As the holidays approach, labour needs become significant to cope with higher traffic and with the many employees who are leaving on holiday. So retail stores, restaurants and lodging sites welcome young people, retirees and employees who want to profit financially from the holiday period.
WHICH DOORS TO KNOCK ON?
In these holiday times, shopping centres, shops and specialty stores are looking for salespeople to welcome the growing number of customers, cashiers-packers to package purchases, sales presenters to promote items to impulse buyers. Similarly, restaurants and lodging facilities hire employees such as waiters, barmen, table attendants, reception hosts, cleaners, dishwashers or delivery drivers. In addition to the specific skills sought for each of these positions, human qualities such as interpersonal skills and human relations skills are a plus. Employers are also seeking candidates that can offer some flexibility and a high level of availability, since schedules can be irregular and late. A tip: don’t hesitate to go to deliver your CV by hand, ideally to the store or restaurant manager if you arrive in the morning when traffic has not yet peaked, and present yourself along with references and your social insurance number.
WHEN SANTA CLAUS MEANS A JOB
The Christmas season produces an abundance of Santas who all appear more realistic than each other… A fascinating character for children, the role is not always easy to assume. What risks can you run behind a huge white beard and red suit? Having to answer hard questions from children who are more or less young who by their nature can draw out tears (“You come from up in the sky, can you bring back my mommy to Earth?”), make you go crazy (“I know you’re not the real Santa because you have a fake beard and it’s too thin… I don’t like you.”) or embarrass you (“How many elves did you bring with you?”). Since not everyone is able to manage such situations or keep smiling while setting aside their own anxieties, there is still the job of Christmas event coordinator: your job is organizing the ceremonies for lighting the Christmas tree and the Christmas parade, requiring major organizational abilities, management skills, mastery of social networks (Facebook, Twitter), abilities to communicate with various stakeholders, a very good sense of customer service and also the ability to perform tasks while respecting deadlines with great autonomy and no need of constant supervision.