Holiday Hiring: Jingling All The Way To Your Wallet

If you want a little “jingle” in your pocket this holiday season, its time to prioritize your job hunt by streamlining your overall strategy, revamping your resume and honing your interview skills.

The Search

It’s only September, but many companies are already in the midst of hiring. As you begin to search for the perfect holiday/seasonal job, consider the type of business you want to work for, the roles businesses are hoping to fill and how many total roles the company needs to fill.

Target Corporation TGT was among the first major companies to advertise the need for seasonal help. For the first time, Target will host hiring events at all store locations on October 14 and 15.

In line with its traditional holiday hiring strategy, Target will initially offer the seasonal jobs to their current employees. However, this should not deter outsiders from applying, because the entity anticipates hiring nearly 80,000 additional workers to be placed at stores, distribution and fulfillment locations throughout the country. Most positions will be part time.

Related Link: 34 Million Americans Have Already Started Holiday Shopping

The Resume

The Interview

Target Chief Stores Officer Janna Potts expressed the corporation’s anticipation for hiring in a recent press release.

“We can’t wait to welcome new seasonal team members on board to help us make the holidays extra bright for our guests,” Potts said.

Macy’s Inc M plans to closely mirror its 2015 hiring strategy. The retailer hopes to enlist another 83,000 employees to be placed at Macy’s or, its subsidiary, Bloomingdale’s. Positions will be located at department stores, shipping facilities, and call centers. Friday is the company’s national hiring day.

Khol’s Corporation KSS has similar staffing needs. The corporation plans to add approximately 70,000 team members to help meet the holiday season demand.

Toys “R” Us anticipates hiring more than 10,000 employees to fill seasonal staffing needs in five of their biggest markets. As detailed on the company’s website, Tim Grace (executive vice president, global chief talent officer) is enthusiastic about the holiday season.

“Parents and gift-givers look to us during the holidays to deliver magic to the kids in their lives,” he said.

“There’s not a better time to be part of our company – it really is the most exciting time of year for our stores and distribution centers.”

Related Link: Expected 4% Retail Sales Gain This Holiday Season Is Bad News For Large Retailers

Like Target, Toys “R” Us will host hiring days. It designated October 10 and 11 as hiring days.

Want to work from home during the holidays? Consider Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN. The online retailer is hiring customer service associates this holiday season in select states, including:

• Arizona.
• Colorado.
• Delaware.
• Florida.
• Georgia.
• Kansas.
• Kentucky.
• Michigan.
• Minnesota.
• North Carolina.
• North Dakota.
• Ohio.
• Oregon.
• Pennsylvania.
• South Carolina.
• Tennessee.
• Virginia.
• Washington.
• West Virginia.
• Wisconsin.

Additional work-from-home opportunities with the company are available in other parts of the country as well.

United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS is really going through a hiring heat wave. The company plans to fill approximately 95,000 roles. These jobs include package handlers, drivers and driver-help.

Last year, more than one third of UPS’ seasonal hires transitioned to full-time employees. The company expects a similar transitional trend this year.

When writing or revising your resume in preparation for applying to a part-time holiday job, remember to keep a clean and streamlined format throughout. A page or two is typically a sufficient length. Stick to one page if you find yourself struggling to fill the second. Less is more in a circumstance such as this.

Your name and contact information is typically centered at the top of the document. Remaining details should be left aligned with headings in bold labeling each section — education, professional experience and, if applicable, volunteer work or other relevant activities such as extracurriculars.

Be sure to opt for a readable, professional font such as Times New Roman or Arial. While the centered heading listing your name and contact information need to be slightly larger, all other content should be typed in 11- or 12-point font.

When deciding which experiences to list on your resume, choose those that are most recent and relevant to the role. Detailing management, leadership, teamwork and quantifiable, measurable results is important. Use active verbs emphasize listed examples.

Related Link: 5 Things To Do Today To Ease The Financial Burden Of Tomorrow

Just go in there and own it. Carry yourself with confidence, not arrogance — there’s a difference. Consider what you have to offer and channel that to essentially brand yourself.

If you are taken aback by a question, don’t be afraid to ask for a few minutes to pause and think. You might even bluntly tell the interviewer that you are a little nervous because you want the job and simply need a few minutes to collect your thoughts or start your response over.

Most interviewers ask the interviewee if he/she has any questions at the end. IT IS NEVER GOOD TO SAY YOU DON’T. Be sure to have four to five questions prepared to ask at the conclusion of the interview. Posing questions shows that you did your research. There is no need to ask all of the questions you brainstormed, but having more than you need gives you an arsenal in case you forget one, the interviewer happens to answer your question in general conversation before you even pose it or you have an opportunity to ask a few in the middle of the interview.

Remember that the interview is also an opportunity for you to get to know more about the company and the team you might be working with, so approach it like a conversation. This is especially important for phone interviews as a back-and-forth dynamic becomes necessary to ensure you keep the interviewer engaged. Lack of face-to-face conversation means that you don’t truly know if the interviewer is sitting at his/her desk listening intently to or cleaning out his desk and tuning in sporadically.

When answering questions, rely on the Situation, Task, Action and Results — or STAR method. This framework allows you to provide concrete responses and evidentiary support of your skills. Open your answer by describing some background, then parlay into the issue you needed to resolve, how you resolved it and what resulted from it. Even if the results were negative, detail a positive but honest angle about the situation. For example, you might mention that you gained insight to tackle a similar problem even though the situation did not turn out as well as you hoped.

Here is an outline of a possible STAR scenario:

• Situation: While working as a sales representative at XYZ store, women’s retail revenue was declining overall.
• Task: You had to compile a new sales strategy in order to revive demand.
• Action: You collaborated with your team members (remember highlighting teamwork is great) to reconfigure the setup of the retail space as you believed having the women’s retail section at the front of the store might draw more attention and propel customer purchasing.
• Results: Sales do not jump much after shifting merchandise, but you are able to dismiss your original theory and move onto the next. You decide to work with the marketing team to draw up a customer survey. From that survey, you learn that the reason for the drop in sales is because customers believe that they can find similar items for less. While it may have taken more time than planned, you were able to eventually find an answer.

So, if you want to sing carols with a little extra cash in your pocket this Christmas, start that job hunt!

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