5 Tips to Find a Seasonal Job in College

By Uloop Guest Writer on October 24, 2016

By: Kim Costa, Job-search coach at Snagajob

Bio: Kim is a job-search coach for Snagajob! She’s a Certified Professional Resume Writer and a Certified Employment Interview Professional. When she’s not helping with job searches, she can be found hanging with her hubby, Matt, and puppy, Belle.

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In between studying school projects, studying for finals and packing up to leave home for winter break, getting a job for the holiday season might be the last thing on your mind. But, if you are planning on working during your school break you need to find space now to fit it in your schedule.

The majority of seasonal positions will be filled by November and the earlier you start searching the more opportunities you’ll have. Then you can get back to things like studying.

Each year Snagajob surveys employers who are hiring for the holidays to find out what you need to do to make sure you get hired quickly. Great news this year. Over 90 percent of employers say they are planning to hire extra help for the holidays!

Here are five things you should do NOW before the holiday break actually starts:

1. Check with previous employers.

Fun fact: Over 80 percent of employers plan on rehiring employees for the holiday season. This means you need to contact previous employers to see if they need any additional help during the season. There’s a really good chance they’ll be happy to hear from you and could add you to their staff right away.

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Don’t limit your search to where you worked last holiday season, think about where you worked during the summer or while you were in high school. Even if these employers don’t remember you specifically, they can look up that you used to work there and will appreciate that you’re already trained on their system.

2. Follow up on your applications.

Following up on job applications is very, very important. It’s a big mistake to apply to jobs and then think there’s nothing else you can do. In fact over 90 percent of employers say that they find it impressive when job applicants follow up. This shows them that you are taking your job search seriously and would make a great employee.

And following up is easy. Simply call, email or go in person and ask for the hiring manger. Explain that you applied online and want to inquire about the status of the position. Be prepared to be interviewed on the spot! Bonus points if you dress professionally.

3. Start applying even if you can’t start right away.

You might be thinking that starting your search now is a waste of time since you technically can’t start working until school gets out and you’re back home. You’d be wrong. Just because employers are hiring for the season, doesn’t mean they need you to start working right away.

More than anything, employers want to have their staff in place so it’s one less thing they have to think about when it comes to extra holiday traffic. Feel free to reach out to places you’re interested in working and explain your situation but that you’d like to apply. There’s a good chance that the employer will just interview you over the phone and add you to their roster so you can start your first day back.

4. Keep your nights and weekends free.

I know it’s your college break and you need time to unwind, catch up with friends and just relax before the next semester kicks off. Trust me, I’ve been there. But employers are really looking for people who can work those hard to fill shifts — nights and weekends.

They actually tell us that having an open schedule is more important than previous work experience. So while it may be really tempting to tell the employer you can only work Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., you’ll be doing yourself a disservice and they might just hire someone instead who could work when needed.

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5. Let your personality shine.

The holiday season is all about the shopper. Employers are looking to hire people who can handle stressful and busy situations with a smile. In fact, having a positive attitude is the number one thing employers look for in their seasonal hires. If you’ve never had a job before this could really make you stand out from the competition as a great employee.

So what are you waiting for? Start your holiday job search today.

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