Help me find work for 2-3 weeks.
December 17, 2008 11:34 AM   Subscribe

I really need a job for 2-3 weeks. Where should I look / how do I begin?

I'm a college student at home for holiday break, and I'm in need of some money to pay off some bills. I'm in the Tallahassee, FL, area (if that helps). How can I find work for just this short time period (2-3 weeks)?
posted by anonymous to Work & Money (19 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Check out stores at the mall. I know Bath and Body Works stores tend to have a lot of hours available before and after Christmas.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:45 AM on December 17, 2008 [1 favorite]


Retail work or Warehouse work are two of the likely sectors to need seasonal staff.
posted by Brockles at 11:47 AM on December 17, 2008


Temp agency?
posted by gyusan at 11:48 AM on December 17, 2008


Toy stores or toy departments, of course.
posted by Namlit at 11:51 AM on December 17, 2008


For a job that short in duration, you should try to talk to everyone you know and everyone they know. Someone within 1-2 degrees of separation needs 2-3 weeks worth of work done.
posted by milarepa at 11:51 AM on December 17, 2008 [1 favorite]


Manpower Temping. Even I have done it. It works, its pays, no calls to make, no questions to be asked.

2417 Mill Creek Ct # 3
Tallahassee, FL 32308
(850) 386-8150
posted by parmanparman at 11:52 AM on December 17, 2008


On such short notice, temp agencies might be your best bet.

If you are going to be at home for future breaks, you might consider waiting tables. I waitressed during breaks when I was in college - I was on the regular schedule in the summer and on call to pick up shifts over the holidays. This might not be feasible for you right now but could work in the future.
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:58 AM on December 17, 2008


Depending on your schedule & your local district & local laws, you may be able to substitute teach. You don't say how much college you've had, which is apparently relevant to your location, but was not to mine.
posted by knile at 12:17 PM on December 17, 2008


This is the perfect time of year to be looking for temporary employment, and you are in a populous area. You should have no problem.

Make a list of major retailers / restuarants in your commuting area. Go to their websites and look for the "employment" link. Many, if not most, major places now accept applications online. Some ONLY accept applications online.

By tomorrow, you can realistically have a dozen or more applications in. Work hard at it, and you'll be pulling in a meager, temporary income in no time! :)

Good luck!
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 12:49 PM on December 17, 2008


Also, maybe a florist would need holiday help.
posted by losvedir at 12:59 PM on December 17, 2008


Right now, UPS is a good bet. They take on a ton of extra help at this time of year as driver assistants. A lot of folks I know did this during college as good money over the holidays.
posted by advicepig at 1:39 PM on December 17, 2008


Temp agencies, day labor sites, and check your local Craigslist under "gigs".

Work your local network and your parents' network to put the word out that you're available for pet-sitting, babysitting, odd jobs, etc.

Post your desire for 2-3 weeks of work in your hometown as your status on your Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. -- your friends might know of something.
posted by Jacqueline at 2:12 PM on December 17, 2008


Telemarketing jobs are always easy to get and there are usually heaps of them going in any local area. They're easy to get because you don't really need any special skills beyond a good speaking voice and experience is, in most cases, not required. Burn-out is a factor, but since you need the job for only 2 or 3 weeks, it's not really a worry for you. Just make sure you get one where they offer a wage or a wage + commission, because as I'm sure you can guess, people don't like being contacted by telemarketers so selling enough stuff to make a decent commission is very difficult.
posted by Effigy2000 at 3:15 PM on December 17, 2008


Temp Temp Temp.
If you have any kind of office experience, they'll be looking for people to do end of year filing or data entry. Or prep work for tax season. My bank office of 40 people has three temps working now doing data entry that needs to be done by the 31st.

Other types of businesses may need inventory work or people to cover for the regular folks who are on vacation.
posted by saffry at 3:53 PM on December 17, 2008


sperose, how did you get inventory gigs? Through a temp agency or the stores themselves? Were they advertised? (I'm not the OP, but also looking for work.)
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:05 PM on December 17, 2008


(Bath and Body Works Manager here) If you already know a manager, then you could probably pick up some hours, especially since we got some news today switching up sale floorset dates, but I don't know any retail managers who have time to interview, check references and get you oriented before we cut our holiday hours again next Friday. Like I said, if you already know a retail manager who can bypass all the usual hiring stuff, then retail can be a viable option for you.
posted by hollygoheavy at 5:35 PM on December 17, 2008


Florists. This time of year some of them need temp delivery drivers.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:52 PM on December 17, 2008


I've used temp companies over the holidays, and my brothers have found jobs at UPS.
posted by salvia at 11:39 PM on December 17, 2008


If you're good with animals, you could try advertising pet or house-sitting services on Craigslist. Since this is a college town, there's a ton of people leaving for the holidays that would need these services... and if you have references, all the better.

In addition to craigslist, you could stop by a few of the million apartment complexes in town and post a sign near the mail boxes advertising such a service. I see people do that fairly often here and they definitely get noticed.
posted by dicaxpuella at 8:02 AM on December 18, 2008


« Older Help me sound like I know a lot of foreign...   |   Can I bring my car with me? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.