Are you ready for a 2020 Christmas temp job?

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Some people make Christmas temp jobs a personal tradition. After all, the festive season has always been a good time to find temporary work, and this year is no exception - even if things are a little different.

The impact of the coronavirus lockdown means that there are far fewer hospitality roles up for grabs. And the usual vacancies for Santa’s elves? They’ll probably be shelved until 2021.

But the good news is that plenty of employers across the UK still need to fill temporary festive roles - both part- and full-time - as online retail and delivery sees a seasonal hiring spree. 

And with many people losing their jobs due to the impact of the pandemic, these roles could be a valuable lifeline as a stopgap until a permanent role appears. Let’s take a look at the type of vacancies popping up that could be perfect for you…

Helping the nation shop

Covid restrictions make it harder to shop on the high street this year, yet online retail is looking forward to its busiest festive period ever. After all, many more of us now need to head online to buy gifts and stock up on festive food and drink.

The result? Most major retailers are looking to ramp up their festive hiring for temporary workers so they can cope with the Christmas rush. These roles are either in stores, or as warehouse or delivery staff working in warehouse depots of distribution hubs up and down the UK.

There are also vacancies for customer support assistants in contact centres, helping customers with online orders.

Making special deliveries

Delivering parcels and presents is no mean feat in the run up to a normal Christmas. But with many more people shopping online during lockdown, Royal Mail is expecting a huge rise in online Christmas deliveries. And it’s recruiting for many thousands more seasonal temp jobs to help it cope with this logistical challenge.

As you’d expect from this kind of sector, there are plenty of opportunities to work as parcel sorters to help keep the mail system moving. Royal Mail’s parcel business Parcelforce is also looking for drivers and warehouse staff and general staff in its mail centres, distribution centres and data centres.

Take your pick 

At HR GO we’re helping a number of clients recruit the temp workers they need. A few of these seasonal roles include:

• Parcel sorters
• Home delivery drivers and couriers
• Retail assistants
• Online pickers
• Warehouse operatives
• Stock assistants
• Sales assistants
• Customer support assistants 

Turning temporary to permanent 

Seasonal work could turn out to be your path to a full-time job. But if your booking ends up lasting just a few weeks, there are still big benefits to draw on that can help you find a new role in the future.

Even a short contract gives you a chance to beef up your CV and grab a recent reference from your employer, plus make useful contacts who could be valuable in your future job hunt.

You’ll also boost your confidence and potentially learn new transferable soft skills like how to be a good team player and how to work effectively under pressure.

Many of the temp seasonal roles we recruit for at HR GO involve busy environments where there’s a lot going on, and getting on with colleagues is crucial. So if you can prove yourself in a temp contract this Christmas, you’ll be in a far stronger position to land a permanent role next year.

Get in touch for Christmas temp jobs

At HR GO we have lots of temporary Christmas roles up for grabs. Get in touch to find out more about how you can land a festive temp job