Weekend Work at Fall Festivals

This weekend is one of the busiest for many farmers, as agri-tainment locations are selling the rest of their pumpkins, hosting corn mazes, setting up haunted hay rides, and more. Even in cities, fall festivals will be in high gear this coming weekend!

And best of all, it’s not to late to find a job in agri-tainment at one of these festivals, especially since some stretch beyond Halloween weekend to provide entertainment until Thanksgiving and beyond.

Fall festival organizers look for the following characteristics when hiring employees:

• A willingness to work late hours – some festivals, especially haunted houses, last past midnight
• Retail experience, if the festival includes a sales component
• An ability to work with all age groups, especially children
• A good history of punctuality at your previous jobs
• Friendliness and the ability to help people (who may be tired or grumpy) with a smile
• Trustworthiness (you may be responsible for taking money)

Some fall festivals don’t actually hire workers but instead are looking for volunteers. This is the case if a non-profit organization, like a church or scouting group, is organizing the event or if the proceeds go to charity. Don’t overlook volunteer positions! They could lead to paying positions in the future and in any case, they look good on your resume and connect you with people who could serve as references in the future as you’re hunting for a paying job.

Many fall festival jobs aren’t announced in the newspaper or on Internet job boards, so if you see one in you area, make a point to call the organizers. Often, these short-term positions get filled when employees recommend friends or people simply inquire about openings. If they aren’t hiring, they may also be able to point you to a festival that does have open job opportunities.

If you do work at a fall festival this weekend, make sure to follow up in the future. Many organizations and businesses also hold special events around the end-of-year holiday season, and if they can work with the same people, people they already know do a great job, they’ll often jump at the chance. You just have to remind them that you’re available!