The YMCA of Greater New York may employ great people but their Human Resources Department and their policies are FLAWED! - Camp Counselor The Y (YMCA) Employee Review

1.0
Aug 8, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You'll meet great people, make new friends, and overall have a great job experience that is invaluable for any future employment and endeavors you wish to pursue.

Cons

The Human Resources Department take advantage of people desperately needing a job by disqualifying people who can't pass a drug test(urine analysis/ Hair Test) or miss the deadline by one day all because a person has important obligations like school and not being able to commute to a Lab Corp facility due to not having access to immediate transportation going to school upstate. While they do a good job enforcing policies, they do not do what is in the best interest of the organization. They take the power of hiring people away from potential supervisors. The truth is that working for an organization like the YMCA, everyone is fending for themselves. Even if you're the best employee in the world, they would not defend you from Human Resources even if they're being unreasonable. Making a person with short hair take the hair test to scan for drugs is not only discriminatory but it's their way of weeding out prospective employees. If you get disqualified from the drug test, you're not even allowed to reapply for the position you applied for at all.

Explore other reviews about The Y (YMCA)

5.0
Jun 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great team and fun place to work

Cons

Not really any I can think of

3.0
May 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The team members/ coworkers and administrator (team lead) that you work with on a day-to-day basis are the ones who will make or break the experience. Obviously working with children, one must have patience, be flexible, creative - there are some days that test all of those skills! lol! But when you have a great teaching team to work with, your program can run like a well-oiled machine. I loved the time I had working with this program!

Cons

The pay is very low, I do understand with the YMCA being a non-profit, but at the same time when a position is responsible for young children, the pay should be higher than a fast-food chain, to attract and keep higher caliber staffing. - If you already work at a school, it's not a bad gig to make some extra money for coming in a few hours early or a few late. But if you are driving more than 5min, to work 2-3 hours for a ridiculously low rate I would say pass. I was not doing this for the money - I truly loved my coworkers and the kids that attended my school. Unfortunately, some of the other cons are: poor communication (very poor), lack of SOP's when it comes to how teachers should be handling situations for their own personal safety and unrealistic expectations (of us to do marketing, surveys collecting demographics, and pushing for financial donations). The last few things listed is what ended up driving me to resign.

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