Seasonal Employment
Information on how to optimize your application process, plus a few on-line resources for job searching
I know, you want a real job, like where you go to work every day and have regular hours and benefits and vacations and a break room and everything. Well, if you are reading this, you probably do not have that. That means that you have time for a temporary job.
Seasonal jobs are so called because they are employment that is available only during certain parts of the year. A summer job is one type and the jobs available during the winter holiday season are of another type. One nice thing about temporary employment is that it can, sometimes, be followed by an invitation or offer to stay on with the company that hired you for just a few weeks or months.
The company for which I worked for twenty years has permanently closed the division in which I was employed, but they offer temporary employment during the holidays. Many companies do and I am certain that you can think of most of them.
Back to the company for which I worked...they offer seasonal or part/full time jobs to me all the time. Some come from corporate and some come from people that I know at lower levels in the company. If nothing else happens when leaving a company, losing or quitting a job, please make certain that when you do leave that the company and its minions remember all of the fabulous things that you did while you were there. And, the way to do that is to be that fabulous employee who is remembered for working hard within and beyond the basic requirements of their job description, and for the new and innovative things they did to make their actual job more productive.
It is worth mentioning that doing a great job is absolutely not the same thing as being the person in your department or division who does creates busy-work and non-productive things simply to make her/himself look like they are promotable or suitable for continuing employment.
In this thread I will be posting company information for seasonal employment. Many of the job placement agencies are also drafted to provide seasonal workers, so get going and get registered with them, as well.
Below are tips to help you, but first you need to find where those seasonal jobs might be.
Searching on-line provides your best opportunity for finding these jobs. You can use a browser to do a general search, but several of the many excellent job aggregated sites are:
Job Center of Wisconsin
You will have to register, and this site is chock full of great resources in addition to job searching.
https://jobcenterofwisconsin.com/
Wisconsin Jobs
http://wisconsin.jobing.com/
Indeed
http://www.indeed.com/
Yahoo Careers
http://us.careers.yahoo.com/
Monster
http://jobsearch.monster.com/?re=nv_gh_gnt1147_%2FLogin%2FSignIn
Simply Hired
http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/l-Racine%2C+WI
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Here are some tips on how to make application for a job in person.
To obtain seasonal employment, it is often necessary that you request an application in person, from the store at which you want to work. However, things change all of the time, and I am seeing ever increasing numbers of seasonal jobs listed on-line, with the requirement that application be made through that venue, on-line.
When you do make in-person contact, be as professional and informed about the company and job as possible.
Dress just the way you would if you were working there. When preparing to go out and ask for applications, think business casual. Leave your social or trend-driven clothing at home, jeans, t-shirts, sloppy shoes, sunglasses and hats. Try to dress the way the current employees are dressed. Being slightly over-dressed is preferable to being too casually attired.
Same goes for grooming.
Whether you are making application on-line or presenting yourself in person, be prepared with:
Correct information regarding all of your previous employment for the past ten years. Not all of the information that follows may be necessary for every application, but if you have it, you will be prepared.
You will need the information for your jobs of the previous ten (10) years: The name of the company, your supervisor/boss, the telephone number and address, as well as your job title or what you did there. And, that means every job.
Names and telephone numbers for your personal/professional references. Be sure to get their permission and let them know that you will be using them. References should be people who know about your work ethic and character from a professional viewpoint. You should do whatever you can to avoid using family, extended family, friends, neighbors. Best choices are supervisors from previous employment that did not have direct control over your work, people from your faith community (committees, work projects), supervisory-level people from volunteering you have recently done, or (if you are recently graduated) professors/teachers/advisers.
Many applications will request educational information. Have the name, city/state of your high school and any schools, colleges, technical schools or universities that you have attended.
A black ink pen
A clipboard or relatively stiff folder so that you can complete the application if another hard surface is not available. Do not hang around and try to find a counter or shelf on which to complete your application. Doing so will only place you in the way of the store's customers and make you appear ill suited to work there.
The chances that you will need, or be asked for, a resume used to be very small. Now, you will want to carry a few copies in that folder that you brought with you, just in case someone asks for one. It is perfectly acceptable to offer a copy of your resume and references sheet when you return the application.
Be polite. That means that you wait in line with the rest of the people at the cash register or service counters in order to ask for an application. Do not skip through the line and ask if they are hiring and just walk away. Trust me, you will be remembered should you return and actually ask for the application.
Smile and request an application. At this point you will be handed an application or told that they are not hiring. If the store is not hiring, smile and say "Thank you for your time." then take your leave.
If you receive an application, move out of the line and go somewhere outside of the store to complete the application. Please do not simply move to another location at the counter or in the store unless you are specifically invited to do so by the person who gives the application to you.
Complete the application. Be honest. Complete every question or section. If you do not know, admit it and write that. If it does not apply to you, write that, and an easy way to do so is to write N/A, which means non-applicable.
Return to the store with your completed application and rejoin the queue if necessary.
Hand your application to the person at the cash register or service counter, tell them that you are giving them your application, and ask if they would like a copy of your resume as well, then smile and say "Thank you".
Do not ask when you can expect to hear from them or other questions of that type. Well, I suppose you can, but be prepared to not take offense if they are not able to give you the answer you would prefer.
You may be asked to stay around to answer some questions or, if you are lucky, an interview. It all depends on how busy the store is, how fully staffed they are and who is there.
After the store personnel have had time to read the applications and check the references, they will begin to contact the people they might be interested in hiring. It is highly unlikely that they will contact anyone in which they are not interested, calling only those with whom they wish to schedule an interview. Please understand that it is an ineffective use of resources to contact every person who completes an application.
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An interview for seasonal/temporary employment is just as important as any other interview. Make sure that you are prepared to answer any question they may present to you. Read the interview tips sections here. Do some research about the particular store so that you can illustrate exactly how you would be helpful to their customers. It helps enormously if you are already a customer at the store. Simply shopping there will inform you of how they do things and what sorts of behaviors and initiative they require from their employees. During your interview, you will probably be asked why you want to work there. Have a good answer. You will also be asked if you have any questions. The reading that you have done in preparation for this interview will have given you examples of how to answer that.
Arrive at your appointment ahead of time and check in with the people at the reception/cashier/service counter.
When your interview is completed, stand, shake hands and offer a sincere "Thank you."
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