THE LIFEGUARD STORE STAFF WRITER Lifeguarding looks and sounds like a fun and easy summer job, but it takes more than the right swimsuit and a love for swimming. Lifeguards need to undergo hours of training and cultivate a significant skill set to do the job right. Lifeguard training programs include certifications for lifeguarding, first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) use. Whether you visit an indoor pool, waterpark or outdoor body of water, the lifeguards on duty are trained to keep you safe while you are in the water. The chance of drowning at a beach patrolled by lifeguards is one in 18 million. What kind of skills equip trained lifeguards to do their job and save lives? Learn what it takes to do this job and how these important life skills learned as a lifeguard can transfer to the rest of your career. Skills Learned as a Lifeguard Lifeguarding may be a seasonal job, but you will learn a lot of worthwhile skills during training and on the job. 1. Teamwork Teamwork is one of the most valuable job skills learned as a lifeguard. You can learn to work with others in nearly any other job environment, and teamwork takes on a greater role when the safety of others is on the line. You will learn how to work in tandem with your fellow lifeguards to perform rescues and life-saving skills like first aid. There are many angles to watch and manage at a pool
or beach. You need to work together to make sure all of those angles are covered and the people in the water are safe. You also rely on your fellow lifeguards to keep the pool, waterpark or beach where you work running smoothly. Together, you will accomplish all of the daily tasks that keep your workplace clean. Collectively, the lifeguards on staff create a cohesive, responsible unit. 2. Communication Communication is a skill closely tied to teamwork. As a lifeguard, you will learn how to communicate as a team, but you will also develop communication skills by interacting with all of the different people who come to your place of work. You will need to talk with the adults and children who come to swim to help keep them safe by enforcing the rules. They might have questions for you, or you might need to direct them on what not to do near and in the water. Clear, effective communication is an essential part of being a lifeguard, and you will hone this skill over time. As a lifeguard, you will communicate face-to-face, and you may also learn how to communicate over the radio or by using hand signals and flags. 3. Leadership You do not have to be the head lifeguard to develop leadership skills. No matter where you rank at your workplace, you will be asked to step into some kind of leadership role. You will be in charge of a certain section of the pool or the beach by yourself. The longer you work as a lifeguard, the more opportunities you will have to enhance those leadership skills. You might be asked to help onboard new lifeguards or monitor more high-traffic areas of the water. If teaching
