Happier holidays on LI: Seasonal hiring on the rise

If all you want for Christmas this year is a job, you just may get your wish.

Job placement firms are forecasting as much as a 20 percent boost in seasonal hiring nationwide, with retailers alone adding 550,000 to 650,000 workers. In 2009, they hired a little more than 500,000 seasonal workers.

Companies did not have figures for how many jobs they would add on Long Island. But nationally, retail payrolls increased by 150,900 in October - more than three times the 47,600 retail jobs added in October 2009, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based job placement firm.

Some of the nation's biggest retailers say they are boosting staff in anticipation of more customers and sales compared with last year. Employers and job firms say that could translate to opportunities for job hunters to land permanent positions.

"Employers are going to find great folks and try to retain them because there will be additional needs that come up and there is always some degree of attrition, so the opportunity is there," said Gautam Godhwani, chief executive and co-founder of SimplyHired.com, a Mountain View, Calif.-based job search engine and recruitment advertising network.

Fired, then hired

Jose Sanford, 45, of Hempstead, is hoping that opportunity will come his way. Sanford said he was hired a week ago as a seasonal sales associate at Macy's in Roosevelt Field mall and desperately needs the job to provide for his family.

"They must of seen something that they liked," said Sanford, who has two children and said he was laid off after working 20 years for a sportswear store. "They told me they would consider me for full-time employment."

Eileen Ortega, 21, of New Hyde Park, turned her temporary holiday position into a permanent one after working at Aerie, a women's clothing store, in the Roosevelt Field mall in 2008. She left the job in May but has returned to work the holidays again.

"I got along really well with the managers and I think I was hardworking," said Ortega, a senior at Adelphi University. "I picked up extra shifts when people would call out. I was always available and I learned really quick."

Competition is stiff

Flexibility and enthusiasm can go a long way, hiring experts say. Still, with the nation's unemployment rate at 9.6 percent, hiring increases won't necessarily make it easier to find seasonal work. About 15 million Americans are jobless.

"The competition remains stiff with so many people out of work," said John A. Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

"People who may have never considered working in retail in the past may now be willing to do so in light of long-term unemployment."For both employers and workers, seasonal jobs provide a testing ground.

"Getting a seasonal position allows new associates to experience working at JCPenney and decide if it suits them," said Ann Marie Bishop, a spokeswoman for the company, which is adding 30,000 hires, a slight increase from last year. "At the same time it's an opportunity for us to attract and retain the best talent."

And you never know where your hard work will lead. UPS spokeswoman Karen Cole said the shipper's chief financial officer, Kurt Kuehn, started out as a seasonal driver during college. "If you're looking for a foot in the door . . . it could be almost like an audition," Cole said.

Building relationships and networking on the job can help pave the way toward a permanent position, Godhwani said.

Keeping in touch with co-workers and her supervisor has helped Katherine Gon, 19, who also attends Adelphi. She has worked the holidays as a skate guard at the Bryant Park ice skating rink since high school.

"Keeping in contact with co-workers and the boss is a big part," Gon said. ". . . If your boss doesn't call you back [the next season], a co-worker will call and say, 'OK, they're hiring again, so give the boss a call.' "