The shopping campaign and Christmas seem far away, but employment companies are preparing to match offers with candidates and complete the templates. As soon as in three weeks the positions would be assigned, they explain from the sector.
The string of commercial dates - Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, sales... - puts the focus on the retail sector, but logistics or services will also have a pull. What workers are companies looking for? What can candidates do to get those jobs?
"Where there will be the most movement is in logistics (drivers, delivery people), warehouse (order preparation, forklift drivers, operators...), purchasing departments, customer service (assistants)... Everything related to online shopping (e- commerce) will have more pull than the traditional sector," says Nekane Cendoya, director of the Trabajos.com portal. They also highlight the impact of the last mile, the final stage of shipments: "Offers skyrocket here," adds Ana Soria, Adecco service director in Catalonia.
There will be no big news about the previous campaign. If you look at newspaper archives, last year 1.11 million contracts were expected, according to Adecco figures. E-commerce, distribution, retail, logistics and transportation led employment. It was a campaign where the rise in prices, the shortage of raw materials and the disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine continued to set the tone. Although they have not disappeared, this year those impacts would be minor.
The forecast of more sales means that the movements will begin soon. Companies increase requests to job portals long before the campaign. Although Black Friday arrives on November 24, "at the end of October and beginning of November the big peak in hiring occurs," explains Soria. Thus, waiting until the last minute is the worst strategy for candidates. The best advice is to start looking for offers now, which will grow in these weeks.
When analyzing these jobs, salary is the key factor, although after the pandemic more incentives are taken into account. "It would be absurd to say that salary does not matter, but benefits - such as conciliation, teleworking or health insurance - are increasingly taking precedence over salary," says Cendoya. The truth is that in sectors such as commerce, which are more prone to hiring on these dates, it becomes more difficult to apply these benefits.
Another post-pandemic effect, especially due to the lack of profiles, is that companies are more open to training, to adding people with zero experience. The problem is that since Black Friday and Christmas are short campaigns, you can prioritize profiles that do not need to be trained. For first-timers, all is not lost: better than studies, it is better to "highlight personal skills that can be related to the position," they explain at Adecco. If you do not have the necessary experience, "it is more a matter of attitude than aptitude, of having a desire to learn, to work and to be dynamic. Emphasizing flexibility." "If you have worked for a year in a fishmonger and you send your resume to a store, it is better to highlight the skills that have been developed, those that add value to the job. Relationship, social treatment...", Cendoya concludes.
The selection process is no different from the rest of the year. Resume and interview define everything. As today artificial intelligence filters CVs, in this first stage you have to rely on the offer itself and write a CV adapted to it, with keywords - the position offered and characteristics requested -, bold, different font sizes so that certain aspects stand out... A cover letter should not be ruled out either. "The more information the better, but segmented and targeted," they warn from Trabajos.com.
For these dates you also have to make some extra modifications, such as presenting CVs adapted to temporary jobs, where availability is highlighted.
The interview is the other screening, which decides whether to access the position or not. The ideal is to make a good impression at all levels: "You have to get to know the company's values, today there is a lot of information... Asking about the company in the interview shows that prior work has been done," continues Cendoya.
It is where you see how the candidate performs. Times change channels. "More and more they are online and people have to be prepared for it," says Soria. Digital requires having a minimum of skills to connect that are sometimes lacking, such as knowing how to install the programs to connect or handle the microphone well.
