I ran over to K-Mart the other day and saw/heard something frightful. No it wasn't ghosts, ghouls and scary sounds. I saw twinkling lights encircling many a tree while an instrumental of "Do You Hear What I hear?" played over head in their "seasonal" department. See? Scary—We're roughly four weeks from Halloween.
On a brighter note this means more opportunities for work. While the recently-released unemployment rate is 9.5 nationwide for Sept 2009, companies are starting to spend more money on expanding their business, which includes seasonal hiring. The holiday season is the busiest shopping time of the year and many companies are hiring starting now. If you're currently unemployed or are running out of unemployment checks, seasonal hiring can help you get through the next few months.
Seasonal jobs are great opportunities to not only make some extra cash but to also get your foot in the door for potential long-term employment. Think of it as networking that you get paid for: you meet new people, show the company and managers what you can do, and when it's over they have a real sense of who you are and what you can offer.
Many of these openings are part-time or full-time temporary, so you should check with your local unemployment office to see how this could affect any future unemployment down the road.
