Winter break is approaching fast, and that comes with a lot of planning: flights, train rides, and what and how much you should pack. Something that often gets overlooked until it’s too late is work for winter break. In some cases, students are able to easily return to their summer jobs, but that’s not always the case. It comes down to whether or not the job is still available, but the decision is ultimately your own. Do you really want to go back to flipping burgers or scooping ice cream all day? Doesn’t sound that appealing, does it?
The good news is that you only have to endure the job for a month. If you can’t return to an old job, there are a lot of seasonal jobs available. If they haven’t already, within the next couple weeks places like Paper Source, Marshalls, and other retailers are going to go on a hiring frenzy. They want to make sure that they are well-staffed for the unavoidable holiday rush. In my eyes, any work is good work if it comes with a paycheck. Then again, as poor college students, we may only have dollar signs in our eyes, but it isn’t just about the money. It may also be an opportunity for you to beef up your resume if it is lacking in the work experience area.
This is all of the criteria to consider when deciding where to work:
- Where is hiring, whether seasonal or long term?
- Is your summer job still available?
- What will fit your schedule best, and give you the amount of hours you want?
- What will give you the most pay?
- What will you give the best experience for future jobs/career goals?
- Should you stick with a job you know or try something new?
- Don’t be surprised if the job requires you to work one major holiday: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, or New Year’s Day.
All of these factors and more are important to think about. Like previously mentioned, if you go back to a job at home, you only have a month. This isn’t the time to start looking for a brand new job that isn’t seasonal. Places that are looking to hire long time employees (even if it’s just part-time) won’t consider you if you tell them that you are only free for a month before returning back to Boston. That being said, if you think it might be a potential job that you could return to for next summer, go for it! Just be upfront about the fact that you only have a short time to work. It might be a good thing; you can train during winter break and then be ready to work full time when the summer rolls around.
Once you eventually decide on a job, make sure you remain flexible. We all want to jam-pack as much friend time and fun stuff into winter break as possible, but realize that you may not be able to do everything that you want. It doesn’t look good if you call out of your job when you are only there for a short time. With this and any job, you always want to put your best foot forward, because you never know when you are going to need a reference!