Study: One-in-Five Employers Seeking Holiday Help

Posted on November 10, 2007

A new study from CareerBuilder.com has found that one-in-five employers plan to hire extra help for the holidays. The study also found that among those who are hiring seasonal employees, 21 percent are increasing wages compared to last year with 41 percent offering $10 or more per hour. CareerBuilder.com gave these examples of season help type of positions.

Retail - stores are adding salespeople, cashiers, greeters and stockers to handle the extra rush.

Hospitality - restaurants in popular holiday destinations are staffing up and hotels and resorts are looking for ski instructors, hotel clerks and housekeepers.

Customer Service - companies are augmenting their customer service staffs to handle increased gift orders and returns.

Office Support/Clerical - across all industries, offices need temps to prepare for year-end reporting and to handle the workloads of vacationing employees.

Transportation and Delivery - delivery drivers will be in high demand as consumers continue to increase online shopping.

Rosemary Haefner, CareerBuilder.com's Vice President of Human Resources, offered the following tips and suggestions for people seeking seasonal work.

Be Flexible: 40 percent of employers said the inability to work certain hours is the biggest turnoff when considering candidates.

Show Enthusiasm: 34 percent of employers said a lack of enthusiasm on the candidate's part will likely leave them unenthusiastic about your application.

Be Knowledgeable: 9 percent of employers said a candidate who knows nothing about the company's products or services is less likely to be considered.

Don't Discount Yourself: 7 percent of employers said acting more interested in the employee discount than the opportunity will work against you.