'Tis The Season! How To Quickly And Effectively Secure Holiday Employment

iStock | Gorgots

‘Tis the season for seasonal work. If you’re looking to earn an extra buck or two over the holidays, the time to lock down a seasonal job is now. Businesses are ramping up for the end-of-the-year economic juggernaut  and staffing up is priority one. On Indeed.com, over 289,000 jobs come up when you search “seasonal worker” and it is only September. As the holidays approach, that number will ramp up and there will be a frenzy of hiring.

The rules for seasonal work are a bit different from those for a full-time, long-term career role. You need to start early, be aggressive, and consider the following recommendations:

1. Generalize your resume. “Revise your resume” is advice that risks killing the genuine desire to get a job, but in the case of seasonal work there are no shortcuts. You want your resume to be broad strokes. Remove specific objectives. Punch up general transferrable skills such as customer service. Employers want to know you’re competent, you will actually show up (on time), and that you will spend more time working than on your phone. This is a short-term arrangement, not a marriage; remove anything that is superfluous to the type of position you plan to pursue.

2. Go door-to-door. As you can imagine, there is a lot of competition for seasonal work. While there are no guarantees, the best way to quickly get a holiday job is to go door-to-door and hand-deliver your resume. Your goal should be to give it to the hiring manager. This gives you an opportunity to give them a quick pitch and allows them to put a face to your name. Regardless of who accepts the resume, be professional, kind, and thankful to everyone you encounter. Leave with the name of the person to whom you can follow up and their preferred method of contact.

3. Be ready for an on-the-spot interview. Another advantage of hand delivering your resume is you may be asked to interview right there and then. Be prepared. When you head out to drop off resumes, operate as if you are going to an official job interview. Dress to impress. Smell nice. Have minty fresh breath. Look and act professional. An impromptu interview may be more likely to go in your favor if you already look the part, which separates you from the (obviously much inferior) pack. Don’t get rattled. Answer every question with confidence.

4. Be as flexible as possible. If there is one code word for seasonal jobs it’s “flexibility.” A temporary employee who is flexible about their schedule, shifting duties, overtime, rotating supervisors, and will come in at a moment’s notice, is an employer’s dream. On your resume and in interviews, emphasize your flexibility. Can you work weekends? You’re flexible. Are you willing to rotate departments? You’re flexible. Will you bring doughnuts in on Fridays? That’s right. You’re flexible.

5. Follow up immediately. The regular job search process demands patience. Recruiters are overwhelmed juggling many open positions and hiring managers are focused on their day-to-day business duties. It takes time and both job seeker and recruiter/hiring manager should strive to see one another’s perspective. Job seekers are either unhappy in a current position or unemployed with its accompanying financial pressure. Seasonal work is no different. You want to cash in on the holidays and employers need extra hands and it’s all happening right now - and the window won’t be open for long. Your perspectives are the same and nobody is going to be penalized for following up on an opportunity in a couple of days instead of weeks.

6. Play the online numbers game. Once again, the best way to lock down seasonal work is to hit the pavement and drop off your resume in person. However, you may recall the 289,000 + jobs on Indeed. Some businesses require applicants go through an online process regardless of the job. Go to the job boards, search for “seasonal jobs” or “seasonal worker” or whatever the specific platform suggests. If you see an interesting opening and it does not require an online application, put it on your in-person list. If it does, do the online dance and play the numbers game. Apply to as many openings as you can.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Is Your Career AI-Proof? Preparing For The Changing Nature Of Work

iStock | hirun

There are a lot of strikes going on right now. The Writer’s Guild of America, The Screen Actors Guild of America, United Auto Workers, Airline Pilots, Hotel Workers, and Flight Attendants, to name a few. These strikes are not just about money. At the heart of these actions is an existential fear their professions are doomed.

Actors and writers fear Artificial Intelligence. Auto workers fear automation. Pilots fear self-piloting planes. Hotel workers fear they will be stuck in poverty. X workers fear the math won’t add up in their favor. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the future decline or growth of labor sectors down to the number (results may vary).

If you think you’re in a doomed industry, company, or position, be proactive, but don’t panic.

1.     Change is evolution, not revolution. Societal changes take time, including work. Think of a Town Crier, who yelled the news to whole villages as far back as ancient Roman times and as recent as every British royal announcement (and still exists as a ceremonial position and  bizarre sub-culture). Now we have the internet and, by last count, 5.18 billion town criers who can yell to the whole world 24/7. Did the job really disappear or did it transform little by little until it became social media? You have transferrable skills that you can use to skip along the lily pads as required by any major changes in your status (aka doom).  

2.     Time is on your side. Once again, be proactive, but don’t be sloppy. You have time to research, formulate a strategic plan, and make big decisions like re-locating or moving in a new direction. Take small steps if you need to, like updating your resume and LinkedIn profile. Those are great ways to see knowledge gaps (resume) and tell your professional story (LinkedIn). After that, raise the stakes by exploring opportunities in your area and beyond. Start make an honest data driven assessment of your job landscape and see where it takes you.

3.     Doomed doesn’t mean done. For example, COBOL. Nobody uses that anymore – that’s a dead language, right. The point is, plentiful COBOL developer jobs and positions may be a thing of the past, but people who know COBOL are still in demand, sometimes high demand. Those skills are still needed to maintain systems still running COBOL, update them, or migrate them to new platforms like cloud computing.

4.     Doom can be balkanized. Some professions may be balkanized. Here are two examples. Women’s reproductive health care professionals and bail bondsmen. In some states being a reproductive health care doctor, nurse, or worker is a very risky proposition and in some states it’s fine and in (increasingly high demand). In some states bail is now illegal and your chances of working as a bail bondsman is doomed, but in many states it’s business as usual so your industry hasn’t vanished, it’s just moved to another state. If you can move, you can find the markets that still need your skills and experience.

5.     You may be able work on a remote basis. When you think about the way you go about finding work, and for whom you will work, you may consider broadening your horizons. Your type of work may be doomed where you live, but there is still a robust need for your services elsewhere that places you in a leveraged position. If you haven’t considered remote work before, circumstances may dictate you seek out new ways to use your skill set and remote work can be a rewarding and lucrative option.

6.     Always Be Training. Training, training, training! If you need to learn new skills, learn new skills. Think of it as swimming or drowning. It’s going to end one way or another so you may as well learn to swim. Explore job transition programs and aid from local and state governments, or the federal government. For example, AI. Everybody is justifiably scared AI is coming for their job and they may be right. They’re probably right. However, AI isn’t coming for every job, but it will transform the way things are done globally the same way the personal computer did. People with advanced computer skills had an advantage and people who know how to use AI tools will have an advantage. There is time to learn them, but get cracking!

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Kickstarting Your Career: Why You Should Prepare Your First Resume Sooner Than You Think

iStock | Traimak_Ivan

Many people know early in life which direction they want their career to go, but it’s the rare soul that turns that knowledge into a professional resume. Even the most career-oriented student most likely doesn’t have a resume to use in applying for a college internship or, even more common, they procrastinate until they’re deep into their final semester before graduation (I admit nothing…). The arguments use to be that, typically, a resume wasn’t absolutely necessary until you were interviewing for your first post-graduation, full-time, professional job. That is no longer the case.

Some colleges now ask for resumes as part of their enrollment applications. Applying for any job or internship, whether during high school or college, has become more laborious, AI-driven, and in-depth. Basic information on a generic application is a thing of the past. Employers want to see resumes, LinkedIn profiles, job board profiles, social media accounts, and the details of any accomplishments that may differentiate you from another candidate.

When is it too early in your career to develop a resume? First off, dispel with the idea that developing a resume is a finite process that’s only necessary when you’re actively searching for a new job. A resume is a fluid living document that should be updated on a regular basis, and, second, you must be proactive in documenting your achievements in real time, ideally with measurable results as appropriate.

The earlier you start to develop a resume, the easier it is to modify and build into a professional document as you advance through the stages of your education and work life. You are the sole author of your story – and you must provide the details that give your story credence and authenticity.

Developing a resume in this way requires an advanced level of diligence whether you’re a high school student applying to a college or a senior executive at the top of your field. It’s a career-long engagement. Here are five things to consider if you recognize the future-thinking long-term benefits of resume development at an early age:

·      It is never too early to start developing a resume. Even if you’re a high school student who’s just completed your first summer job, the exercise of creating a basic resume with your one job on it means you’re ahead of the game and when the time comes when you need a resume it will be easier to update.

·      Document your achievements. This is probably the hardest thing to do. First, you have to remember to do it, and, second, you have to remember to do it. If you are disciplined enough, the best course is to keep a running journal of what you do in any given position. The more salient details the better.

·      Get the metrics. Now that you’ve remembered to document your latest work accomplishment, the best thing you can do to bolster your position is to include metrics. This can be tricky if you don’t have access to the kind of data that may help you. If necessary, request the data from the appropriate person as soon as possible. This is another important area where incremental changes to your resume is the best methodology. If you wait until you need a resume (e.g., termination, dream-job opportunity, moving to a city, etc.), willingness to share sensitive internal data, such as sales figures, may be non-existent.

·      There’s nothing like a good job appraisal. Many jobs – even part time roles or internships – have periodic performance appraisals designed to guide you to a higher level in your career. While many people hate writing self-assessments and appraisals are certain to include constructive criticism, the final documented appraisal can be a treasure trove of information you can mine for your resume. Take an appraisal process seriously and use it as way to get as much information as you can about the work you’ve done and its impact.

·      The fact you even have a resume at an early age is a great first impression. If you develop a resume long before you may even need one, it’s easier to update, it’s a stronger more impactful document, and instantly creates the perception you are an ambitious, career-oriented individual who takes their future vocation seriously. It will make a positive impression on savvy recruiters and hiring managers.

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 Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.