Ooooh my Ar-gosh!
BROKE and desperate for cash, student Faye Hodgson found herself a Christmas job at Argos.
She loved it so much she went back the following year and then stayed on part-time throughout the rest of university. After she graduated Faye, 23, from Manchester, went full-time – and today she’s a team leader well on her way to a career in management. Interviewing staff for a new Argos outlet in a Sainsbury’s in Salford. I love people, so chatting to candidates about what they like to do is something I really enjoy.
It doesn’t matter that they might be older than me – I just like people of all ages. The new store will open in November – a week before Black Friday, our busiest time of the year.
Another team leader and I will be running the outlet, so it is really challenging. It hasn’t been built yet but once it is we can get in there and get things how we like them. For the past year I have been working at another store sorting out everything from shifts, training and customer service – which is what it is all about. I was studying biology at Manchester University and my friend had been working part-time for Argos since she was 16. I had never done any work before, but needed some cash.
She put my name forward and that was that. It was a steep learning curve, especially as I was quite shy, but I soon found I just loved being busy and helping people. The next year I went back and, although I never intended staying on, I decided to continue a few hours work a week.
Not only did it make me some money, but it gave a me a complete break from my studies which was what I needed. When I graduated it just seemed the most natural thing to stay on. Last year I was chosen to attend the Retail Academy Course which involved workshops and studying about leadership skills and managing projects.
I enjoyed it so much, and it meant that after passing the course I was promoted to a team leader. The regional manager then approached me last month to see if I wanted to take on this new project – it is so exciting. mapgroupuk.com/careers Faye has been promoted at Argos We have found a sackload of 90,066 Christmas jobs and there are more to come as some firms are yet to announce their seasonal staff needs.
To following in Faye’s footsteps apply to Argos (argos.careers/xmas) which needs over 6,000 seasonal workers including customer advisors, stock assistants, and fast track drivers delivering to customers’ doors.
Initial contracts are around three to four months. There is potential for some roles to become permanent at the end of the season.
Other retail opportunities are with The Perfume Shop (theperfumeshopjobs.com) which needs 800 extra people, while Debenhams (debenhamscareers.com) is looking for 7,500 temps.
Halfords (halfordscareers.com) careers.delawarenorth.co.uk/ needs 350 to start at the end of November, working until December 31 to cover key events such as Black Friday, Christmas and Boxing Day sales.
John Lewis (jlpjobs.com) is on the hunt for 3,000 temporary partners to work in a departments including the John Lewis Christmas Shop, electrical and home technology and gifts, as well as behind-the-scenes stock management roles.
Marks & Spencer (careers.marksandspencer.com) needs 19,000 temporary staff. Roles are available in both clothing and home departments, and M&S foodhalls as well as Simply Food stores. Boots (boots.jobs/christmas) needs 7,000 extra sales staff to cope with demand. There are staggered start dates from now until Christmas. The jobs will be split across customer and operations assistant roles and there will be a range of contract hours available.
We spotted 2,652 jobs at gov.uk/ jobsearch, 337 at retailchoice.com which include some festive elves and 247 at Fish4jobs ( fish4jobs.co.uk). It’s also worth popping into local shops with your CV.
Amazon (jobsatamazon.co.uk) has started hiring for more than 20,000 seasonal roles. There are 2,680 vacancies on offer at careersinlogisticsco.uk, and Yodel (yodelopportunities.co.uk) needs 3,000 extra drivers and couriers.
This time of year is manic in the hospitality world. JD Wetherspoon (jdwetherspooncareers.co.uk) says most pubs need extra help and around 1,500 jobs are available. Costa Coffee (costacareers.co.uk) needs 500 temps.
Big supermarkets are among the largest seasonal employers. Tesco (tesco-careers.com/christmas) has 10,000 festive vacancies across a variety of in-store roles and Sainsbury’s (Sainsburys.jobs) is looking for 5,500 temporary staff.
What are you doing at work right now?
How did you land at Argos?
How did you get to be a team leader so quickly?
I was shy, but I found I loved helping people
FESTIVE JOBS BONANZA
londonjobshow.co.uk/stratford, thejobfairs.co.uk, national apprenticeshipshow.org/north