The holiday season is just around the corner. The period between Black Friday and Christmas, is traditionally the most lucrative sales period of the year for retailers. While companies hire workers all year round, there are some that have a lot more opportunities seasonally.

The U.S. Labor Department data shows that employment in the retail sector typically swells by 450,000 workers over the holiday shopping season, while warehousing and delivery adds 350,000 workers. Those are the primary drivers of the seasonal hiring surge.

All this means there are a variety of seasonal jobs available, now we'll help you understand how to find one. 

Most popular types of seasonal jobs

• Retail - holiday shopping is one of the biggest drivers for volume hiring. Retailers are usually looking for managers, cashiers, floor sales associates, curbside pick-up workers, store sanitizers, etc.

• Warehouse - warehouses often serve physical stores and e-commerce, meaning this is the busiest time at this type of workplace. It's common to find part-time and full-time positions for several shifts for jobs like material and package handlers, stock clerks, forklift operators, general labor, etc.

• Delivery - all those thousands of online orders need to be delivered on time, so companies hire more drivers and helpers at this time of the year.

How to find seasonal jobs

• Know what you want - Understand the type of job that would be more suitable for you, define what hourly rate is acceptable to you, what hours and days you're available, what type of tasks you're comfortable to do, etc - this will help you have more focus on your search.
• Start early - don't wait till December, start your job search in October/November.
• Job boards - check the most popular job boards like Indeed and ZipRecruiter. If possible, set up job alerts so you don't miss out on any opportunity.
• Be available for job interviews - these hiring processes tend to happen fast, so once you apply for a position, make sure you always have your phone with you and that you're checking your emails. You may get a job interview a lot sooner than expected!
• Be professional - you might just see a seasonal job as something temporary but it can also be an open door to join a company you always wanted to work at, and get a more permanent position depending on your performance. In other words, don't treat it like it's not going to be a "real job". Always be committed, whether a job is temporary or not. Remember, you're building your professional experience too.

Although many companies are being more conservative on their hiring this year, several employers are planning to add more workers to their workforce. UPS is looking to hire 100,000 workers, as it did in 2021. Target is also matching last year’s goal of hiring 100,000 seasonal workers. Shiftfillers works with a range of prestigious companies in the U.S. supporting them on their hiring needs - if you're looking for a new job, don't forget to check out our available opportunities and apply today!