Basically, a seasonal job is a gig where both you and your employer know it’s going to end at a pre-determined date. It’s like “expiration dating,” but for work. This time of year, retailers, especially, need to accommodate for spikes in seasonal shopping so they beef up their staffing temporarily until sales drop off again, usually sometime in January.

If you are looking to fill that gap in your budget, occupy the downtime between semesters, or you just want a break from the family (of course you love them, but we all need to get away sometimes…), a seasonal job might be the way to go. Be ready to work the duration of the season. Most employers have a zero-excused-absence policy or are at least very wary of inflexible seasonal employee schedules.

Here are a few of the big employers who’ll gladly welcome your application this season. Unless stated otherwise, these positions all run from now to January 2018. (Exact end dates usually vary based on how the seasonal volume for this season shakes out.)

UPS

Every year, UPS amps up its workforce to handle the huge increase in package volume during the holiday season. This year the company is looking to bring on roughly 95k workers for November–January positions. Basically, you’ll be lifting a lot of boxes. This is pretty physical work so you should be prepared to burn some calories, which might be nice depending on your seasonal pie intake.

Available Jobs:Package Handler, Tractor Trailer Driver, Package Delivery Driver, Driver Helper and more.

Requirements: Need to be able to lift 35 lbs.

Salary: Seasonal positions range from $11.01–11.30 per hour, plus $150 weekly bonuses for some positions.

Note: UPS is also a good bet if you’re interested in sticking around after the season. The company claims that something like 35% of seasonal employees came on full time after the seasonal gig ended last year.

FedEx

Fed Ex, like UPS, does a lot of business over the holiday season. Last year the company moved well over 300 million packages. That takes a lot of extra strong hands and backs.

Available Jobs: Delivery Driver, Truck Driver, Warehouse Worker, Package Handler and more.

Requirements: Truck Drivers need a CDL. Lifting requirement is 75 lbs.

Salary: Seasonal workers make around $11 per hour. Drivers make $30k–40k per year if you stay on.

Target

Target says it’s going to hire around 100k people for hourly seasonal help this year. One nice perk of a Target job is that you’ll get 10% off of merchandise if you are a seasonal employee.

Available Jobs: Warehouse Associate, Team Member (Logistics, Food, Beauty, Electronics, Starbucks), Sales Floor and more.

Requirements: Varies depending on position, but for Warehouse Associate and Packer there is a lifting requirement.

Salary: Target lists its pay as “market competitive” so you’ll know more as you go through the application process specific to your position of interest.

Kohl’s

Remember when you went to Kohl’s with your mom as a kid and you begged for the Ninja Turtles shirt but she just bought you a bunch of corduroys? (Ok, maybe not everybody had that experience.) Well kids still need cartoon t-shirts and corduroys (or something), so Kohl’s needs a lot of seasonal team members on their floors and in their warehouses.

Available Jobs: Stock Clerk, Cashier, Retail Sales Associate, Freight Associate, Beauty Advisor and more.

Requirements: Background check and some positions require a group interview.

Salary: Kohl’s jobs are a bit lower paying than other companies listed here. Most jobs are minimum wage, but hiring managers do take experience into account and the company states some positions pay up to $15 an hour.

The Gap

The Gap’s hiring process is the same for its entire family of companies. Banana Republic, Athleta, Gap, Old Navy, and Intermix are all part of Gap Inc. Employees get a whopping 50%

discount on merchandise. Gap Inc. also prides itself on flexible scheduling since many team members are balancing these jobs with school.

Available Jobs: Stock Associate, Sales Associate, Brand Associate, Loss Prevention Agent and more.

Requirements: Good attitude, clean appearance (you have to dress decently for these jobs — it is fashion after all), and flexibility to move into different roles as needed.

Salary: Base Sales Associate pay is about $10 an hour. Stock Associates are similar.

Macy’s

Like many of the retail companies listed here, Macy’s holds large regional seasonal hiring events so be on the lookout as these events are the quickest and easiest way to get onto the team. In addition to traditional floor and stock jobs, Macy’s does offer some commissioned opportunities as well. For example, jewelry sales pay is highly variable depending on how well you sell.

Available Jobs: Jewelry Sales, Cosmetic Sales, Customer Service, Food Sales Associate, Asset Protection/Loss Prevention Security Guard and more.

Requirements: Flexibility to move into different tasks as needed. Some jobs require an early morning start time.

Salary: $9–12 per hour. Commission opportunities vary based on performance.

Nordstrom

Nordstrom sales and floor jobs are at the heart of their business. The company sees these customer-facing positions as a big part of the brand so you’ll go through quite a bit of scrutiny regarding your people skills in addition to a fair amount of training. However, the pay range is a bit higher than many of the other seasonal jobs listed here.

Available Jobs: Restaurant Cashier, Retail Sales, Loss Prevention Agent, Cosmetics Beauty Stylist and more.

Requirements: High emphasis on a well-groomed appearance. Long hours on your feet.

Salary: $11–13 per hour.

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