. If you fill out an online application you'll also find a link that will open the job descriptions in a separate window you can refer to when it's time to list your top three job choices.

As to pay rates, they're the same for almost all positions. These are the rates paid to first year employees:

      $6.00/hour first shift;

      $6.50/hour second shift;

      $7.00/hour third.

There are some exceptions (Camping Cashiers, Event Staff, Parking, Sanitation, for example), but in most cases those are the basic starting rates, and most jobs consist of three seven- or eight-hour shifts over three days.

All festival employees also receive event t-shirts, a three-day concert wristband, and those who live 50 miles or more from the festival grounds can camp for free.

What are the shift times?

All the positions we have fit into two broad categories: Camping and Concert Area. Camping consists of Camping Staff and Camping Cashiers. All other positions are in or near the Concert Area.

There are three Camping Staff shifts:

      1 = 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

      2 = 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

      3 = 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

Camping Cashiers work in two 12-hour shifts:

      1 = 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

      2 = 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

In almost all cases there are two Concert Area shifts:

      1 = 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

      2 = 6:00 p.m. to closing (usually around 1:00 a.m.).

The exact starting time for some jobs will vary depending on how the area managers like to do things and which day of the festival it is (everyone starts early their first day in order to get signed-in, acclimated, ready), but those times are the basic rule-of-thumb.

As to the number of shifts (or days) people work, that varies too. In general, most Camping Staff people will start the day before the festival begins (when the campgrounds open), and put in either three or four shifts. Camping Cashiers also start the day before the festival begins, but tend to work two or three shifts (because 90% of camping passes are sold by the end of the second day).

Normally, all Concert Area Staff (first and second shift) will start the day the festival begins and work either two-and-one-half or three shifts (depending on the festival gate opening time).

If you apply and are hired, you'll receive information specific to your particular job's shift times. But this should give you enough of an idea about which box to check on the application when it comes to the shift you'd prefer to work.

What happens after I apply?

The first thing to know is there may be a lag between the time you apply and the time you hear from us. That's because we put the application online before we start the actual hiring process which has to do with the "seasonal" nature of festivals. We're working all the time to tighten that up but there could still be what seems to be a big gap between the time you apply and the time you hear anything from us (depending on when you apply, of course).

Our hiring process works like this: People who have worked at past festivals are hired first. Those people have until specific dates to apply for this year's festivals. After those "Hiring Priority" dates have passed we hire on a "first come, first served" basis, working through the applications in the (date) order they've come in.

If you've worked with us since 2005 and you're a "past employee in good-standing" your chances of being re-hired are excellent. If you're hired and we have an email address for you you'll receive an "early notification" email from us as soon as you're hired, and you'll recieve a "confimation letter" approximately two weeks before the festival (more detail on that below). But other than that you won't hear anything from us if you're hired.

If last year was your first year working with us that can be a little "unnerving," and it can take a little getting used to: You apply for a job you had the previous year but nobody calls or contacts you (for weeks or months) to let you know what's happening until you get an email (if you use email and if your email service provider's "SPAM" filtering software doesn't delete it) that tells you you've been hired, or your confirmation letter pops up in the mail two weeks before the festival. Like we say, it can take little getting used to. But the main thing to be aware of is if you're a Past Employee in good standing (who has worked with us since 2005), your chances of being hired are in the 99% range and it's a fairly "automatic" thing.

If you haven't worked with us before you'll also receive an "early notification" email and "confirmation letter" from us if you're hired, but someone from the Employment Office will call and talk to you about the possibilites before that happens.

When will I know if I've been hired?

If you enter your email address on your application you'll be notified within seconds of being hired. We send an "early notification" email to everyone who's hired (and call people who don't use email) to let them know ASAP so they can make plans. (We also send everyone a "confirmation letter" approximately two weeks before the festival via regular mail. That letter serves as employee's "ticket in" to the festival and contains the details everyone needs. The "early notification" email is NOT a substiture for the confirmation letter.)

You can also check your application's status at any time by going to to employment home page (www.festivalwork.com) and using the "Status Check" system. When you fill out an application we email you an "Application receipt" (if you have email, of course) that contains the information you need to use that system. So be sure locate and save that email someplace you'll be able to find it later when you want to check your app's status. That system will let you know if you've been hired or tell you where application's at in the process and give you a rough idea of your chances of being hired.

IMPORDENT: If you want to make sure you get that "Application receipt" and "early notification" note you need to make sure to put our email address on your email program's "allowed" or "white" list (addresses from which you want to receive messages - - messages you DON'T want blocked). If you don't do that, chances are 50/50 your email provider's spam filtering software will send it to your "junk" or bulk" mail folder (and delete it after a week or two). If you use web mail (hotmail, yahoo, gmail, msn, etc.) and you're not sure how to put us on that list check the provider's "Help" system. Or if you get your email via your local Internet Service Provider (ISP) give them a call and ask how that works or if they'll do it for you. The two addresses we use to communicate with people are:

info-at-festivalwork.com (replace "-at-" with the "@" sign)

hiring-at-festivalwork.com (replace "-at-" with the "@" sign)

While we let people know if they HAVE been hired we don't notify people that they HAVEN'T been hired. We just don't have the time or staff to do that. 2,500 to 3,000 people apply each year. We have 1,500 to 1,800 positions to fill, not a lot of time to do that, and things get pretty hectic. We have a tried and true system for handling it, but - because of "the nature of the beast" - the one thing we can't do is let everyone know if they haven't been hired.

The basic rule of thumb is, you'll definitely know if you're being hired because we'll contact you if you are and won't if you're not.

That may sound dumb, obvious, etc., but that's the way it works. If you've been hired for previous events you know what we mean and you know it actually works pretty well. But if you haven't, you will probably (naturally) be wondering, and - this is a Big Point - you may be tempted to email us to ask whether or not you've been hired. Please don't. We get Lots of emails to that affect, and the problem is we don't have time or staff to reply to them all to essentially say what we just said: "You'll know you're being hired if you hear from us. If you haven't heard from us it doesn't mean you won't be hired - you may well be - it just means we haven't made it through the pile of applications we've received ahead of yours... Thanks for writing."

The absolutely best way to get hired

Right after being a returning employee, the best way to get hired is fill out an online application here and then head out to Soo Pass Ranch (4 miles south of Detroit Lakes on Highway 59), come to the Employment Office (by the Ranch House), and talk to us. Chances are good you'll be hired then and there. (Call first to make sure the office is open.)

What happens after I'm hired?

In addition to letting you know via email or phone, we'll send you a "confirmation letter" that will list your position, shift, pay rate, what passes you'll be receiving, and fill you in on the other details you'll need to know (when to plan on arriving, where to go and what to do after you do, etc.). We mail them (via regular mail) two weeks before the festivals and they are very important. It's your "ticket" into the festival. If you're hired, be looking for it, and whatever you do, don't lose or forget to bring it with you! (If you're hired after they're mailed you'll be able to pick it up when you arrive.)

How old do I need to be to work?

As a rule, we don't hire anyone who isn't at least 18 years old.

We sometimes hire people younger than that, but in those cases, the person's parents are working (and they're usually people who've worked for us before that we know) and will be working with and supervising their son(s) or daughter(s), when they're working and when they're not.

Employee camping: How does it work?

There are three main things to be aware of when it comes to employee camping:

1) You have to live 50 miles or more from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, in order to receive an employee camping pass (some exceptions apply in areas on the edge of that circle).

2) There are designated employee camping areas within the campgrounds where we have employee camping. Everyone who receives an employee camping pass needs to camp in those areas.

If you're hired, and have friends who will be coming to the festival, but not working, and they have campground vehicle and camping permits, they can use those permits to stay with you in those employee camping areas, but you can not use your employee vehicle permit and camping pass to stay with them in their campground. If they have a campground vehicle permit (for any campground), you are welcome to purchase a camping permit for that campground and stay with them, but you can't "trade your employee passes" for other campground passes.

3) Anyone hired to work as part of the Camping Staff or as a Camping Cashier will camp or park (if not camping) in the campground in which they're assigned to work.

Those things are important to be aware of when it comes to making plans with friends you may want to camp with during the festival. It's also to important to be aware that Camping Staff and Camping Cashiers begin working at least one day before everyone working in "Concert Area" positions (non-Camping Staff or Camping Cashier positions).

Do you have a volunteer program?

We don't. We get this question most often from people interested in helping out with the 10,000 Lakes Festival. The main reason people ask is because the 10KLF is a "jam band" festival, and, at most jam band festivals, volunteering to work (paylessly), is the only way people can receive complimentary concert and camping passes.

Besides being one of the best festivals around, something else that sets the 10KLF apart is that its philosophy and policy has always been that the people who work to help it happen should not only get complimentary concert and camping passes, but a paycheck too.

Anyone who feels strongly about volunteering is, of course, welcome to decline to be paid. But the view at the 10,000 Lakes Festival is it's just not fair to require some people to work and NOT get paid, while others doing the same jobs ARE.

So if you're thinking you'd like to volunteer to offset the cost of the festival, just look over the job descriptions, apply for a job that interests you, and select the first shift. If you're hired you'll still be able to catch most of the shows, camp for free, AND you'll earn a little traveling money to boot.

Why do you require a deposit and how much is it?

The deposit amount is $250, and we require them because too many people "take advantage of the situation" if we don't. Everyone who's hired gets complimentary passes (parking or camping and concert passes) and before we started requiring deposits (of people who haven't worked with us before, or haven't worked since 2004) as many as one-out-four staff people didn't show up for work at all, or showed up for one day and then disppeared. And it's just too hard to run a festival (or anything else) when 25% of the people who are supposed to help it happen aren't there.

Why no calls before June first?

We mentioned this above but are reemphasizing it here because we really mean it. The Employment Office doesn't open until June first, and if you call before then your calls get routed to the Main Office and no one there can answer any questions about your application or the hiring process. So please, mark you calendar and hold off until June first before calling (218-846-1990).

What about questions not answered here?

If you haven't been able to locate an answer to one of those nagging questions on either this or the job descriptions page (or something doesn't make sense to you), drop us a note via the contact form and we'll do our best to clear things up for you.