Pros
Most of the time you work on your own so there is no competition between lifeguard to be the "top dog," which is good because I hate when you go to a pool and the lifeguard yell at you every 2 minutes. I just prefer to get through the day with making sure nobody gets hurt and everyone has fun. For the most part I just sit and relax in the shade (while watching the patrons of course) and when the pool is empty--which is most of the time--I read a book. Application process is easy. I honestly don't even know why there is one because they pretty much hire you on the spot. If you happened to get scheduled to work a day where you have something to do, they will try their best to trade days with another employee or try to split your shift. Oh! Also, they have pools everywhere so chances are you can be placed at a location really close to home (unless you tell them you have a car, then they really don't care and have you driving all over the place---they had me in Brooklyn one day and out in Nassau County the next, it was ridiculous).
Cons
Management is the problem with this company. I don't know if they are so understaffed because there are not enough certified lifeguards in the world or just because people can't take the company anymore and refuse to come back. I know I won't be coming back. For the most part you are just a glorified pool attendant/babysitter and its boring. They expect you to work basically everyday and even call you on your days off to cover somebody else's shift (this is no joke, I don't think there was one day that I was off that they didn't call me) and get all huffy if you can't. I once told them I couldn't work and they actually had their boss call me back and ask me to walk him through my schedule in order to explain to him why I "couldn't be a team player." .....this is not a joke, it actually happened. Also, the hours are absolutely ridiculous. On average, the work day is between 8-10.5 hours (imagine that 5 or 6 days a week) and even though you are allowed a 30min break for every 5hrs you work, you cannot leave the pool area. Essentially you are working through your breaks -__- It's miserable Also, payment is weird. They give you this Comdata debit card that's linked to their payroll and that is how you get paid. You can link the card to your personal bank account so it goes right in, so its not so bad. The problem is that even though Comdata has the option to view your "paystubs" online, American Pool doesn't use it so you never really know what you are getting paid for, if they're taking any money out and if the amount is correct. I don't feel like dealing with it so I just cross my fingers and hope it's right, but I could potentially be losing out on money. As far as your supervisors go, it's kind of hit or miss. For the most part your direct supervisors used to be lifeguards at the company themselves, so they're basically you're age. Which means professionalism isn't always present. It's also kind of awkward because you'll be working with someone you could potentially go to the same school as but they're on a power trip because they get to wear the fancy blue polo with the American Pool logo. Also, the office itself is kind of a mess. Nobody is ever really on the same page and whenever I call in to ask a question they have to put me on hold because they have to go find somebody else to help me. But sometimes their stupidity pays off: There was one time I showed up at a pool and the building manager told me that they had called the office and told them the pool was under maintenance so not to send the lifeguard. I called the office and they said they knew of no such thing and told me to wait there. About a half hour later they still had m waiting so I called back and asked what was going on. They told me they had to wait for the Property Owner to call back and hear it from him before they could legally send me home so to just sit and wait. So instead I went to the shopping center down the block and spent the next five hours doing some clothes shopping while they paid me to just wait for their phone call...not too bad for a days work. All-in-all they are not a bad company to start at. You get experience and whatnot. But chances are you won't stay there for a long time.
