The Benefits and Drawbacks of Working a Seasonal Job

Seasonal employment turns out to be a good source of extra income for many people. Although some believe that being employed during the holiday season may ruin their resume leading employers to think of them as unreliable, seasonal employment has a great number of benefits that can actually make a resume stand out.

In particular:

Benefits of seasonal employment

* Making extra money

Working during holiday season may be hard including extra shifts or working overtime, but the truth of the matter is that you can make really good money. Even if you do a seasonal job to supplement your income from your full-time employment, earning extra money is always a great idea, especially during holiday season that you need to buy gifts and spend more money as well.

* Acquiring work experience

Instead of sitting on the sofa and devouring seasonal sweets, it is far better to work as a seasonal employee in a retail store and acquire work experience. Any job is a chance to learn new things and acquire new skills. Especially, if you are a teenager and you need to show a full resume after graduating from college, seasonal employment is a great opportunity to gain experience and hone your skills on the job. You may even acquire some training and be certified for it. Your future employers will appreciate that as well as any transferable skills you may acquire such as working with customers.

* Maturing through work

Most of the people who seek seasonal employment do not have working experience. If you are a teenager, you have a great opportunity to mature through work and feel responsible for yourself by earning your own money. Besides, by going to work you build confidence to yourself and you develop a sense of responsibility. After a while, your character is shaped up and even through seasonal employment you have the chance to grow working habits and mature.

* Deciding on future employment

Often, seasonal employment serves as the basis to decide on what career you would like to follow in the future. By trying a particular job during the holiday season you are able to try out a job you are mostly interested in and decide if it is right for you.

* Finding the job of your dreams

If your seasonal employment is what you really like to do as a living, you can even turn it into full-time employment after the holiday season is over. All you have to do is show professionalism during seasonal employment, enthusiasm to undertake more projects, eagerness to learn as much as possible and make sure to let your managers know you are interested in following a career in the particular position. If you are really good, you are very likely to be hired as a full-time employee after the holidays are over.

* Building your resume

By working seasonal jobs you can build an exceptional resume. Employers will see that you are a determined candidate who is not wasting break time, but rather prefers to work and acquire new skills. You can even gain a competitive edge by mentioning on your resume or cover letter how you have matured through seasonal employment. Also, seasonal jobs work as a great source of references for future employment.

Drawbacks of seasonal employment

* Seasonality itself

Seasonal employment is subject to seasonality. This means that demand for seasonal employees tends to have its peaks and low periods. This seasonal pattern is also affected by a cyclical demand pattern, which changes regularly based on how many seasonal employees are required by employers during holiday seasons. The level of demand depends on the time of the year, i.e. the season. However, although it is expected that during Christmas holidays or summer season more seasonal employees will be needed as extra help, some employers choose to carry out the extra amount of job with one or two extra employees instead of three or four that they would normally hire during a holiday season. It is also a matter of how the economy performs. In unstable financial times, it is less likely to see seasonal employment rate rise.

* Seasonal employment stays seasonal

Most of the seasonal employees do not manage to turn their seasonal job into full-time position. When the holiday season is over, employment is over as well and they have to wait for the next break (Christmas, summer, or spring break) to be employed in any seasonal job and earn some extra income.

* Low wages, no job benefits

Seasonal employment may offer some extra money or a great supplement to your full-time employment, but you get no benefits at all. You just get a minimum paycheck, but you don't get insurance, medical care, retirement and so on.

Overall, seasonal employment is a good way to acquire work experience, network with people, build your resume and eventually earn some extra cash for the holidays. Before making the decision to apply for a seasonal job make sure you know the benefits and the drawbacks of seasonal employment in order not to expect more than you can be offered.

Sources:

http://mirandavandekuyt.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/11-benefits-of-seasonal-employment/

http://www.snagajob.com/seasonal-jobs/top-8-reasons-to-get-seasonal-job.aspx

http://www.cvtips.com/career-choice/the-pros-and-cons-of-seasonal-temp-work.html