圣诞求职宜早不宜迟

    对求职者来说，目前的人才市场开始越来越有“圣诞求职季”的味道了。玩具反斗城公司（Toys R Us）几天前宣布，为了迎接圣诞，公司将招聘包括销售员、玩具展示员和仓库工人在内的45,000名新员工。梅西百货（Macy's）则计划为圣诞节招聘78,000名新员工，这一数字比去年增长了4%。根据芝加哥再就业行业巨头挑战者公司（Challenger Gray & Christmas）预测，在未来三个月内，季节性新增职位将达到620,000个。

    然而，这并不意味着其他零售商也将在圣诞节来临之际增派大量人手。例如，在本年度7月31日截止的上一季度里，大型鞋类专营店DSW（Discount Shoe Warehouse )的销售额呈现两位数增长，但其举措却十分谨慎。该公司并未准备招收季节性员工，而是计划在圣诞节期间安排现有员工加班。

    尽管用人单位对季节性招聘反应不一，但求职者的行动却比往年要早。临时工求职网站Snagajob的一项民意调查表明：近半数临时工作求职者（45%）在八、九月份就开始找工作了，另有三分之一（33%）的人称他们计划在十月份就开始求职。

    Snagajob网站首席执行官肖恩•波伊尔说，行动较晚的求职者将会面临一批强大的竞争者，他们拥有节日短期工作的经验。在调查中受访的约1,000名经理均表示，“53%的职位将提供给曾经合作过的假期临时工，”波伊尔称。“这一数字比去年高出八个百分点。”

    即便如此，“广泛撒网”的策略还是会给求职者带来更多假期临时工的机会。

    “要牢牢记住，在圣诞节期间，不光是零售商，所有的公司都需要额外的人手。所以要多尝试服务行业的公司、饭店、剧院和UPS这类物流公司，”波伊尔建议道。“同时，别忘了问问身边的家人和朋友是否有合适的机会。”

    坚持总有回报。“零售业的人员流动总是很频繁，其员工离职率也是所有行业中最高的，”挑战者公司首席执行官约翰•查林哲说。“也许今天走进一家店，他们刚好没有招人；而第二天再去，说不定就会有有人辞职，出现空缺。”

    那么，假日临时工转正成为长期雇员的可能性有多大？通过在Snagajob网站招聘假日临时工的玩具反斗城公司表示，在所有的季节性工作中，有百分之十的职位会一直延续到元旦之后。

    “百分之十到十五对于所有圣诞节临时工来说只是个平均数，”肖恩•波伊尔说。“要想从一名临时工成功转为正式员工，求职者应该在初次面试的时候就提出这一点。如果了解到你有这样的意愿，公司就会提供一些机会，观察和评估你是否适合他们的团队；而对于没有此意愿的员工，因为知道几个星期以后他们就将离职，用人单位也就不会多此一举了。”

    知道这些还不够，最好把整个假日工期当成一次“试镜，”他说道。“早去晚归，保持工作热情，主动承担别人不愿意做的工作和时段。作为新人，公司可能会安排你在夜间或周末上班，对于老员工不太乐意接受的排班，你要主动请缨。”

    令人鼓舞的消息是：尽管目前长期职位的竞争相当惨烈，但并不是所有的人都愿意在假日临时性工作岗位上一直干到新年以后。

    “有些人做这份工作是为了贴补圣诞礼物的支出。他们只会去特定的商家求职，如果应聘成功，他们就可以享受员工待遇，按超低的折扣价买到心仪的商品，”波伊尔说道。“例如，许多玩具反斗城的圣诞节临时工都是为人父母的人，他们并不打算一直干到2012年以后。他们只是为孩子们着想，当一回称职的‘圣诞老人’。”

    译者：富来细特\汪皓

    It's beginning to look a little more like Christmas for jobseekers. Toys R Us will add about 45,000 salespeople, toy demonstrators, and warehouse workers for the holiday season, the company announced a few days ago. Macy's (M) plans to bring on 78,000 people for the holidays, a 4% increase over last year's holiday hiring. Altogether, predicts Chicago outplacement giant Challenger Gray & Christmas, seasonal payrolls will swell by about 620,000 over the next three months.

    That doesn't mean all retailers are bringing more hands on deck. Discount Shoe Warehouse (DSW), for instance, saw double-digit sales gains in the quarter ended July 31, but is nevertheless stepping cautiously. Rather than add seasonal workers, the company plans to ask its existing employees to put in more hours.

    With such a mixed outlook, applicants are starting their job hunts earlier than usual, says a new poll from hourly-worker job site Snagajob: Almost half (45%) of those hoping for a holiday gig began looking in August and September, while one-third (33%) said they'll start in October.

    Applicants off to a late start face stiffer competition this year from those who have held holiday jobs in the past, notes Snagajob CEO Shawn Boyer. The roughly 1,000 managers in the survey said that 53% of their temporary hires "will be people who worked for them in past holiday seasons and are coming back," says Boyer. "That's an eight-point increase over last year."

    Even so, casting a wide enough net can boost anyone's chances of landing a seasonal gig.

    "Keep in mind that all kinds of businesses, not just retailers, need extra help during the holidays. So try catering companies, restaurants, theatres, delivery services like UPS," Boyer suggests. "Don't forget to ask around among friends and family members."

    Persistence often pays off. "There is constant churn in the retail industry, which has one of the highest turnover rates of any business," says John Challenger, CEO of Challenger Gray. "You may walk into a store one day and they're not hiring. Walk in the next day, and someone has quit."

    How likely is a holiday job to turn into a permanent position? Toys R Us, which recruits many of its employees through Snagajob, says that about 10% of its seasonal hires stay on past January 1.

    "Ten to 15% is about the average for all seasonal employers," says Shawn Boyer. "If you want to be one of them, start by mentioning that in your first interview. If the company is aware that you're looking at this for the long term, it gives them a chance to evaluate you somewhat differently than they would someone who will be gone in a few weeks. They'll be watching, in part, to see how good a 'fit' you are with their permanent team."

    With that in mind, treat your seasonal job "like an audition," he says. "Get there early, stay late, be enthusiastic, and volunteer for duties nobody else wants and hours nobody else likes. As the newest person, you'll probably be asked to work nights and weekends anyway, so put your hand up for those unpopular shifts."

    One encouraging note: While the competition for permanent jobs is ferocious everywhere these days, not everyone who takes a holiday gig wants to stay on past New Year's.

    "Some people are only there to make extra money to spend on holiday gifts, and they will apply only to places where they want to shop, so they qualify for those great employee discounts," Boyer says. "Lots of the seasonal workers at Toys R Us, for example, are parents who aren't interested in working there in 2012. They just want to be great Santas."