By Christmas work, we mean all those jobs and profiles that come up during the festive season of Christmas. Usually the period for a Christmas job is of 3 months, starting from October till the year end. Christmas is the time of joy and merry making. People celebrate Christmas by shopping, making decorations, meeting friends and families, gifting near ones and sharing joy among the needy. This practice gives rise to several seasonal job opportunities. Here is a description of the Christmas work opportunities.
Job Scope and Responsibilities
Here is a list of jobs that come up during Christmas along with a brief description of job nature and responsibilities.
Party Organizers: They take up the responsibility to make arrangements for a Christmas party. They arrange venue, decorations, food, invitation cards, gifts, etc. to make the Christmas party a successful event.
Venue Decorators: They are hired by retails shops, malls, restaurants, party organizers, etc. to decorate a venue in colors of red and white. They install Christmas trees, hang bells and stars, erect snow mans in grounds, etc. to present the Christmas flavor.
Cooks: Christmas is the time to treat everyone with cookies, chocolates and pastries. Hence, cooks with expertise in confectionaries and desserts are required in greater numbers during Christmas.
Christmas tree Arranger: They arrange real Christmas trees of desired heights and shape and transport them till the customer's place.
Social Service Volunteers: They are hired by welfare organizations to collect donations, clothes, food, gifts and distribute them among the needy, the next day. It is popularly known as the Boxing Day.
Sales-force: Christmas is a shopping season. All step of their houses to buy clothes or gadgets for themselves or as gifts. This overloads the salesman working in retail outlets. Hence, organizations hire additional salesman for Christmas to handle the flow of customers.
Artists: Whether they are actors, dancer or singers, artists are in great demand during Christmas. Churches, schools hire singers to sing carols and songs for Christmas. Actors perform stage shows to enact the story behind Christmas celebrations. Some dress up like Santa Claus or Elves to entertain children. Dancers enthrall audiences with their performances in parties.
Work Requirements
The work requirements for each profile are dependent upon the responsibilities. A party organizer, decorator or tree arranger requires competence in event and resource management. Additionally, they require creativity and ability to introduce innovation. Cooks require certifications in bakery products and dessert making, along with skills to experiment and innovate. Salespersons require communication, customer service skills and the ability to handle pressure.
Work Environment
Christmas work can be stressful as most work with hectic schedules. Although they have normal work timings of 45 hours a week, more than often, they are required to stay back and fulfill their work commitments. Cooks and backers have to endure heat in the kitchen area. Traveling is an integral part of the service industry. Party managers, decorators, suppliers often travel to client's place to deliver orders.
Job Suitability
Christmas work is suitable for those who wish to take up short term jobs and make quick bucks. Students, unemployed, semi qualified candidates are easily absorbed into different work front during Christmas seasons. Also, it gives opportunities to young students to try their hand at different tasks and help them decide their career paths.
Career Prospects
There is no job guarantee or growth opportunities with Christmas work. These jobs are restricted to Christmas period of 3 months after which they experience a lull in opportunities for another 9 months. However, they do find similar jobs. Party organizers, decorators can work for event management teams and handle event management for occasions of birthday, marriage, anniversary, college parties, etc. The requirement for cooks and bakers exists in hotels, restaurants or baker shops around the year for several other occasions. Hence, one can continue with their routine jobs and specialize in Christmas work to make the most of the festive occasion.
We hope this brief introduction of Christmas work helps you find work during Christmas and make most of the available opportunities.