Last Minute Tips for Completing an Online Seasonal Job Application

With the holiday season approaching around the corner, you may be looking for a job to make some extra cash. Seasonal employment is always a great way to make a few extra bucks so that you can buy holiday gifts for those who are special to you or perhaps you just need some extra cash because of all the social events that occur around that time. Either way, being prepared to apply for a job is a must.  If you have applied for a seasonal job recently, you may have noticed that a lot of businesses will require you to complete a job application online. Online applications can be challenging and knowing how to answer the questions they ask is critical. Here are some basic tips to know before you complete your next online application.

1) Have all your personal information handy

2) Do not take too long when answering questions, sometimes you're being timed

3) Use a common browser such as Internet Explorer or FireFox 

4) Try to complete your application in one siting 

5) When answering multiple choice questions that ask you to rate your level of agreement, try to side with the "Strongly Agree or Strongly Disagree" choices instead of agree or disagree when possible

Keeping these tips in mind will help you in completing online job applications. Keep applying and may you have a great holiday season! 

5 Tips to Obtaining PT and Seasonal Employment

This is the blog article I wrote for SJSU. The original article can be found: HERE

 Summer is right around the corner and you may be asking yourself what you can do to prepare for the summer job market. Seasonal employment is a great way to obtain your first job and it provides an opportunity to learn new skills. The Service industry (retail, restaurants, cafes, amusement parks, etc) often recruits in large numbers for seasonal help and can serve as an excellent career ladder.

Follow these FIVE tips for best results to obtaining part time and seasonal employment:

1) Open your availability

· A major requirement for seasonal employment is open or flexible availability

· You MUST be available when the employer needs you

In the service industry, this means weekends, holidays, and evenings

2)  Apply Early!

If you are applying for jobs in the service industry, for best results, apply the last week of April and first two weeks of May for summer employment and apply the last two weeks of October and beginning of November for holiday/winter employment.

3)  Be prepared to complete an online/electronic application

· Have all of your personal information handy

· Try and complete your application in one sitting

· Use common browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox

Online applications/assessments are typically timed; try not to take longer than 60—90 minutes

4) Your resume should list a summary of skills, experiences and qualifications that are practical to the employer, such as:

· “Available weekends/holidays”

· “Open availability/flexible schedule”

· “Three months experience working with the general public”

· “Six months experience of working in a fast-paced environment”

5) Your appearance matters.

· You should appear to look clean and well groomed

· The environment in which you choose to work will determine how you should dress

· In some cases, dressing in professional attire is appropriate while in others, it may be too dressy

· Look at current employees, your attire should be a notch up from theirs during the hiring process

Try to obtain a position that relates to your long-term career goals if possible, make the position your own and align it with personal interests. Networking is always a great idea to expand your number of contacts; another option is to create your own position, such as babysitting, dog walking, or helping out at a small business. Follow these five short rules for best results to obtaining your PT or seasonal job! Have fun, learn, and be confident, good luck!

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