Job hunters can always find work with entertainment and media retailers who sell games, music and video-related products. Works schedules are highly variable, but retail workers seem more than willing to put up with an ever-changing schedule to take advantage of special employee discounts of 10 to 30 percent offered by some companies. A few retail giants even keep seasonal employees after the holiday rush to help with returns and store inventory.

Seasonal Jobs

In 2010, Toys- R-Us operated 600 Toys-R-Us Express stores in shopping centers across the country and expects to fill at least 1,500 seasonal jobs for Christmas. Discount retailer Kohl’s hires additional cashiers, freight and stock clerks each season. UPS employs hundreds of delivery drivers to transport seasonal packages nationwide.

Job duties and qualifications vary by employer. Retail duties range from greeting and helping customers to ringing up sales and replenishing stock. Candidates applying to UPS must be able to work in a fast-paced environment, be able to carry up to 70 lbs., pass a DOT exam and have a driver’s license.

Tips to Land a Seasonal Job

Keep an open mind about the types of jobs you are willing to take. People are far more likely to find job opportunities when they are receptive to learning new skills and working in different settings. Apply for as many jobs as early in the season as possible. Retail stores aren’t the only companies who need help at Christmas.

Check out local organizations who hire individuals for Christmas light displays or gift wrapping. Look into nearby companies that maintain call centers for customers who want to order and send gifts.

Find ways to keep your spirits up throughout your seasonal job search. Human resources managers consistently cite a positive attitude as the number one characteristic they look for in job candidates.

Maintain a flexible schedule as many employers require seasonal employees to work evenings, weekends and holidays. Seasonal jobs are ideal for teens and college students. Parents with demanding family and work schedules will have to evaluate how they can fit an extra job into the mix. Be honest with yourself and your employer about how many hours you can commit to the position.

Search our seasonal job board for hundreds of positions that are updated daily. The perfect seasonal job is just a click away.

During the holiday season, many stores hire seasonal workers due to the increase in business. This is perfect for people looking to work for a short time in order to make extra money for school expenses or for Christmas presents. Whether you are a college student, a young adult, high school student or a stay at home parent, you might want to consider applying for such a job. Even if you have a day job, you might want to pick up some extra evening and weekend hours during the holiday season to help pay for expenses or just to get ahead on some of your bills. If you are looking to whittle down some of your credit card bills, you also might want to think about applying for a holiday job.

Competition for holiday cashier jobs can be fierce. In order to get the job you want, you need to know a few tips. First of all, you should apply to each and every store that is hiring for the holiday season. The greater the number of job applications you fill out, the greater your chances for getting a holiday job. If you get job offers from several companies, you can pick and choose which ever job pays the best or has the best hours. Until that time, you need to stay focused on getting hired.

When hiring for the holiday season, managers usually pick people who are friendly, helpful and outgoing. If you want to get the job, you need to show these qualities during your interview. Of course, it is important to dress appropriately for the interview too. If you show up for the job interview wearing cut off jeans and flip flops, you probably will not get the job.

Flexibility is another important quality that managers look for when hiring for the holidays. Because they need cashiers to work during special sales and other events, a manager usually will want to hire someone with a flexible schedule. In addition, they want to hire a team player who is willing and able to help out during emergencies. For example, if you can work a shift if you get the all at the last minute or change your schedule to cover a shift for a sick employee, chances are that you will get the job.

What are you waiting for? Start looking for a holiday cashier job today!

The best city to find a holiday job, with 5,831 job openings in 2010 is New York City. This might be expected since it is the largest city in the United States, but many large cities do not necessarily create jobs. San Antonio, for example, with its 2 million residents only had 921 holiday job openings. Following New York is Washington D.C., with 4,681 holiday jobs offered in 2010. The third best city is Houston, with 4,276 jobs. The fourth best city is Los Angeles with 4,090 holiday jobs in 2010, and finally the fifth best city is Chicago with 3,448 jobs. If you live near these cities, you might be in luck for the next holiday season, as many retail an transportation jobs will open up to help cope with the increase in shopping and shipping.

Just like there are cities with great holiday job potential, there are also cities with very bad holiday job potential. If you live near these cities, it will be extremely difficult for you to find a holiday job. Except for maybe a family connection with a business owner, be prepared to embark on an extensive search for a holiday job this season. The worst five cities, from the least worse to the very worse, are Louisville, KY, San Antonio, TX, Austin, TX, Memphis, TN, and finally, Jacksonville, FL. Combined, these five cities only had about 4,060 jobs available for the holidays. This is still less than Los Angeles, which ranked at the #4 spot.

The most important things to remember in order for you to have the best possibilities of finding a holiday job, regardless of what city you live in or near, is to be flexible with your work hours and accept any job that you are given. If you make a good impression, you are likely to be offered a job if you can be depended on at any hour and accept being paid minimum wage. Right now, the economy is in a tough spot, so take the opportunities that are given to you and make the most of what you have!

A great resource can be right at ones fingertips. If a business employees any part-time workers, they may be willing to increase hours during the holidays. Often people are buying presents and wanting more money for their families needs, more hours may be welcomed. Post signs and draft helpers for overtime and extra hours. While one may not get any willing participants, one may and solve the seasonal staffing problem before it starts.

Another big mistake that most employers make is they wait until the last minute to start new employees. While it might take a little hunk out of the budget, start them in September. The last thing an employer needs is a massive holiday rush and someone who doesn’t know how to run the register. By training these employees for at least 45 days before the stampede, one will be able to avoid aggravated customers from poor customer service.

October through January are the usual months that seasonal employment is obtained. Start early, do not wait until October to start looking for help. Experts suggest to begin putting out feelers as soon as August. Since the job pool can be slim in some areas, it is likely an employer will be bombarded with resumes. By collecting a nice group, you will have a great selection.

References are the most important thing when dealing with employees. Check and recheck previous employment histories. The last thing an employer needs is a employee who is not dependable or worst case scenario, steals them blind. The holidays are a crazy time and employers need people who can hold up under pressure. This may require working late and coming in early and working weekends. By checking previous job performance one will be able to see a proven track record. When looking for the perfect employee, one needs to look at their schedule. Finding someone who flexible will be worth their weight in gold.

While it is not always easy to find the right employee, it can be done. Often seasonal employees lead to full time staff for excellent performance. Many companies find their permanent staff, by their superior customer service skills displayed during the holidays. Finding the right person will be easier than in times past, with the use of the internet and job boards. To make sure this holidays season goes off without a hitch, design a plan and ensure that the business is covered for this busy time of year. By getting a head start, ones business can be ahead of the competition this season.

UPS - UPS always needs lots and lots of extra help during the holiday season. If they don’t delivery each and every package to every single house, then who will!? Every winter, UPS looks to hire Full Time Seasonal Package Delivery Drivers. UPS is high up among the top hiring holiday retailers.

Kohl’s - Kohl’s is in “hiring mode,” as people like to refer to it as. Each and every year, they hire hundreds of cashiers and store clerks during the holiday season. They need people to unload all of the packages and prepare the supplies for the workers in the store. And more importantly, they need to find giddy people to greet people with smiles on their faces and to process people’s purchases the right way.

Toys R’ Us - Being one of the biggest toy stores in New York, it’s probably obvious that they’re extremely crowded during the holiday season. They’re packed on a daily basis, so you can only imagine how crazy it is in there during the holidays. They have over 1,500 seasonal job listings for the holidays. They look for stock room staff, cashiers, store clerks, anything you can imagine.

Target - Target is a store known as the “everything store”. From clothes, to accessories, to food, to furniture, Target has it all. Target is another store that is packed on a daily basis, so you wouldn’t even believe how busy they are during the holiday season. With hundreds of seasonal job listings for Target, they can still never get enough help for all the business they get.

Those were just a few of the top hiring holiday retailers. There are many more, and I’m sure if you look into it you will find way more than you will expect. Just check it out for yourself. You’ll be surprised at what you will see. The difference between seasonal job listings, and just normal job listings, is unbelievable.

One of the first things that a job seeker can do to increase their chances of finding the job for the holidays is to begin his or her search early. Many times the companies will conduct hiring interviews in the month of October. They may host large job fairs and try to hire people as quickly as possible to insure they will be trained to meet their business needs. It may prove to be beneficial to spend some time in September researching the companies that are of most interest and polishing up the resume to send to companies that the job seeker has a interest in. It never hurts to send the resume or complete the application early so that the company will have it on file when they begin calling applicants.

Keeping your options open will also increase your chances of finding a job. Many times restaurants and other businesses in the service industry will hire additional staff to handle their increased business during this time of year. Packing and shipping stores are sometimes overlooked during job searches, however they do have more business during this time of year and may have positions that are open.

Being able to work flexible hours can also be of benefit as well. The whole reason that companies hire temporary help is to have the employees available to meet customer demands. Some of the hours that they may most need people are evenings and weekends. In some situations they may only be hiring on a part time basis, however business needs can change and you could end up with full time hours.

At the end of the season you may be given an exit interview. This is a great chance to sit down with the hiring managers and discuss what you liked about your position. You can use this time to let them know if you would like to be considered for regular employment if positions open. You can also find out the policies on being rehired for the next holiday season. It is important to leave on a positive note as you may need to use the company you worked for as a job reference in the future.

Start by looking at some of these choices:

Gift wrapping is a popular job that anyone can do. Customers will bring the gifts to you and either wait for you to wrap them or they will leave them and come back. It is a good idea if you are a neat person because customers want to have their gifts wrapped nicely.

Jewelry stores often want help during the holidays because of all the sales that they have. Sales of rings and necklaces increase during the holidays because men like to get the special woman in their life something nice. Employees will show customers the types of jewelry the store carries and assist them in trying on rings and other items.

With all the parents buying gifts for children, toy stores need extra help during the holiday season. Customer service skills are a must and it helps if you know how to put toys together for the parents who want a toy to take home.

Another great job for the holidays is a store Santa.  Santa is needed on every street corner during the holidays, so as long as you have the jolly belly and can wear a white beard, this job is for you.

Teenagers and adults can pick up some extra cash during the holidays by babysitting for parents who need to finish shopping or who may have parties that they are invited to. Babysitting jobs are mainly on the weekends and in the evenings, but if you are a dependable babysitter, the parent may continue to use you after the holiday season.

People who like to bake can make money during Christmas by making cakes and cookies for all the parties that people have. There seems to be a party every night of the week, and especially on the weekend, during the holidays. Everyone loves cakes and cookies at Christmas, so why not benefit from it and provide your baking services. Word of mouth works great if people like what you make. Everyone will start calling you to make cakes for them and our business can take off from a simple holiday order.

Holidays are a time when people are looking for work to get those extra gifts for children or who may need the extra money for bills. Check with local malls and stores to see if they are hiring. If you do a good job, then maybe you can land a permanent position.

Start your search for your summer job as early as possible. This means finding out when the summer camps, beaches, restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions in your area begin to hire seasonal help for the upcoming season. It could be as early as the end of the previous season. If you miss the hiring season, then it will not matter how well you interview or how well formatted your resume is.

Use the internet to start your summer job search, and compile a list of possible places and jobs that you would like to have for the following summer. Brainstorm different summer jobs that you are qualified for, so that you can make this list as long as possible. You may know that you want to work for a certain sleep away camp as a camp counselor or be a waitress at a tony country club, but those locations may not have their job listings available yet. You can still conduct your summer job search, since you may not land your first choice summer job.

When it comes to actually landing your summer job, you have to apply for it. You can either go through the traditional steps of applying for the position or, if you know someone on your own or through a connection of yours, then you may be able to leverage that relationship to improve your chances of landing that job. While you may be one of hundreds of applicants for a position as a lifeguard this summer, if you know someone who already has a position working at that country club or swim club, then you may be able to stand out. Telling someone that you are interested in working at a company or summer camp can only help you to get hired.

Even if you do not know anyone, you can still get hired. Make sure that your resume is up to date with all of your certifications, such as CPR, and that it does not have any typos. Typos mean that you are careless, and with such steep competition for jobs, you cannot afford to appear less than on top of your game.

1. Lifeguard or swimming instructor.  Some basic training might be required, but you usually have good working conditions. Local options could include the department of recreation, a public park, or a private club. Apply early because it’s usually a popular choice.

2. Camp counselor. From day camps to overnight camps that last a week or more, there is something for nearly every interest. Get creative and explore non-traditional camps, especially if you want to utilize your special skills at arts or athletics.

3. Seasonal retail employee. Many types of stores experience an increase in customers during the summer. Malls are popular sources of employment, since regular store employees might be taking vacation time, and busy back-to-school sales start in the summer.

4. Amusement park, resort, or entertainment venue employee. There are a number of possible positions, from ticket booth attendant to ride operator to food vendor, and you may be eligible for discounts and other employee advantages. Contact the hiring manager and find out how your talents match up with their open positions.

5. Childcare provider for school-aged children. Since working parents need care for their kids when they’re out of school, you could market yourself as a cheaper option than summer camp. Full-time nannies often experience special perks such as tagging along on family trips. The job usually requires at least some childcare experience, depending on whether you’re doing only occasional babysitting or applying to be a nanny or an au pair.

6. Tutor. If you’re good at a particular academic subject, consider tutoring other students. Many of them seek extra help during the summer to prepare for classes or exams. If you have experience with foreign languages or standardized tests, for example, your skills should be in high demand. There are many in-person and online tutoring jobs available.

To find summer jobs in your area, check out online job sites, some of which are designed specifically for teens or college students. You could also look in the local classified ads. Take the initiative to contact potential employers, rather than waiting for the right opportunity to fall into your lap, since the most popular summer jobs will fill up first.

The first step is becoming a lifeguard is to take a course that teaches how to become a lifeguard. These are usually offered at local swimming pools through the YMCA or the Red Cross. The key is to find a course that is accepted by all areas in which the person could work. The Red Cross is one of the most distinguished companies to offer this course, however, there are a few other nationally accepted certifications and these are the:

* Starfish Aquatics Institute

* NASCO

Once the person registers for these courses, there are a few things that they are going to want to make sure that they have. The first is the endurance and stamina to keep up with these courses. Those that are in poor physical condition are going to find it hard to keep up with the training. And secondly the person must already know how to swim. The majority of times in order to make sure that the person is ready for the course, they must be able to pass the swim test.

The course will consists of not only physical challenges, but mental challenges as well. There are going to be several textbooks that the person must read and know by heart that are going to cover how to become a lifeguard through words. The person will be required to take tests on these in order to pass. For example, they will be tested on proper procedures on what to do if a person does come into trouble while in the water, the CPR test is a huge deciding factor on if the person becomes a lifeguard or not, and of course the actual physical test in which the person is going to be put in a mock situation and the teachers will grade them on how well they perform. Keep in mind that the type of environment that you will be working is going to dictate the type of course that you take. There are different settings in which the person can be called into, a beach, a pool, water park and so forth, and each has its own training for what to do.