Four tips to keep your holiday job all year
You may have set out on your seasonal job search knowing you were just looking for something to turn into a year-round job, or you might have discovered half-way through the season that you just really enjoy the work. It doesn’t matter what your reason for wanting to stay is, you’re going to need a strategy to make it happen. Strategy is important because many of the most popular companies out there still only plan to keep on around 10-percent of their seasonal employees after January.
Here are four tips that will keep you on the job long after the holidays are over.
Make time: When everyone is off for winter break, it’s not hard for managers to find people to work. When the vacation is over, day time shifts will be harder to fill. To keep your name in the running for a year-round position, you’ll need to make room in your schedule. Day-time availability is hard to come by, so if you’ve got it you’ll be a hot commodity.
Expand your horizons: Sometimes sticking around is just a matter of differentiating yourself from the competition. What better way than to give them two employees for the price of one. If you can learn how to do multiple positions by cross-training in other departments you’ll definitely stand out. You can start by answering simple questions for customers in the department closest to yours. Be sure not to stray too far, because you don’t want to neglect your actual job. Helping out other employees will get you on their good side and help you start the “so what else do I need to know” conversation. You’ll be able to demonstrate your ability to learn new skills quickly and make yourself look better in the process.
Play nice: Don’t let yourself become just another face in the crowd of seasonal employees. Make friends, get to know people, introduce yourself to managers. When the hiring managers are trying to make the difficult decision about who to keep around, they’ll ask the people who worked closest to you for their opinion. You want to make sure their opinion of you is a good one.
Plan B: No matter what you do, there’s always a chance you’ll come up short. Since there are no guarantees, you’ll want to have a back-up plan. You can start by scouting out the competition. You’ve already got valuable skills to add to your resume that are nearly identical to what similar companies will be working for. You can also keep in touch with former co-workers and managers, and check in with them periodically throughout the year about any available opportunities.