See Jane Get Rich

 Today I got my first paycheck from my holiday job. I was starting to wonder when that first paycheck would show up and I kept checking my bank account to see if the direct deposit had come through. I finally went and asked my manager and it turns out the direct deposit paycheck hadn’t gone through.

I was so excited to see my paycheck that I immediately opened it up to see how much I had made working. It was a whopping $161.29. What! No way! I know I am working for peanuts but that’s even smaller than peanuts. So, I started scanning my paycheck to see why the heck my paycheck is the size of a mustard seed and that’s when I noticed my big fat 401(k) contribution. So, here’s how my first paycheck breaks down.

Total Earned Paycheck: $515.12

Now, subtract the following: Read the rest of this entry »

When I went home for Thanksgiving, I put in an application for seasonal employment with two big box retailers at the mall close to home. I was staying up late to study so I finished filling out two online applications at around 2:00 a.m. The next day in the afternoon, I got a call from one of the stores that I applied to asking me if I can come in for an interview. I interviewed at 5:00 p.m. and was back in my car at 5:45 with an offer to start after I got home in December.

Seasonal holiday jobs are a great way for students to earn some cash on the side when they are off from school. And it will likely end up being a great motivator to continue with your studies after you realize how physically grueling jobs that merely require a high school diploma can be. I work in retail and that means I am on my feet all the time. My legs hurt so much that it takes me hours to recover from a shift.

Here are some tips to land a holiday seasonal job:

(1) Timing  Apply in late November when companies are looking to fill their ranks for the upcoming holiday season. Even if you can’t start right then it will be easier to get a December-only job if you apply early.

(2) Be Flexible I believe one of the reasons I got a job so quickly was because I had full availability.  Retailers are open earlier and staying open later and that means they need people to fill the schedule at those times.  If you have flexible availability then you stand a better chance of being hired.

(3) Target holiday industries People love to eat and shop.  These two activities certainly go into overdrive during the holidays so target retail and restaurants/catering.  

My retail job wears me out completely  from all the standing and the paycheck that I am getting isn’t going to be that big, but knowing that it is a temporary job makes me soldier on!  The extra cash also will come in handy with my tuition bill.