Restaurants play a role in holiday hiring

Holiday hiring started in earnest this month at restaurants and retailers, with experts predicting seasonal job creation not seen since the Great Recession.

Retailers and restaurants told employment experts at Challenger, Gray & Christmas that they plan to add 413,700 temporary jobs, Fortune reported. Other estimates, including one from the National Retail Federation, put the number as high as 625,000, CBS Miami reported. Nearly half of hires are expected to be full time, according to Snagajob. While retailers aimed to fill most positions before Black Friday, many stores and eateries will continue hiring in the coming days and weeks.

Domino’s Pizza put out a seasonal-hiring call, saying the chain plans to hire between 5,000 and 25,000 workers to make, sell and deliver pizza this holiday season. The company also reminded people that Cyber Monday 2011 kicked off its first week of 1 million online and mobile orders.

There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of temporary restaurant jobs, and there also appears to be plenty of advice for would-be employees and operators seeking the best help, especially when there’s a chance some gigs will become permanent next year.

CBS Miami offered a slew of tips for applicants hoping to score a seasonal job, including making sure resumes, online applications and any other correspondence are typo-free. Another recommendation is that workers wait until they’ve been on the job a while before asking about permanent employment.

Snagajob’s Jason Hamilton advised quickservice restaurateurs in a QSRWeb blog post to take the temporary nature of the season into account when hiring, looking first for applicants with a good attitude and other qualities that make it more likely they’ll learn the ropes and fit in quickly. “Previous experience may be at the top of your typical hiring checklist, but when you’re making holiday hires, applicants’ behavioral preferences and personalities determine how fast they will catch on and how happy they’ll be on the job,” Hamilton wrote.

He also offered advice to managers as they work to determine which seasonal staffers would make the best permanent additions. “Once your team is hard at work, look at the holiday season as a nearly two-month, on-the-job interview that can help you decide which employees will help make 2013 especially jolly,” he wrote.