JOIN THE TEAM
We aren’t actively hiring at this time but welcome applications as we are always on the lookout for great people.
Read on to find out more about TimeTrap, as well as our application process.
TIMETRAP –
OUR STORY SO FAR
TimeTrap Escape Rooms have been creating immersive escape room experiences in Reading since June 2016. The company was founded by Andrew and Katie (the happy faces above), who met at the University of Reading. They wanted to provide the town with more to do, something that was tangible, experiential, and a place that would draw people from all over the country. Being massive escape room enthusiasts themselves (having now played over 200 rooms each), they wanted to provide experiences with high-quality aesthetics, immersive storylines and unique puzzles that raised the bar.
Starting with two pop-up games, TimeTrap moved into a permanent venue in 2017, and have called 11 Friar Street home ever since. During this time, the team has gone on to win a Pride of Reading Award, two industry recognised Golden Key Awards and amassed over 1,000 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor. Andrew and Katie have also had the privilege of speaking at the UK Escape Room Industry Conference in 2018 and at the European Industry Conference, in Amsterdam, in 2019.
Since 2019 the business has been expanding into creating bespoke escape room-style experiences for others through ‘Imaginarium Design’.
Previous work includes:
SAW: Escape Experience London (Lionsgate Entertainment)
Build Your Own LEGO Escape Room (Dorling Kindersley)
Pip & Pearl: Planet Protectors (Arts Council England)
We now have a wonderful team of 10+ people bringing TimeTrap to life. The majority of the team are based at our Reading venue and see that the day-to-day running of it goes perfectly. There are also opportunities for everyone to be involved in additional projects, depending on their skillset. As we grow further there will be more responsibilities to take care of and the possibility for dedicated members of the team to take on new roles.
Think you’d like to join the team? Keep reading on for what working for TimeTrap could mean for you, and our application process.
WORKING FOR US
Joining the TimeTrap team means joining an exciting and pretty unique small business in an indisputably fun industry. It means joining a truly lovely team of people who are genuine friends and work seamlessly together in a flexible and relaxed workplace. It means joining a company that will evolve based on your contribution and in which you can really pave your own path if you are committed and inspired. It means acquiring managers/company owners who want to inspire you and who know that the team is TimeTrap’s biggest asset and therefore invest a lot into it.
You will be thoroughly trained to meet our high standards in any responsibilities you’ll be given. You’ll be welcomed by everyone and create great relationships with the rest of the team through our regular team events and trips (including visiting other escape rooms, of course!) You’ll be supported personally and professionally whenever you need it. You’ll be listened to, you’ll laugh a lot and you’ll feel pride often.
We think TimeTrap is an awesome place to work but don’t just take our word for it! Check out Tegan, Dan, Trisha and Rachel’s blogs for an insider’s perspective on life at TimeTrap, what you can look forward to and how we can help you develop.
Read on for specifics about the roles we are hiring for.
EXPERIENCE MAKER
What is the role?
Experience Makers are the face of TimeTrap, running the experiences for our customers. The majority of the role is based around this and is supplemented with involvement in maintaining current experiences and creating new ones – depending on the strengths of each individual.
You’ll be involved with some or all of the following:
- Meeting, briefing and debriefing guests in an enthusiastic and engaging manner
- Monitoring guests during the experience and using your initiative to assist them when needed
- Resetting the experience perfectly
- Contributing suggestions for upcoming experiences or how to improve current experiences
- Working on the physical build and implementation of new experiences
- Maintaining the experiences and keeping the building clean and tidy
- Creating written, spoken or pictorial content
This role pays an hourly wage ranging from £8 – £10.50+ per hour, increasing depending on experience and age. We are recruiting for part time positions initially, with the potential for more hours based on performance. Our opening hours are 11:00 – 22:00, Monday – Sunday and so working hours take place during these times the vast majority of the time. The role will include working weekend days and late finishes in some form.
Who are we looking for?
If you’re specifically interested in our company and contributing to its growth, rather than just looking for a fun job, you are who we’re seeking. In terms of qualities, the most important thing is that you love people, love giving people a great experience and are confident and enthusiastic making engaging and appropriate conversation.
If you’ve got previous experience at an escape room or in customer service, that will be great, but not essential as long as you can show you have the qualities we’re looking for. If you also have an interest in escape rooms or gaming/puzzles/immersive experiences, that’s great too and it may dictate exactly what your role with us will entail, but is also not essential.
Ideal new TimeTrappers will have creative but accurate English language skills, a great sense of timekeeping and staying on schedule and be comfortable with technological equipment. It’s also important you can use your initiative, think effectively under pressure, adapt and are conscientious. We love people who are self-starters, can maintain an understanding of the bigger picture they are working within and remain attentive and focussed for reasonable periods.
It would be a bonus if you also have additional skills and it will certainly shape your role if you do. For example: DIY skills, sewing skills, illustration abilities, set-building experience, workshop-leading knowledge, performance experience, administration or organisation experience, Photoshop or similar computer programme understanding, proven abilities in acquiring sales, or experience in electronics or coding.
We are not cool with excluding anybody from our team, but an integral part of the job requires that you be able to climb flights of stairs, lift and move a range of objects around, crouch, stretch etc. throughout the day, so we have to ask that you be capable of this. Please contact us if you need more information about this or you think you may be capable of joining the team despite this.
When customers or clients visit or engage with TimeTrap, we want them to have a memorable experience. Show us you can help deliver this with a memorable application – don’t be shy, we’re creatives!
Please answer the questions below and send to katie@timetrapescaperooms.com with the subject ‘Experience Maker Application’. Please also attach your CV, including the name, email address and phone number of a reference we can contact.
Before we ask you questions about yourself, we think you should know a little more about us, TimeTrap’s co-founders. We’ve built the team from a range of people with different abilities and interests, but they all have the TimeTrap spark and we’re on the look out for more people who click with us.
So, we are Andrew and Katie. We’re both in our mid-20s and alumni of the University of Reading. Andrew is a proud Welshman, lifelong supporter of Reading Football Club and lover of music, craft beer and dogs. He is also an exceptional baker (although he wouldn’t agree!) Katie is from Kent; she loves history, stories, almost all kinds of puzzles and eating Andrew’s cakes. She has a passion for design, especially interior design and architecture. We are a couple as well as business partners and we are currently renovating our house. We both play drums, love the countryside and have a Labradoodle puppy called Pippin (aka Professor Pooch). Oh, and we both love escape rooms!
Q1 – Now you know a bit about us, tell us about yourself…
Q2 – Why are you interested in joining the TimeTrap team?
Q3 – How would a current or past manager describe you? How would your best friend describe you?
Q4 – What additional unique skills could you bring to any aspect of the role?
Q5 – What do you think matters more to keep a conversation going – to listen, or to talk?
Q6 – Describe a time when you were asked to perform a task that went against your values. What did you do? What was the outcome?
Q7 – If you were going to start a company who would you choose as your co-founder and what would their attributes be?
Q8 – Have you played an escape game? If so, which one, what did you think of it and how would you have improved it? If not, describe your ideal game? (Whether you have or have not played a game will not affect your application).
Please also provide the following information:
a) When would you be able/willing to start the role?
b) How many hours a week would you ideally like to work?
c) In terms of arranging your working days, which of the following would you be willing/able to take on? Please indicate all that apply even if they overlap:
- Every weekday
- Every Saturday
- Every Sunday
- Every Saturday and Sunday
- Every weekday and Saturday
- Every weekday and Sunday
- Every day
- Other: