Short term job ideas? (Manassas, Woodbridge: sales, job openings, buy)

[ZakAttack]

I need to find some short-term work while I am in between jobs. It could be as short as only 6 weeks, so I am reluctant to tell an employer (even as a waiter, etc) how long I plan on working there. Does anyone have any good ideas for steady short-term work in the Woodbridge/Pot Mills area?

I'm guessing a waiter might be my best bet? I don't think I want to be a lifeguard or a landscaper.

[EuroExpat]

Try calling a temp agency? Good luck!

[ChristineVA]

My college-aged daughter has been looking for short-term work in this area. For some odd reason, jobs are VERY tight around here. For instance, if you go on Wegman's employement site, there are tons of jobs at the Fairfax store but not much, if anything, at the Woodbridge location. She has found the same to be true for places like Kohl's, Petco, Target, etc.

Since she is a college student and that's on her resume, she has not been able to be picked up by any restaurants either (she has previous waitress experience). She has been honest that she won't be here at the end of August and they are just not interested.

She did speak with our veterinarian to see is she could be be some type of summer help during their busy kennel hours. They said that the training took so long, they weren't interested in anyone who couldn't stick around.

So, she's basically given up.

I know a few weeks ago, The Smart Car Wash was hiring so you might check there.

[Grsz11]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

My college-aged daughter has been looking for short-term work in this area. For some odd reason, jobs are VERY tight around here. For instance, if you go on Wegman's employement site, there are tons of jobs at the Fairfax store but not much, if anything, at the Woodbridge location. She has found the same to be true for places like Kohl's, Petco, Target, etc.

Since she is a college student and that's on her resume, she has not been able to be picked up by any restaurants either (she has previous waitress experience). She has been honest that she won't be here at the end of August and they are just not interested.

She did speak with our veterinarian to see is she could be be some type of summer help during their busy kennel hours. They said that the training took so long, they weren't interested in anyone who couldn't stick around.

So, she's basically given up.

I know a few weeks ago, The Smart Car Wash was hiring so you might check there.

I can echo that. I'm moving to Woodbridge to go to grad school in DC and looking for part time work at Lowes where I work now in PA. No postings in Woodbridge, so I had to apply in Manassas and Stafford which isn't a great commute especially for.part time

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by Grsz11

I can echo that. I'm moving to Woodbridge to go to grad school in DC and looking for part time work at Lowes where I work now in PA. No postings in Woodbridge, so I had to apply in Manassas and Stafford which isn't a great commute especially for.part time

I wonder why this is. I've noticed it everywhere. Like you've said--there are jobs in Manassas too. I wonder if Woodbridge just has a bigger population than some of the other places? Well, though, that theory doesn't explain all the openings I see in Fairfax.

[selenityk]

Dog walking?

[oneasterisk]

I used to work for Market Source as a HP Vendor rep. They'd send us to local stores like Best Buy, Circuit City (when they were still around), Staples etc. I used to work at the Woodbridge Best Buy and Staples periodically, but mostly the Fair Lakes Staples. We'd stand by the HP printer/scanner section and answer questions for customers. We were not employed directly by the stores, but we augmented their sales staff. I did it for about 6 months just to earn some quick cash, but quit because it ate up all my spare time. I'd only work weekends for them, maybe 6 hours Saturday and Sunday. It got to the point where I was working 7 days a week since I had a full time job and maybe getting one Saturday or Sunday off in a month. That was a drag, but the money was good. It was paying around $16 an hour plus mileage to get to the stores. Training was a piece of cake, you'd just run through slides of the different features of the various devices. The work was really easy. Most people already know what they want, you just enforce it for them or maybe steer them to a product that can better serve their needs. Hardest part was restocking the product, but usually the store employees would do that for you. That was about 7-8 years ago so not sure if they still do it, since Best Buy and the ilk have been taking a beating lately.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

I wonder why this is. I've noticed it everywhere. Like you've said--there are jobs in Manassas too. I wonder if Woodbridge just has a bigger population than some of the other places? Well, though, that theory doesn't explain all the openings I see in Fairfax.

My guess is there's a bigger pool of immigrant low wage workers in Woodbridge, including older adults, who will do those jobs on a longer term basis, so no need to hire local teens.

Pizza delivery is what immediately comes to my mind for short term work.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

My guess is there's a bigger pool of immigrant low wage workers in Woodbridge, including older adults, who will do those jobs on a longer term basis, so no need to hire local teens.

Pizza delivery is what immediately comes to my mind for short term work.

That was my first thought also, until I dissected it further.

After going into some of these stores that both my son and daughter have applied to (my son on a permanent basis since he lives her year round), I didn't see the "pool of immigrant low wage workers" filling these jobs. I see a lot of what appears not be non-immigrant workers, of all ages, filling them. Period. On top of that, both my kids are happy to work for minimum wage which is the lowest of the low. I doubt that Wegman's, Kohl's, Lowe's, AMC theaters et al, are paying below minimum wage to the immigrants. Certainly, I see the fast food industry inundated with immigrant workers (Chick-Fil-A being the exception) but I'm not seeing in anywhere else.

Besides all that, Manassas seems to have more job openings than the Woodbridge area and they probably have the larger pool of immigrant workers. I would direct my kids to work over that way, except it's 25 miles each way for them to get over there and, at $7.25 per hour and the cost of gas and mileage on the car, not sure it's worth it.

I'm starting to think that Woodbridge has a lower level of commerce per person than some of the other areas. Maybe we don't have enough stores. I dunno. It seems odd with Potomac Mills there so I'm probably wrong. I do think the Wegman's is much less busy than the one in Fairfax so maybe they just don't hire as many people at the Woodbridge one.

But, off my soapbox. I'm certainly not helping the original poster.

As for the dogwalking, I keep thinking that sounds like an excellent "temporary" job and there are many reputable companies out there that are always hiring. If you look at the details of their ads, though, they are asking for a 6 month commitment as well as being 21 years of age. I would not feel good about lying about that 6 month commitment, personally, but people must do it because these places are ALWAYS advertising.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

That was my first thought also, until I dissected it further.

After going into some of these stores that both my son and daughter have applied to (my son on a permanent basis since he lives her year round), I didn't see the "pool of immigrant low wage workers" filling these jobs. I see a lot of what appears not be non-immigrant workers, of all ages, filling them. Period. On top of that, both my kids are happy to work for minimum wage which is the lowest of the low. I doubt that Wegman's, Kohl's, Lowe's, AMC theaters et al, are paying below minimum wage to the immigrants. Certainly, I see the fast food industry inundated with immigrant workers (Chick-Fil-A being the exception) but I'm not seeing in anywhere else.

Yeah, that was probably more of a boom years things. I've heard though that there are more adults now doing jobs that kids used to, sometimes as a second source of income. However, that's not just a Woodbridge thing. A relative who lives out in Western PWC says the same thing is common out there.