Short on cash for this year's holiday shopping list? One-in-five employers (22 percent) said they are planning to hire seasonal help for the holidays. Among those who are hiring seasonal employees, 21 percent are increasing wages compared to last year with 41 percent offering $10 or more per hour.

Those who are interested in seasonal positions should not sit idle. Eighteen percent of companies hiring for seasonal help said they would take applications through September. Twenty-nine percent planned to accept applications through October, while 31 percent will accept applications in November and 15 percent in December.

When it comes to the industries that are hiring for the holidays, retail invariably leads the pack with 62 percent of retail employers stating they will hire seasonal staff in the fourth quarter. Thirty-nine percent of hospitality employers, 27 percent of IT employers, 24 percent of sales employers and 23 percent of banking/finance employers said they intend to add seasonal hires to their staffs.

What seasonal jobs are available? CareerBuilder.com provides the following examples:

  -- Retail - stores are adding salespeople, cashiers, greeters and
     stockers to handle the extra rush.
  -- Hospitality - restaurants in popular holiday destinations are staffing
     up and hotels and resorts are looking for ski instructors, hotel clerks
     and housekeepers.
  -- Customer Service - companies are augmenting their customer service
     staffs to handle increased gift orders and returns.
  -- Office Support/Clerical - across all industries, offices need temps to
     prepare for year-end reporting and to handle the workloads of
     vacationing employees.
  -- Transportation and Delivery - delivery drivers will be in high demand
     as consumers continue to increase online shopping.

"When pursuing seasonal positions, candidates who treat the application and interview process like that of a full-time position will have an advantage," said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com. "Thirty-seven percent of employers said they are likely to hire a seasonal worker for a full-time position. A candidate who is knowledgeable about the employer's business and customers and demonstrates the ability to thrive in high pressure situations will stand out from the masses and perhaps land permanent placement on the team."

  Haefner recommends the following tips for securing seasonal positions:

  -- Be Flexible: 40 percent of employers said the inability to work certain
     hours is the biggest turnoff when considering candidates.
  -- Show Enthusiasm: 34 percent of employers said a lack of enthusiasm on
     the candidate's  part will likely leave them unenthusiastic about your
     application.
  -- Be Knowledgeable: 9 percent of employers said a candidate who knows
     nothing about the company's products or services is less likely to be
     considered.
  -- Don't Discount Yourself: 7 percent of employers said acting more
     interested in the employee discount than the opportunity will work
     against you.


  Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,929 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions) ages 18 and over between August 10 and September 4, 2007 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset of 635 hiring managers, based on their responses to certain questions). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of U.S. employers, and propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

With a pure probability sample of 2,929, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-2 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated. A full methodology is available upon request.

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more than 22 million unique visitors and over 1.5 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. , Tribune Company , The McClatchy Company and Microsoft Corp. , the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,100 partners, including 150 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 300,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 23 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. CareerBuilder.com and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/.

  Media Contact:
  Jennifer Sullivan Grasz
  773-527-1164
  jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

SOURCE: CareerBuilder.com