Top 3 Part-Time Holiday Jobs Students Should Look For

By Allie Mitchell on October 19, 2016

The holiday season is just around the corner, or if you are one of those early people then you have already been ready for the holiday season months in advance. The weather is slowly changing over and new movies for the appropriate season are airing every night and you can’t wait for the relaxation factor to set in.

Then you realize there is one thing that every student looks into for the holiday season, especially when there is no school to hold you back: a job. Not a full-time career job, but a low key part-time job that will give you that extra cash to help you spend on whatever you want or need money for.

Of course depending on where you work, the job can be fun and upbeat or long and stressful. Honestly, it really is mostly how you look at it and the mindset you go into it with.

When searching for a job, you have to say to yourself, honestly, how desperate am I? Do you want a job, just to have it, or do you want a job that you will enjoy for the short time you will be working there? Picking a job just to pick it may not always be in your best interest. The job gets old fast and your motivation and likelihood to come to work starts to decrease rapidly by at least day two.

Believe me, I have witnessed it and felt these feelings myself. Always make sure you are looking for a job that will make you at least a small amount of happy. Ideally, jobs are everywhere, but actually getting hired for a job is another thing.

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If you are just getting into the job market, your resume may not be looking so hot when you go to submit it for jobs. And sometimes being overqualified for a low-qualification job can also hinder you. Make sure to not apply too quickly and take your time when looking at jobs and looking into what fits best for you.

Although, when it comes to holiday jobs, unless it is a specific type of internship or something school related, the pickings in the seasonal job market are usually all the same.

Retail: Oh, the lovely choice of being an employee in a retail store. I know this life all too well and I can honestly say the experience you have will depend on who you work for, the friends you make, and what you personally make of it.

If you DON’T like working with people, then you will not love retail whatsoever. Sometimes it can be a great experience, sometimes it isn’t. I’ve had both experiences. You will make a good number of friends, if you are a decent social person, which will help you get through the tough days. In all honesty, when you are strictly working retail during the seasonal hours, you will have so much work to do that you won’t have too much downtime to begin with.

Fast food: Yes, everyone dreads having to ever work at a fast food place. I have had friends even say that the last place they would work would be a fast food establishment. Truthfully, I don’t find anything wrong with them. Sure, depending on the location the place could be in bad working conditions, but for the most part it really isn’t so bad.

Working in a fast food joint shouldn’t be beneath anyone; if you can eat there you could most certainly work there. Don’t knock something that you may have to do one day. You never know. Sometimes certain places give out scholarships and grants; looking into those sorts of things could do everyone some good.

Server: When you sit down at a restaurant and you see that person taking other people’s orders, well that could be you if you apply to be a server and get the job. Being a waiter/waitress isn’t a dream job and it takes a good bit of responsibility, especially when you have large party tables and everyone expects you to remember their order right.

You will most likely have to know some form of the menu, just in case someone asks you questions about it, and your check will probably not be wonderful, so you will have to slightly rely on tips. But in reality, I’ve had a good bit of friends work as servers and they didn’t mind it so much. Yes, some people are terrible tippers and you just have to get over that and maybe the next holiday season you will choose NOT to be a server again, but hey, at least you can say that you tried it out.

Working can be great experience and whether you loved the experience or not, it helps you add something to your resume. Let’s be real, isn’t that all that students really want?

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