The complete guide to getting a Christmas job

Visit our free CV template page and download your perfect template to start your Christmas job hunt.

The Christmas period sees a huge increase in shoppers and with that brings the need for more workers. Lots of additional jobs become available and some of the most common sectors are the retailers, delivery jobs, and hospitality.

If you’re look for work over the festive period we are here to give you more information on what to look out for and how to earn some extra cash. Here’s our complete guide to Christmas jobs:

What type of jobs become available at Christmas? 

Christmas jobs

There are retail jobs aplenty at this time of year!

Every single shop and retail outlet will need extra staff during the Christmas period, so you could literally walk along the high street and hand out your CV to every shop you pass and expect to get an interview – from clothes shops to make-up and beauty; from fast food to games and much more. Every retailer in the UK will see a large increase in traffic and will want to give every customer the same service they would deliver at any other time of the year.

This increase in spending over the festive period doesn’t just stop with retailers, and even places like Royal Mail hire approximately 20,000 more people during this period. Lots of delivery jobs will naturally become available due to the huge increase in spending.

Companies like Amazon are a hugely popular place to order online not just for the Christmas period, so expect to see many jobs become available for delivery drivers. Another example would be Argos who can hire up to 30 more workers per store to help out with serving customers and stock within the warehouse. If you’re struggling to find jobs on the high street, try the recruitment agencies who will have retailers queuing for good workers at this time of year.

UK companies who are still hiring right now for Christmas include:

What skills are required to get a Christmas job? 

Busy coffee shop job

The ability to work under pressure and as part of a team are skills employers often need during the busy Christmas rush!

Lots of companies looking to hire more workers over the Christmas period are often looking for people who are punctual, hard working, have good communication and problem solving skills. Essentially, you don’t need a degree or specialist skills for most of the jobs that become available over Christmas, and even a lack of work experience shouldn’t deter you from getting your foot in the door.

Most companies are expecting to receive CVs from younger people and typically school leavers, so although experience is always desirable they will not turn away a great looking CV and someone who can demonstrate some of the foundation skills which would be expected of the average hard working employee.

One of the main things an employer will be looking for is someone who is not afraid to work very hard and who can work well under pressure during what would be considered the busiest time of year for retailers. Your CV should aim to demonstrate that you are the right person for the job, and even if you have little to no work experience you can still use your education to help convince an employer you have what it takes.

Look back at your school projects, coursework, presentations, and extracurricular activities and explain to the employer on your CV how this will transfer over to a workplace environment. Ultimately it will also come down to how well you do in the interview, and someone who is passionate and keen to work will come across well.

Visit our free CV template page and download your perfect template to start your Christmas job hunt.

What will I gain from a Christmas job? 

Christmas job benefits

Temporary Christmas work can be valuable work experience.

Although a job over Christmas will usually end come January, there is a lot to be gained from this part time endeavour. If you are a young person who has just left education and are looking for their first ever job, then the whole process of writing a CV, handing it to the manager, and attending an interview will be extremely valuable experience.

Even if you have a good amount of work experience already you will always benefit from the whole job seeking process as you can never practice enough. Most of us will only ever have a handful of interviews our whole life, so there are usually not a lot of opportunities to perfect the art of giving a great interview and any mistakes you make along the way you can always learn from.

If your curriculum vitae is quite bare of work experience then a Christmas job will help fill it out. There are also lots of skills to be learned and perfected with any role, and when it comes to getting better at working under pressure then you can’t go wrong with working over the festive period. We’ve all seen how busy the shops can get, and as an employee you may have to work long hours in this kind of busy and stressful environment.

There are many skills to be learned in any role, and working in a busy environment is just one of them. Working on the front line with customers is also a great way to gain confidence and valuable customer service skills. Being polite, helpful and friendly is not easy when it’s busy, and that’s exactly what a Christmas job will require of you so make sure you include examples of how you’ve demonstrated these skills on your CV.

What comes after?

Christmas job temp to perm

Christmas jobs can lead to permanent opportunities.

From time to time you will find that a company decides to offer a full time position to someone who has excelled during the Christmas period. It may be that your work has not gone unnoticed and although you thought the interview was over, the company may just have planned on keeping someone on all along and have been watching you very closely.

This is why it is so important to take a Christmas job seriously and give it your all. Christmas jobs can be a foot in the door and the opportunity to show prospective employers that you would be valuable to their team in the long run. Even if you are not offered a full time position you will have gained a fantastic reference for your CV.

“Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.” ~ Chris Grosser

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” ~ Wayne Gretzky

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