Attracting, recruiting and onboarding sometimes tens of thousands of seasonal employees in a matter of months can feel overwhelming, but you can beat the pressure with smart recruiting strategies and disciplined recruiting operations. Job advertising, recruiting events, social media — all of your recruitment strategies need to be laser focused and need to work together. After all, you don’t have much time to test your employer brand messaging or experiment with new recruiting channels when seasonal recruiting begins. Missing your hiring goals could make or break your company’s ability to deliver top-notch customer service, get packages delivered on time or manage an influx of guests.
But even if your company doesn’t do seasonal hiring, there’s a lot you can learn from how these employers attract and recruit talent, to help you meet your hiring goals any time of year. To learn more about the different tactics and tools you can use, download our ideabook 6 Creative Seasonal Hiring Strategies. You’ll get access to insight on creative ways to capture candidate attention in the lead up to your busiest times and see examples from top employers that are mastering the seasonal game.
To beat the pressure of seasonal hiring, check out these smart seasonal recruiting strategies we’ve seen from two employers: Target and See’s Candies.
Target
Retail giant Target is one of the top seasonal hires, and for the 2019 season, it’s no different. The corporation announced it will be bringing on an extra 130,000 employees to help during the rush — this includes 125,000 in-store associates and 8,000 employees for distribution centers. Talk about needing a large-scale seasonal strategy!
As part of their efforts, Target created a dedicated careers site for their seasonal positions. When looking for available roles, job seekers interested in seasonal opportunities often have to sift — or scroll — through a mix of permanent positions. This can be frustrating for those who just want to locate the roles that are relevant for them.
Target removes that source of friction with their dedicated careers page that displays only seasonal roles. By clicking the ‘Apply Now’ button, candidates are immediately brought to the job results page that lists the company’s available seasonal opportunities. They can then filter by location, schedule, job area and other criteria, all without having to scroll through non-seasonal positions.

Seasonal job seekers can quickly find the right roles for their skill sets and experience.
Discover even more great seasonal hiring insight by watching our webinar on demand: Creative Seasonal Hiring Strategies. You’ll learn how Recruitment Marketing Specialist Kelly Burns and the HR team at Xanterra Travel Collection position their employer brand to better attract and engage 3,000 seasonal employees to live and work at Yellowstone National Park each year.
See’s Candies
Posting positions to job boards is something that many employers do to find seasonal talent, but candy manufacturer See’s Candies takes it one step further! The company creates not only job postings for each of their seasonal roles, but they also create one to promote their seasonal hiring events, like this one on Glassdoor.
Hiring events are a fantastic way to recruit seasonal talent, as interviews can be conducted and offers extended on the spot to help organizations meet their large-volume hiring goals.
See’s Candies’ strategy ensures that the information about their seasonal hiring events reaches candidates who are actively searching for these types of opportunities. They include all relevant details, such as job requirements for the different positions they’re hiring for and the salary range. The posting even allows job seekers to RSVP for the event by submitting their contact information, resume and other specifics about their experience and background.
See’s Candies also makes sure to stay on top of their SEO game by using seasonal both in the job posting title and in the description copy, which is a key way to get in front of talent by being at the top of the results page.

Candidates can find all of the information they need about the company’s seasonal hiring events in one job advertisement on Glassdoor.
As you gear up for your busy recruiting season, whether it’s during the holidays or another time of year, a solid recruitment plan that uses both proven strategies and fresh thinking can help you navigate the landscape with success. Creating a laser-focused plan will help you find and attract those candidates who will benefit your company during your busiest times.
For more smart strategies and examples, download our ideabook 6 Creative Seasonal Hiring Strategies or watch our webinar on demand Creative Seasonal Hiring Strategies.