Tips to Prepare Effectively for Summer Hires

As summer approaches, now is a great time to establish your plan for hiring seasonal employees. A summer hire can be a great way to bring on extra help for a brief period and can be especially beneficial if summer is your peak season.

Planning ahead and ensuring that you’re ready come June allows you the time to vet each potential employee. Below are some tips to help you navigate this process.

Create a Clear and Direct Job Description

Summer is only around three months long. To ensure that you are not cutting into this time, your listing should include details about the job responsibilities, requirements, start and end dates, benefits offered, and more. Of course, every job listing, seasonal or not, should check these boxes. However, it is especially important that seasonal job descriptions are as clear and direct as possible so that prospective employees understand exactly what they’re getting into and for how long. Doing so can allow them to plan accordingly with any other potential work they have or personal commitments that require them to work seasonally in the first place.

When creating your job posting, you can use terminology like “seasonal” in your description to clarify that this is not a full-time position. You should also indicate how long the contract will run, expected hours, if you’re open to considering students for the role, if you require specific skills (i.e., certain software knowledge, customer service, etc.), and the hourly rate. You may also want to include when you plan to stop receiving applications so that you can ensure you’re saving time for interviews and training.

Expand your Job-Posting Reach

There are several job boards out there, and you never know which one your ideal seasonal hire is scrolling through, so posting to multiple sites allows you expand your reach. Keep in mind that the more job boards you post on, the more you need to keep track of. If that is not something you can take on right now, you may want to stick to only one or two. However, if you want to broaden your range and have the means to monitor applications coming in, it can be a great way to not only get your small business out there (and that you hire seasonal employees), but it can expose you to greater talent.

Consider posting on your social media channels using applicable hashtags (depending on the platform), creating a paid LinkedIn job post (if that aligns with your budget), and online digital job boards. You can also go the physical advertising route and create flyers that you can post around your store, if applicable, on college or university job boards, in local coffee shops, around town, and more.

Schedule Ahead to Provide Sufficient Training

Understandably, seasonal hires will require training. Because this will likely be their first introduction to your business, you must give them the training they need to succeed in their role. If you already have a small team of employees, you’ll be familiar with the training process and the time commitment it requires.

Your seasonal hires should perform at the level you and/or your current team are at and what your customers have come to expect. Therefore, offering this training and support may require some time before the start of the summer so that it doesn’t cut into the already short season. To prepare, create a training manual and/or determine who on your team, if applicable, can assist with onboarding.

Think Long-Term When Hiring

If you anticipate bringing on a seasonal team every year, you may want to consider hiring those who are available for recurring summers. Of course, you can’t expect a potential hire to know 100% that they can work again the following year. However, assessing seasonal availability as best you can during the interviewing process can help you determine who is looking for a summer job before moving away or graduating compared to those who are seeking consistent seasonal work. Both are fine, depending on your needs, but the latter allows you to hire them each summer, saving you the time and money required to train, and providing a consistent customer experience.

As you plan for seasonal hires, The UPS Store can help with other aspects of your small business with our Small Business Solutions. Our team can assist with printing needs, packaging and shipping, mailbox rentals to simplify incoming mail for your small business, and more. Find a location near you to get started.