Anyone work seasonal retail for the holidays?

[lisaross]

I always said i wanted to, and now that my husband is not working went ahead and applied to Macy's. I am going in tomorrow for an interview.

Any ideas what they will ask me?

If you have done it - what did you think - i will be available evenings and/or weekends.

 

[Ress76]

I always said i wanted to, and now that my husband is not working went ahead and applied to Macy's. I am going in tomorrow for an interview.

Any ideas what they will ask me?

If you have done it - what did you think - i will be available evenings and/or weekends.

From a former retail worker married for years to a retail manager:

The first thing to expect is that they will want you to work at least Black Friday, and quite possibly at some point on Thanksgiving-I'm not sure what Macy's hours will be this year. If that is not reasonable to you, you may want to look elsewhere for seasonal employment, somewhere that won't be open on Thanksgiving. The season is short, they will probably want you to work all the weekends, if that is your availability. Sometimes, they actually have plenty of weekend/evening coverage from established part-timers, and are looking for days or overnight/early morning shifts; a lot of that depends on the location and when they see the most business. Retail hours at Christmas tend to be longer as well, so know that "5 to close" availability may start out as 5-9 but wind up being 5 to midnight or later. And from my own experience, you need to have boatloads of patience. I went back to a retail gig one Christmas to help out financially and remembered about the third day why I had gotten out of retail in the first place.

With your DH not working, somewhere like Target or Walmart might be a good option, where the employee discount can go a long way towards helping out with Christmas.

As for questions, they are probably looking for someone who can helpful, polite, and is willing to work. They are not necessarily looking for experience, because a lot of people with no or limited experience are hired this time of the year. They are, no doubt, looking for someone to stick out the season-it costs them money to interview, hire and train someone and if they quit, and they have to interview, hire and train another person. The more open your availability, the better chance you will be selected, but be warned, "open" availability can mean Sun 7am-noon, Monday, 4 pm-close, Tuesday 8 am-4pm and so on-it can vary wildly depending upon what their staffing needs are. That said, if you prove yourself responsible and reliable, you may be able to pick up more hours on schedule as the season rolls on.

Ress

 

[lisaross]

OK thanks...yes Macy's opens at 6p on Black Friday but that is ok i have no problem with that --

Will see what happens tomorrow evening at the interview.

 

[clambert1273]

my husband is a merchandise manager at Barnes & Noble... from Nov 1 to Jan 1 he cannot have any specific days/times off and none of them can take vacation time during this period. He ALWAYS works Black Friday, Christmas Eve (they are closed on Christmas thankfully) and will work almost every weekend/evening until then.

We are used to it That is why we always have weird vacation dates LOL

 

[OhMari]

I do for Kohl's.
The thing I hate the most is the one day of training-sitting in front of a computer and watching 6-8 hours of demo situations. You can't cheat, because there is a test to take after each one. It is pretty much common sense and I just go take the test at the end of each one vs. trying to watch the boring thing. Some of my friends told me, you can't skip ahead anymore, you have to watch each segment.

At Kohl's, you can pretty much pick your days and shift. Surprising enough, they only ask for volunteer-workers on Thanksgiving and Black Friday and they always have enough workers. I don't mind on Black Friday, it keeps me from shopping.

 

[lisaross]

WOW thats alot of computer training...

I do for Kohl's.
The thing I hate the most is the one day of training-sitting in front of a computer and watching 6-8 hours of demo situations. You can't cheat, because there is a test to take after each one. It is pretty much common sense and I just go take the test at the end of each one vs. trying to watch the boring thing. Some of my friends told me, you can't skip ahead anymore, you have to watch each segment.

At Kohl's, you can pretty much pick your days and shift. Surprising enough, they only ask for volunteer-workers on Thanksgiving and Black Friday and they always have enough workers. I don't mind on Black Friday, it keeps me from shopping.

 

[dpswift]

I took a seasonal job at Target 9 years ago and I am still there. It can be fun and the discount is great for gifts and groceries. We are expected to work Black Friday and the rest of that weekend. The actual hours that you will get depend on the stores current staffing and their needs.

All workers are expected to be able to be a backup cashier as well as their other job duties.

 

[SC Minnie]

I am working a seasonal retail job this year too. I work full time at an office job so am only available nights and weekends. I worked retail in college so knew what I was walking in to. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas can be brutal but if you need the money sometimes you have to do things you don't want to.

The place I'm going to be working had such an extensive online application (took be 45 min to fill out) I didn't have a formal interview.

When I worked retail before, the questions were along the lines of why you want to work there, some customer service type questions, etc to get the feel of you personality. Go in and be pleasant. Smile, try not to be nervous. They may ask you how you deal with conflict and conflict resolution- ie dealing with an upset customer. They may also try to gauge how you deal in extremely busy situations where you may need to muli task or have several people asking for something at the same time.

 

[kandeebunny]

Macy's may talk to you a lot about your comfort in "offering" (pushing) CC's and other services. So if that is not something you are comfortable with somewhere with a bit lower pressure (Target, Walmart, Toys-R-Us) may be a better fit for you!

I did retail all through college and grad school. Don't expect time off, don't expect your shift to end when they say it will. I would close (store close at 9pm) and still be there at 1am doing stock and clean up. Expect to be called and asked to come in on days off when people call out.

Honestly, my favorite place I worked retail was Bath and Body Works, they paid well, they were great to their employees and they are REALLY low pressure sales. I had just come out of tech sales which was such high pressure I loved the break.

Good luck!

 

[seashell7290]

I worked at Macy's for almost two years and enjoyed my time. At my interview there were a lot of questions about how I would deal with difficult situations like dealing with a fellow employee who is stealing. Be aware that Macy's has required goals per shift when it comes to sales and credit card applications opened. A lot of times holiday workers are used to clean up the store and put clothes back and they never see time on the register. I loved the discount for Christmas time! Yes you will work Black Friday and every weekend. Time off is doable if you find people to switch shifts with. Good luck!

 

[tink2dw]

I first seasonal job at Toys r Us then at the Disney Store. Both were great jobs.

 

[lisaross]

When does seasonal season begin and end usually with the workers

 

[crazelion]

When does seasonal season begin and end usually with the workers

The day after Christmas most times or Christmas eve.

I worked at HomeGoods for 3 half years. We was never busy on Black Friday.

 

[dpswift]

When does seasonal season begin and end usually with the workers

Usually right after the new year. They keep extras for a week or so to help with returns.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Ds17 has been looking for a PT job for a while now. There's so much competition and at many places, Kohls being one, you have to be 18.
Does anyone know of stores that will hire at 17? I know Target will and they were hiring over the summer for their food court but never called him back.
How about Macy's or B&N?

Our town is a shopping mecca and wherever he works will be like feeding time at the zoo but hopefully if he gets a foot in door it might lead to something more permanent.

 

[Disneefun]

Ds17 has been looking for a PT job for a while now. There's so much competition and at many places, Kohls being one, you have to be 18.
Does anyone know of stores that will hire at 17? I know Target will and they were hiring over the summer for their food court but never called him back.
How about Macy's or B&N?

Our town is a shopping mecca and wherever he works will be like feeding time at the zoo but hopefully if he gets a foot in door it might lead to something more permanent.

If you have a Chik fil A, I think they'll go as low as 15. It's not retail, but it's work.

 

[clambert1273]

B&N (at least at my hubby's store) will not hire below 18.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

OK thanks...yes Macy's opens at 6p on Black Friday but that is ok i have no problem with that --

Will see what happens tomorrow evening at the interview.

NO. Macy's opens at 6p.m on Thanksgiving day

 

[GirlWhoWaited]

I always said i wanted to, and now that my husband is not working went ahead and applied to Macy's. I am going in tomorrow for an interview.

Any ideas what they will ask me?

If you have done it - what did you think - i will be available evenings and/or weekends.

I worked at Macy's during the season, also all year long too.

Holiday hours are long and sometimes early, but I had really a great experience. My best friends are all from when we worked at Macy's together.

Enjoy your holiday season.

 

[SC Minnie]

If you have a Chik fil A, I think they'll go as low as 15. It's not retail, but it's work.

DD worked at CFA in high school and enjoyed it. They were very good about scheduling the kids around their school work. One girl only worked Fri and Sat. Even when she left for college she was able to pull a few shifts over Christmas break.