Tarrant Business

Snagajob says holiday hiring outlook better than last year's

Hiring managers expect to bring on more hourly seasonal employees for this holiday season than last year, "edging ever closer to pre-recessionary hiring levels," Snagajob reports in its annual Holiday Hiring forecast.

Among managers with responsibility to hire employees for the year-end, 51 percent said they will hire some seasonal employees this year, up 8 points compared to 2008, Snagajob said.

Hiring managers, on average, expect to bring on 4.1 seasonal workers, up 5 percent over last year and 32 percent since a recessionary nadir in 2009.

In 2007, hiring managers brought on an average 5.6 employees for the holidays, according to Snagajob data.

"We're definitely seeing incremental improvements in the holiday, seasonal job market, even if we haven't returned to pre-recessionary levels," Shawn Boyer, CEO of Snagajob, said in a release. "What's encouraging is that we have the same percentage of hourly hiring managers expecting to make seasonal hires as before the recession (51 percent in 2007), and we are trending toward hiring the same number of workers as 2007 levels."

Hiring managers "appear to be more positive this year than last year when it comes to the general outlook for their business," Snagajob said.

Twenty five percent of hiring managers surveyed believe fourth-quarter sales will be higher this year than last, and 18 percent believe they'll see a decrease. That's a "net score" of 7, compared to last year's 2, Snagajob said.

- Scott Nishimura

Mouser Electronics, Gaylord Texan, others, put jobs on display at Chamber's Job Links

Mouser Electronics has been hiring a lot lately. The Mansfield company, owned by Berkshire Hathaway unit TTI, has 980 employees in Mansfield and hired 300 there last year.

The company has 60 openings currently, including 47 in Mansfield. The openings are in distribution, call center, IT, finance and accounting, and marketing, Paula Holcomb, Mouser vice president of human resources, told members of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce's Job Links Excelerator, a private monthly meetup of employers who have open jobs and organizations like universities and nonprofits that have candidate pools.

"We literally have positions across the board," Holcomb told the Job Links crowd, which met today at the Dee Kelly Alumni Center at TCU. To apply: www.mouser.com/careers

Other openings on display at at Wednesday's meeting:

Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Grapevine. Hiring for 300 seasonal and 200 other positions. The Gaylord last month began hiring for its big annual Ice holiday show. Openings include everything from Ice characters - Shrek is available - to accounting, human resources, and cooks. To apply: Gaylord's careers page.

Northwestern Mutual Financial Corp., Fort Worth. Wants to bring 26 financial advisers and a large number of interns on. Bachelor's degree required. To apply: deanna.stuart@nmfn.com

Edward Jones Investments. Bringing on more than 15 financial advisers in the Fort Worth area, and "several more" in the surrounding areas. Paid training for industry-required licenses. No degree required, "but preferred." To apply: Jake Richter, 817-870-1528

Pappagallo, fulltime assistant manager, Hulen Mall. To apply: Lisa Dickinson, sundance@pappagallo-classiques.com

ImageNet Consulting, two consultants. To apply: Craig Hill, chill@imagenetos.com

Whitley Penn, certified payroll processor. Associates degree required. To apply: send resume to opportunities@wpcpa.com

Larry Dennis Co., furniture wholesaler, Fort Worth. Sales and marketing position. How to apply: Larry Dennis, ldctx@att.net

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, unpaid interns in development, design, human resources, accounting, membership, science, and history. To apply: fwmuseum.org

LKCM Radio Group, Fort Worth, account executive. To apply: Gina Dobbs, 817-332-0959

Imagetek Office Systems, Fort Worth. Two sales directors. Bachelors required. To apply: Chris Golla, cgolla@imagetekos.com

SafeHaven of Tarrant County. Cook, parttime client advocate, parttime bilingual client advocate, crisis interventionist, parttime sales associate, bilingual children case manager. To apply: SafeHaventc.org

Firestone Complete Auto Care, Roanoke. Fort Worth district manager. Salary $40,000-$100,000. To apply: firestonecompleteautocare.com

State Farm Insurance, Fort Worth. Agents. Paid training. To apply: Sarah Peck, 972-983-8475 or sarah.peck.luoj@statefarm.com

Barney Holland Oil Co., Fort Worth. Executive assistant, $35,000 salary. To apply: send resume to Fina Cardwell, fcardwell@fuelmandfw.com. Real estate experience and bilingual "a plus." Must have expert Microsoft Office skills, excellent verbal and written communications skills, "be able to think outside of the box."

Triumph Aerostructures-Vought Aircraft Division, Dallas. Hiring recruiters. To apply: www.triumphgroup.com/careers/overview

Tom Thumb, Grapevine. Meat cutter, cake decorator, food service. To apply: www.careersatsafeway.com and click on retail.

Robert Half International-OfficeTeam, administrative, human resource, executive assistants. To apply: OfficeTeam.

Pearl Hospitality, Fort Worth. Hiring several human development strategists. To apply, Camille Zihlman, camille@pearlhospitality.com

- Scott Nishimura 

Seasonal hiring underway for fall

Here's our story from Monday's paper on seasonal hiring kicking in - already. The Gaylord Texan auditions and Liberty Tax Service job fair occurred yesterday.

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

Businesses start hiring for the holidays

It’s still hitting triple digits outside, but it’s time to think about Christmas.

The Gaylord Texan resort in Grapevine is already accepting applications online for its annual ICE show. Posted openings on its web site include box office agent and attendants for the attraction and retail operations. Besides seasonal, the site also lists numerous other jobs in Grapevine, ranging from culinary to management and bellmen.

Tax services typically start hiring around this type of year for the peak season. Liberty Tax Service is having an open house and job fair, 5 p.m.-7 p.m., Aug. 22 at 2325 S. Stemmons Freeway, # 303, in Lewisville. The company said it expects to hire seasonal 40,000 tax preparers and other positions for its 3,500 U.S. offices.

GameStop expects to hire 19,000 people for the holidays – about equal to last year’s hiring, says Mike Buskey, senior vice president-human resources for the Grapevine retailer. That’s 3-5 people per store.

“There are a number of key releases that are coming out this fall,” Buskey says. “They could be some of the biggest title releases we’ve ever had.”

Interested? Drop by a store to inquire early to mid-September, Buskey says. Hiring starts in early October for the retail stores.

GameStop also expects to hire 100 people each in its Grapevine distribution and refurbishment centers, and corporate office.

Applicants can go online or apply in person at those locations, Buskey said.

GameStop expects to post the seasonal jobs in late August on its site.

Buskey notes GameStop is always looking for employees.

“If there’s somebody looking for an opportunity, we’d love to see them tomorrow,” he said.

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

Hiring managers expect to bring on more summer help, SnagAJob says

Hiring managers plan to bring on more summer help, pay higher wages, and hire earlier this year, according to a survey out Thursday by SnagAJob.com, the jobs site that specializes in hourly jobs.

In the survey of 1,005 hiring managers by Ipsos Public Affairs, 10 percent said they expect to hire more seasonal people this year than last year, up from the 6 percent who said the same thing in a survey last year.

Hiring managers with openings said they expect to pay an average $10.90 per hour, up from the $10.20 in last year’s survey.

And 43 percent of hiring managers with openings said they expect to complete their summer hiring by April, which SnagAJob said is a “slightly more aggressive timeline” than the 40 percent in last year’s survey.

Amanda Richardson, a spokeswoman for SnagAJob, said it was the third year of positive trends in the annual survey, and the results show employers are feeling more confident about their prospects.

“We’ve got 55 percent of hiring managers hiring, which is the highest number since 2008,” she said.

Taken together, the numbers suggest a continuing highly competitive environment for jobseekers, Richardson said. College students who intend to seek work in their hometowns should apply now, and not wait until May, when school’s out, she said.

“Get your online applications in now,” she said. Students should also consult with their networks to find opportunities, apply to multiple jobs, and consider taking a day off from school to come home and look for summer work, she said.

Other findings in the survey:

• Small and midsize businesses, in addition to mainstays such as Six Flags, are hiring.
• On a scale of 1 to 10, hiring managers were a 5 on average, neutral on how difficult it will be for teenagers to find jobs.
• On where they’ll find workers, hiring managers said they expected to draw 65 percent of staff from previous employees, and 35 percent new hires, which “has been consistent the past four years,” SnagAJob said.
• Previous experience doesn’t necessarily carry the day. Asked the most important attribute of seasonal help, hiring managers cited positive attitude (30 percent) and scheduling flexibility (30 percent). Experience was cited No. 1 by 27 percent of hiring managers, up 4 percentage points from the previous survey.

Jobseekers should beware that summer jobs aren’t always labeled as such by employers in job descriptions, Richardson said.

“Employers often don’t want to commit to a timeframe,” Richardson said. “It’s up to conversations with the hiring manager to understand how long the job is.”

Students who attend school in their hometowns should keep this in mind.

“A lot of employers make summer hires with an eye toward a test drive,” Richardson said. “Summer jobs can turn into fulltime jobs. There’s definitely an advantage to being local and accessible.”

Besides the obvious spots like Six Flags, Richardson said jobseekers should look at businesses that benefit from summer travel and “staycations,” including restaurants, gasoline stations, motels, and movie theaters.

Landscaping also offers a good pot of jobs, she said. “That work has already started,” with home improvement centers, for example, hiring for their lawn and garden stores, Richardson said.

Ipsos conducted the survey Feb. 23-March 1. Respondents were hiring managers with responsibility for hiring summer hourly workers, SnagAJob said. Margin of error was 3.09 percent. Margin of error for the group of managers who said they planned to hire summer help was 4.17 percent, SnagAJob said.

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor holding March 5-6 job fairs to fill 350 summer slots

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor is holding a couple of job fairs March 5-6 to fill more than 350 jobs for the summer at the Arlington water park.

The fairs are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday March 5, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday March 6, both at the Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Harbor Center, 1800 E. Lamar Blvd.

Jobs include lifeguard, ride attendant, guest services, retail, security, food, and park services.

Hurricane Harbor is promoting the posts both as potential first jobs, and opportunities for extra income.

Benefits include free admission for family and friends, private employee events, flexible hours, “great pay and more,” Hurricane Harbor says.

Applicants should apply online at www.sixflagsjobs.com before coming to interview at the job fairs. Info: Six Flags HR, 817-265-3356, x. 4820.

Hurricane Harbor will open for the season May 16.

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

Six Flags holding auditions Saturday for 2011 entertainers

Six Flags Over Texas is holding its first open audition for Spring 2011 entertainers, Saturday at The Harbor Center at Hurricane Harbor, 1800 E. Lamar Blvd., in Arlington.

Audition times: 10 a.m., dancers; 10:30 a.m., costume; noon, disc jockeys and game show hosts; 1 p.m. singers.

"Perform on our stage, and there’s no telling where you may end up!" Six Flags says in its PR, noting Kelly Clarkson, "So You Think You Can Dance" winner Joshua Allen, Betty Buckley, and John Denver all once performed at Six Flags Over Texas before they hit the bigtime.

"Singers should be prepared to sing an up-tempo and a ballad song of their choice, and dancers will learn a short routine," Six Flags says. "Costume characters will be asked to perform a series of acting exercises and DJs/game show hosts will read a pre-written script. "

Info: www.sixflagsjobs.com

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

Fall retail hiring up sharply; will consumers go back into hibernation?

Retailers nationally raised payrolls by a net 646,300 jobs between October and December, up 28.9 percent over 2009, the Challenger, Gray & Christmas outplacement firm said Monday, citing federal Bureau of Labor Statistics figures.

“While November hiring was about the same as a year earlier, October and December hiring was the heaviest it’s been in several years,” Challenger said.

December’s retail employment grew by 181,900 positions, the largest December gain since 2005, Challenger said. October saw an increase of 146,800 retail jobs, the largest gain for that month since 2006.

“It turns out the additional hiring was warranted, as retailers experienced their best holiday sales season in several years,” John Challenger, the firm’s CEO, said. “It is too soon to say that the consumer is back, but the level of holiday spending certainly suggests that optimism is on the rise.”

“Now, the question is whether the consumer will go into post-holiday hibernation,” Challenger said. “If there’s any indication that some of the spending power will persist into the new year, retailers may keep some of the temporary seasonal workers on a permanent basis.”

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

Six Flags Over Texas hiring 800 for Spring 2011

UPDATES: This hiring fair is for Six Flags Over Texas only; Hurricane Harbor's will come later; Six Flags also is boosting hiring over last year's; job fair will be inside the park.

Six Flags Over Texas is hiring about 800 people for the Spring, and will hold its annual winter job fair, Saturday Jan. 15-Monday Jan. 17 and Saturday-Sunday Jan. 22-23. The hiring fair will be inside the park.

Jobs are both “front-line and supervisor level” in guest services, food, games, retail, rides and park services, security, entertainment, and revenue control, Six Flags said.

“Securing one of these highly sought-after positions will not only be a guaranteed ticket to fun and a thrilling experience with unlimited incentives...but an exceptional opportunity to learn and work with talented individuals at the largest theme park in North Texas,” Six Flags said.

Interested applicants should apply online at www.sixflagsjobs.com before interviewing at the fair, Six Flags says. For more info, contact Six Flags human resources at 817-640-8900, x. 4200.

The hiring fair is only for Six Flags Over Texas. Hiring for the sister park Hurricane Harbor will come later, said Sharon Parker, a spokeswoman for both parks.

Six Flags is expecting 2,000 or more applicants to turn out for the January fair, Parker said.

The 800 positions represent an increase over the 700 Six Flags was looking to hire at the start of last year, Parker said.

"Staffing needs have increased in preparation for the 2011 operating season and more importantly our 50^th Anniversary" this year, Parker said.

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

Liberty Tax hiring 50,000 seasonal employees

Liberty Tax said Monday it plans to hire 50,000 seasonal employees at more than 3,500 offices for tax season.

The company’s seeking tax preparers, marketers, managers, and office people for the first quarter.

Liberty said it’s offering free week-long January “Rapid Tax” preparation courses to everyon”e interested in furthering their tax education, whether it’s for personal gain or possible employment.”

Students aren’t required to have prior tax experience to register and complete the class. The classes cover the latest tax changes, credits, and forms.

Info: www.libertytax.com , 866-871-1040.

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram