If you are the kind of skier who dreams of snow when the weather drops below 50 degrees and you start waxing your skis at the first sign of frost, you have probably already thought about heading to the Alpine Mountains for some of the best skiing in the world. And, if you have already skied the enchanting Alps, you've probably wallowed away many a snowless hour daydreaming about heading back to Europe to live the slope-side life.

Thousands of jobs are available each year in the Alps, including positions as sales managers, ski instructors, bartenders, tour group leaders, ski lift mechanics and marketing directors. But even though there many positions available, your job search may not be a smooth run on a bunny slope. If you don't have European citizenship or some cash on hand to get started, you could face some icy patches.

When it comes to seasonal work, timing is everything. Most recruiting takes place between July and October, so it would be good to start your Internet search then. If you plan to look for work by showing up in a ski-town and networking, try to arrive by mid-November. If you show up in December, you can expect to pay exorbitant prices for your lodging. If you do get there late in the season, you may be able to find work filling in for mid-season dropouts or staying past the spring and helping with off-season work.

The good news for ski resort job seekers is that human resources directors are relying more heavily on the Internet for recruitment. Jay Blatherwick, director of recruiting at Simon Butler Skiing, an instructional ski holiday company based in the United Kingdom, says she has done almost all recruiting this year over the Internet. While all ski instructors must be certified in whichever country they intend to work, Blatherwick emphasizes that anyone interacting with tourists should also be "approachable, chatty and have a professional demeanour."

Although there are thousands of jobs in the Alps, most employers do not want to go through the hassle of securing working papers for seasonal employees. Allan Mullin, proprietor of Jobs in the Alps, a British employment agency specializing in placements in the Swiss, French and German Alps, explains, "We appeal mainly to students who have studied languages." But unfortunately for Americans, Jobs in the Alps only hires people with either European Union or Swiss working papers. "For Americans, work-wise, it's difficult," Mullin says.

If you are the kind of skier who can't be stopped, but you don't have working papers, there are other ways to make your dream come true. For instance, Kevin Pata, 24, worked as a tour group leader in Cortina, Italy. He had been living in Rome for about six months when he went to Cortina to visit a friend and ended up staying. His job search was pretty straightforward, since he was one of only four Americans staying in the small town. There was a tour company there that catered to English-speaking tourists. "Nobody in Cortina speaks English," says Pata. When he went in to ask about employment, "They were basically like, 'why didn't you come sooner?'"

For Pata, working meant going to Venice to meet the tourists at the airport and taking them to their hotels in Cortina. "I would do a little presentation, tell them about the town, answer their questions." He also led tours of Venice, backcountry terrain, and local historic sites for interested tourists. "It was a lot of fun. Everyone has a great time, because they're on vacation," he says.