Christmas Casuals

According to Retail Biz online magazine, data from the world’s largest job site, Indeed, reveals that Australian job seekers started looking for casual Christmas work in August, a month earlier than the historical pattern of searching in late September and peaking in November. This is significantly ahead of company recruiting schedules this year, with many companies not having listed their Christmas casual roles yet.

Over the Australian summer period, the economy benefits from a 170 per cent increase in casual roles, with the biggest booms coming from retail, representing 87 per cent of the Christmas casual roles listed on Indeed. The retail brands attracting the most interest from job seekers this year are Cotton On, Dusk, Smiggle, Myer and DFO.

Currently Christmas casual job searches outweigh open roles by nearly 140 to 1, meaning that employers can have their pick of the bunch this year. There are more job seekers this year, with searches increasing 257% over last year. Currently there are 5% more casual Christmas roles on the market than 2014, although this is likely to increase further in the run up to Christmas.

Job seekers looking for casual work over the summer period are taking a hyper-local approach to job hunting, with significant amounts of people looking for jobs that include the names of specific shopping centres and suburbs.  I can vouch for this.  I helped a young first timer with his first Christmas Casual resume, insisting he physically take it into stores that interested them (ie don't take it into a chicken shop if you're not interested in chickens and don't want to end up washing dishes) and today I found out that he starts work in November with Cotton On - in a centre near his home. Local. Win!

Chris McDonald, MD of Australia/New Zealand at Indeed commented, “Today the job hunt begins with search, and the secret to attracting the best applicants for your role is by making sure you’re using search terms that job seekers are likely to use. Remember that Christmas casual work is often a person’s first experience of entering the workforce, so keep job titles simple and make the job relevant by including a location.”
McDonald continued, “Globally job seekers are looking for more flexibility, and for many Australians, the opportunity of securing a casual job over the Christmas period is a chance to gain important experience and help plan for the year ahead. Young people in particular benefit from casual job opportunities over the summer months, as it gives them the flexibility to earn without having a negative effect on school, college and university work. Older workers also benefit from these roles as they are looking for flexibility in their work commitments.”

If you’re recruiting millennials, consider your online presence. Consider their journey to your brand, which social platforms they may use for pre-research.  Would they really search Linked In? Or would they be more likely to search facebook and instagram?

As almost eight retail workers were injured every day in Victoria at this time of year, it’s particularly important that young and new employees receive appropriate training in workplace health and safety. Ensure you have OH&S as part of your Christmas Casual induction and your employee handbook.

Good luck with your Christmas Casual hiring!

Sources:  WorkSafe News, Inside Retail, retailbiz.com.au

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