Peak seasons, whether it be at a waterpark in summer or a department store at Christmas, require seasonal staffing. It’s a unique challenge in the recruitment world—how do you engage top talent when they know that the job won’t be there on the other side of the season? How do you ensure commitment and provoke passion in a workforce that has an expiration date?

According to a study by Snagajob performed just before summer 2023, 84% of workers said they would be using an online job board in their search. So, it seems that the first key to successful hiring in any situation, not just seasonal recruitment, starts with selecting the right job board and knowing how to use it. Keep scrolling to discover some tips on how to use job boards to ensure success.

1. Who is Looking?

It’s beneficial to keep in mind what kind of workers are looking for seasonal positions. The Snagajob study found that 67% of summer job seekers are Gen Zers. This will not be true for every seasonal role, but is certainly true for jobs based during holidays from college. This means that getting to know the best methods for attracting young talent is an effective strategy. The most popular job boards overall are still the most popular for young workers, such as LinkedIn, Indeed and Snagajob. But if you are looking for college-age employees, more niche boards such as AfterCollege, College Central and College Recruiter are worthwhile.

A survey of the classes of 2022 and 2023 by Handshake revealed that 78% of job seekers use job networks as their primary means of looking for employment. However, the role of social media is also on the rise. While only 13% of the Class of 2022 relied on social media for job hunting, the number jumped to 21% for the Class of 2023. So, for long-term strategy, picking a job board that effectively uses social media is your best bet. LinkedIn is itself a social media platform, while boards like CareerBuilder, SimplyHired and Monster all promote listings on Facebook, Instagram and X.

Other people looking for seasonal work could include: teachers with available summer months, professional freelancers, parents, retirees or underemployed individuals. Make sure to research the best board for your target audience.

2. Fine-Tune the Listing

According to the Snagajob survey, seasonal workers’ top two concerns when looking for a job include earning money and gaining job experience. Workers are also looking for three main things in a job post before they decide to apply: Hours/shifts, pay rate, location. This can provide a helpful checklist as you start to craft your listing. 

It’s important to provide a detailed yet concise job description outlining responsibilities, qualifications and the expected duration of employment. Highlight any competitive wages, flexible scheduling and potential for future opportunities. Also, use inclusive and neutral language to make the listing attractive to a diverse candidate pool. 

Some AI tools, such as Ongig, analyze job descriptions to identify gender bias, potential discriminatory language, and other issues that may deter candidates. They can suggest changes to make your listings more neutral and appealing to a wider audience.

Benefits and perks should also be communicated high up in the posting. Are there discounts? Training? Are there possibilities for career advancement? Tax services company, H&R Block, hires seasonal tax professionals to meet the high demand during tax season. They provide comprehensive training and offer the potential for year-round employment.

3. Have a Year-Round Plan

As a company whose business revolves around one specific holiday, Spirit Halloween is known for how fast its stores seemingly appear and then vanish after the season’s end. In fact, the simple presence of a Spirit Halloween pop-up store has become a harbinger of the spooky season itself, typically open from early August through November 2. For the 2023 season, the retailer hired around 40,000 associates across the U.S. and Canada. But despite its ephemeral nature, Spirit Halloween has a plan that keeps retention in mind.

Spirit Halloween’s recruitment strategy is designed to attract and retain seasonal employees who can help create a fun and festive atmosphere during the Halloween season. Their focus on early planning, diversified recruitment channels and employee engagement contributes to their success in hiring and managing seasonal staff.

Spirit Halloween begins its seasonal recruitment well in advance of the Halloween season. It typically starts the process in the spring or early summer to ensure a sufficient workforce is in place for their stores. The retailer often utilizes popular online job boards like Indeed, Snagajob, and Glassdoor to reach a broad audience of job seekers looking for seasonal employment, but it also uses local job boards, as relevant to each store’s location. The listings encourage former employees to return and also recommend friends to the roles. Its strategy puts strong emphasis on a love for the holiday, which inspires passion in workers.

4. Use Eye-Catching Titles

It’s important to craft a compelling job title that succinctly conveys the role and the seasonal nature of the position.

Create attention-grabbing job titles that convey the essence of the position. For example, “Seasonal Retail Associate for a Thriving Holiday Store” is more appealing than a generic title. Making sure the temporary nature of the job is in the title will also help job seekers explain the shorter employment period on their resume when applying for future roles. 

Macy’s, which is currently recruiting for the upcoming holidays offers titles including “Seasonal Santaland Manager,” “Seasonal Onboarding Champion Associate” and “Seasonal Retail At Your Service Associate.”

These titles also have the benefit of being SEO-friendly for job seekers looking specifically for temporary work. For additional SEO help with your job titles, you can also turn to tech. Solutions like Textio can assess the content of your job listings and provide suggestions for enhancing readability, clarity, and SEO optimization.

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Peak seasons, whether it be at a waterpark in summer or a department store at Christmas, require seasonal staffing. It’s a unique challenge in the recruitment world—how do you engage top talent when they know that the job won’t be there on the other side of the season? How do you ensure commitment and provoke passion in a workforce that has an expiration date? According to a study by Snagajob performed just before summer 2023, 84% of workers said they would be using an online job board in their search. So, it seems that the first key to successful hiring in any situation, not just seasonal recruitment, starts with selecting the right job board and knowing how to use it. Keep scrolling to discover some tips on how to use job boards to ensure success.

1. Who is Looking?

It’s beneficial to keep in mind what kind of workers are looking for seasonal positions. The Snagajob study found that 67% of summer job seekers are Gen Zers. This will not be true for every seasonal role, but is certainly true for jobs based during holidays from college. This means that getting to know the best methods for attracting young talent is an effective strategy. The most popular job boards overall are still the most popular for young workers, such as LinkedIn, Indeed and Snagajob. But if you are looking for college-age employees, more niche boards such as AfterCollege, College Central and College Recruiter are worthwhile. A survey of the classes of 2022 and 2023 by Handshake revealed that 78% of job seekers use job networks as their primary means of looking for employment. However, the role of social media is also on the rise. While only 13% of the Class of 2022 relied on social media for job hunting, the number jumped to 21% for the Class of 2023. So, for long-term strategy, picking a job board that effectively uses social media is your best bet. LinkedIn is itself a social media platform, while boards like CareerBuilder, SimplyHired and Monster all promote listings on Facebook, Instagram and X. Other people looking for seasonal work could include: teachers with available summer months, professional freelancers, parents, retirees or underemployed individuals. Make sure to research the best board for your target audience.

2. Fine-Tune the Listing

According to the Snagajob survey, seasonal workers’ top two concerns when looking for a job include earning money and gaining job experience. Workers are also looking for three main things in a job post before they decide to apply: Hours/shifts, pay rate, location. This can provide a helpful checklist as you start to craft your listing.  It’s important to provide a detailed yet concise job description outlining responsibilities, qualifications and the expected duration of employment. Highlight any competitive wages, flexible scheduling and potential for future opportunities. Also, use inclusive and neutral language to make the listing attractive to a diverse candidate pool.  Some AI tools, such as Ongig, analyze job descriptions to identify gender bias, potential discriminatory language, and other issues that may deter candidates. They can suggest changes to make your listings more neutral and appealing to a wider audience. Benefits and perks should also be communicated high up in the posting. Are there discounts? Training? Are there possibilities for career advancement? Tax services company, H&R Block, hires seasonal tax professionals to meet the high demand during tax season. They provide comprehensive training and offer the potential for year-round employment.

3. Have a Year-Round Plan

As a company whose business revolves around one specific holiday, Spirit Halloween is known for how fast its stores seemingly appear and then vanish after the season’s end. In fact, the simple presence of a Spirit Halloween pop-up store has become a harbinger of the spooky season itself, typically open from early August through November 2. For the 2023 season, the retailer hired around 40,000 associates across the U.S. and Canada. But despite its ephemeral nature, Spirit Halloween has a plan that keeps retention in mind. Spirit Halloween's recruitment strategy is designed to attract and retain seasonal employees who can help create a fun and festive atmosphere during the Halloween season. Their focus on early planning, diversified recruitment channels and employee engagement contributes to their success in hiring and managing seasonal staff. Spirit Halloween begins its seasonal recruitment well in advance of the Halloween season. It typically starts the process in the spring or early summer to ensure a sufficient workforce is in place for their stores. The retailer often utilizes popular online job boards like Indeed, Snagajob, and Glassdoor to reach a broad audience of job seekers looking for seasonal employment, but it also uses local job boards, as relevant to each store's location. The listings encourage former employees to return and also recommend friends to the roles. Its strategy puts strong emphasis on a love for the holiday, which inspires passion in workers.

4. Use Eye-Catching Titles

It’s important to craft a compelling job title that succinctly conveys the role and the seasonal nature of the position. Create attention-grabbing job titles that convey the essence of the position. For example, "Seasonal Retail Associate for a Thriving Holiday Store" is more appealing than a generic title. Making sure the temporary nature of the job is in the title will also help job seekers explain the shorter employment period on their resume when applying for future roles.  Macy’s, which is currently recruiting for the upcoming holidays offers titles including “Seasonal Santaland Manager,” “Seasonal Onboarding Champion Associate” and “Seasonal Retail At Your Service Associate.” These titles also have the benefit of being SEO-friendly for job seekers looking specifically for temporary work. For additional SEO help with your job titles, you can also turn to tech. Solutions like Textio can assess the content of your job listings and provide suggestions for enhancing readability, clarity, and SEO optimization.