Make Your Seasonal Job Year-Round
Simply Hired Staff
There are many reasons that more than 700,000 American workers take on seasonal jobs each year.
For starters, there’s the additional income. And then there’s the opportunity to increase your skill set or even test out a potential job transition. No matter your reason, if you enjoy taking on seasonal employment opportunities, you might not be taking full advantage of your skills.
Instead of calling it quits and searching for work, you could transition into a new season’s worth of work. Here are four types of seasonal work and their off-season counterparts that could help you maintain “seasonal employment” year-round.
1. Seasonal Customer Service Opportunities
The traits that make up an excellent customer service representative can serve you well when it comes to finding seasonal work. Almost every industry has a need for your talent and your skill set. So if you know how to provide a smooth, pleasant customer service experience while making far-from-home customers feel welcome, you should be able to slide from season to season smoothly in some of the following jobs.
For spring…
Take your talents to the seas. Visit All Cruise Jobs to work aboard one of thousands of cruise ships as a seasonal customer service professional.
For summer…
Fill in one of the hundreds of job opportunities in vacation towns. From beach shops to restaurants, sites like Cool Works fill you in on part-time and full-time seasonal work in popular places.
For fall…
Embrace cooler weather and the outdoors by taking on a seasonal retail roll at pop-up Halloween shops like Spirit Halloween. You can also search Simply Hired for positions at haunted houses, hayrides and pumpkin patches that often take on seasonal support for these fun pastimes.
For winter…
Ride this wave of seasonal customer service employment into the winter holiday season with big brand stores like Kohl’s and Wal-Mart as they take on extra customer service professionals. Just search Simply Hired for “seasonal” during the months of September and October.
2. Seasonal Manual Labor and Lawn Service Opportunities
Manual labor and lawn service are also popular seasonal employment opportunities. Both kinds of service require a love of the outdoors and a capacity for physical work –like lifting and carrying up to 50 pounds (and sometimes more) and being on your feet for a significant portion of the day. If you have a knack for physical work or would like to enjoy the outdoors while being paid, these opportunities may be a great fit.
For spring…
Help private residents prepare for the summer by working as a pool service technician. Depending on your geographic location, you could connect with a year-round pool service company or hire yourself out on a referral basis.
For summer…
In most geographic regions, summer starts the call for lawn service professionals. In particular, you could try mowing and weeding and other professional lawn service tasks. Much like pool services, you can connect with a professional lawn maintenance team or offer your services as a freelance laborer.
For fall…
When the weather begins to cool, the leaves begin to fall. That spells incoming calls for lawn service professionals who offer raking and gutter-cleaning services.
For winter…
The need for winter outdoor service explodes. Increased amounts of ice and snow leave residents and commercial properties needing snow removal services.
3. Seasonal Qualified Professionals
While the following qualified or certified professionals rarely need a two- or four-year degree, they do need to invest more time and resources into the knowledge that comes with their field. However, that also means they can charge more for their specialized services and are often more in demand. If you have a personal interest in any of these services, it might be worthwhile to consider pursuing these positions.
For spring…
While you may not be looking forward to tax season as a taxpayer, if you enjoy accounting and numbers, working as an entry level associate or administrative assistant for a tax and accounting firm might be a good way to get to know the industry and make connections.
For summer…
When the days get hot, everyone loves their heating, ventilation and air conditioning guy or gal. In particular, they love air conditioning services. Open up this seasonal career path by securing an HVAC technician apprenticeship or classroom training.
For fall…
Continue HVAC work into the fall by turning your attention to heating and ventilation, two important aspects of maintaining a warm home in the winter.
For winter…
City and county transportation services often have increased labor needs during storm seasons. Depending on where you live, that may mean an increased need for labor for salting and storm maintenance for local airports, schools and city and county government services.
4. Seasonal Family and Child Expertise Opportunities
Do you love kids and working with families? If you have passion or expertise in this area, then you’ll be a great fit for seasonal family and child care opportunities that allow you to work with kids for extended periods of time. Depending on your time availability, check out these options:
For spring…
Have a flexible schedule? Consider traveling to common spring break destinations to offer your services as a lifeguard or in pool maintenance in beach towns or any warm-weathered resort towns that have pools.
For summer…
If you enjoyed camping as a child, you might relish the opportunity to be a part of those memories for a new generation. Consider taking on a camp counselor or camp director position from InterExchange or performing a seasonal search on Simply Hired.
For fall…
If you enjoy the outdoors, you could also find temporary or seasonal employment with one of the many U.S. national parks. These opportunities will allow you to engage with children, families and nature at the same time.
For winter…
Carry these childcare opportunities through ski season by seeking out opportunities at a ski resort that offers day care or family services to ski lodge residents.
No matter what your skill set, there are many opportunities to use your skills and grow throughout the year.
