Seasonal job-seekers find competition fierce
Far fewer positions, more applicants
WILMINGTON - This year,
Recruiters for the shipping giant usually spend months canvassing career fairs, running advertisements, and networking to lure seasonal workers into unappealing evening and graveyard shifts for the busiest weeks leading up to Christmas. But in these days of financial hardship, FedEx had more applicants than jobs.
"Many are telling us they need this job to survive, that they have no other choice," said Philip Hale, a senior recruiting specialist for FedEx's Northeast region. "There's only so much we can do in this environment."
FedEx is one of many businesses employing seasonal workers that are reporting a crush of job-seekers this holiday season, as layoffs accelerate and the recession deepens. Some are simply hoping to earn extra cash during the Christmas season. But growing numbers of people who recently lost their jobs are hoping to parlay seasonal work - typically minimum-wage stints lasting a few months - into permanent employment. The new applicants have extensive resumes and are more flexible than ever, but the competition is also fiercer because companies are hiring fewer workers than in years past.
Amid the economic downturn, struggling merchants are slashing their payrolls and shuttering stores as they prepare for one of the worst holiday seasons in decades. November retail hiring plunged 53 percent to 217,200 workers compared to a year ago, according to an analysis by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., outplacement consulting firm headquartered in Chicago. That is the weakest November job gain among merchants since 1988, when only 194,000 workers were added, says the firm.
Across the region, merchants are cutting back. After hiring 7,000 extra workers for last year's holiday season, preppy cataloguer L.L. Bean is adding only 5,400 workers this year, a 23 percent decline. At Kittery Trading Post in Maine, the company is bringing on 35 seasonal staff - half as many as last year. Even businesses that are hiring are trying to shorten the holiday shifts. Some merchants, including Macy's, are looking for people to be on-call.
Stores that have openings are being inundated with record numbers of overqualified and eager candidates. Rick Henry, owner of Stellabella Toys in Cambridge, has received more than 300 applications at his toy shops over the past few weeks. He has four part-time positions paying roughly $9 an hour.
"I've never seen this kind of response," Henry said. The stack of applications includes job requests from real estate appraisers, car salesmen, journalists, grant writers, and retailers with years of experience laid off from bankrupt merchants like Linens 'n Things and Tweeter. "It's overwhelming."
In some cases, merchants like Henry are hesitant to hire the overqualified, worried they will have bad attitudes or leave as soon as a better job comes along.
At a recent job fair in Plymouth, Bob Anthony stood, dejected, in the middle of the room. Anthony, 48, was laid off in September from his job as a kitchen manager at a group home where he had worked for eight years. He has sent out 325 applications since then to dozens of restaurants and stores, such as Sears,
But he has received only five interviews. Two companies decided to hire someone who had less experience and was willing to work for less money. The others never called back. Now Anthony, hoping to make $15 an hour, is considering taking bartending training to add to his resume. And he's willing to take only $12 an hour to survive, if the job is closer to home.
"It's pretty frustrating," he said. "Everything has dried up."
Those lucky enough to land a seasonal job willingly take on hours they might have refused in better times. Ann Allen, of Halifax, had hoped to find full-time work after losing her job as an office manager earlier this year. After applying for 100 positions, she finally signed on with five different temp agencies. Allen recently got a short-term job doing manual labor at a sample room at the Hingham headquarters of clothier
"My unemployment checks had run out," Allen said. "You have to do what you have to do."
George Rodriguez, 28, with a degree in criminal justice, also has had to make some sacrifices for his seasonal job. He starts his day at 6 a.m. at a Lawrence middle school, where he is a parent-teacher liaison. After school ends, he trades his tie, slacks, and student disciplinary issues for five layers of T-shirts, sweatpants, and heavy cardboard boxes, working an evening shift at FedEx for $10.50 an hour.
Rodriguez usually doesn't return home to Derry, N.H., until 11 p.m., but he considers himself fortunate.
"I get sleepy during the day, but it's worth it," Rodriguez said. "I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck."
Those who have landed the coveted seasonal jobs are doing more to impress their bosses. Some businesses, including FedEx and the Paper Source, say they are seeing better performance from many of the seasonal hires. One reason is that people who accepted seasonal work to make ends meet until they found a job they could love are now looking to turn their temporary stints into full-time positions.
When Cheryl Alusow, 61, lost her job as an insurance agent in January, she spent the year looking for full-time work. She moved from Worcester to Plymouth to seek better opportunities. But she came up short. Since her unemployment checks ran out in August, she has lived off her husband's retirement payments.
And she reluctantly began hunting for seasonal jobs at retailers. Two weeks ago, she received an offer from Macy's to work as a holiday sales associate for $8 an hour. Her job ends in early January. She hopes that if she does well, Macy's will hire her full time.
If not, Alusow said, it's back to hunting again.
Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com. 