CHRISTMAS comes early in Marks & Spencer-land. You may bemoan the fact that the tinsel goes up in mid-October, but spare a thought for the HR managers. The Christmas recruitment drive starts in September as stores prepare themselves for the annual shopping-fest.
The retailer employs about 66,000 staff nationwide and this year the ranks have swollen by 19,500 to deal with the seasonal rush. And this is by no means unique in retail: Sainsbury’s is taking on 10,000 extra staff this winter. The majority of these extra employees will be students and seasonal workers. But is getting a temporary job as a shelf-filler a good move for people who are looking for a high-flying career? If you have left university and haven’t yet found the career of your choice, this could be an ideal opportunity to try out retail. It would also look excellent on your CV if you end up applying for a graduate position. “Applicants should know what retail is all about: the buzzy environment and how the shop floor works,” says Lee Rhoden, Sainsbury’s retail resourcing manager. The fact that it may be a position of low responsibility doesn’t really matter:
“We’re not looking for expert shelf-fillers, but that experience is very helpful to make sure you choose the right career. What we’re looking for is passion.”
Doing such work for the experience is one thing, but it could also be an informal way into a company if the thought of a graduate training scheme isn’t for you. At Marks & Spencer, although a manager might encourage a promising seasonal worker to apply for a graduate position, it’s not a usual route on to the graduate scheme. However, “it’s not unusual for people to go from peak recruitment into full-time work”, a spokesperson says. “They do stay on, but they have to apply for available positions.” But once you’re in there’s a well defined career path to follow that could take you through the roles of customer assistant, coach, section co-ordinator to section manager and onwards.
Sainsbury’s has a similar scheme for “colleagues” (shop assistants to outsiders) to rise through the ranks to store manager. “Progress is defined by the person,” Rhoden says. “It could be three years or 20 years.” He also says that it’s possible to stop at any point along the career path if you feel that a particular level is just right for you.
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Retail is not the only industry that needs to boost its numbers over the festive season. The events industry balloons too. Over the past ten years the traditional Christmas party has morphed into a massive event, says Paul Vesper, the managing director of Tapenade, an events and catering company. “It isn’t just about the three-course dinner and the disco any more. There’s so much involved: administration, project management, selling, implementation, operational management.”
The seasonal staffing boom differs from that in retail. Vesper says that his company has a pool of managers and supervisors which they draw on for big events. Occasionally people from this pool join them full-time, but these events managers tend to be experienced freelances who have gained their knowledge elsewhere.
But there is work connected to the events management industry available to those with little or no experience that will stand you in good stead if you are trying to break into the sector. “This is a networking industry,” Vesper says. “If we see the CV of someone who is applying for a job with us and they have worked at the Chelsea Flower Show or at the Open, we know that they will understand the working environment.” It will also help you to make your first networking contacts, which will come in handy if this becomes your chosen career path.
Starting at the bottom may not propel you to the top of the career ladder in retail or events as quickly as a graduate programme, working your way up has its own merits — and taking advantage of the Christmas boom might be your way in.