Temporary Jobs for Tax Season

Temporary Jobs for Tax SeasonTemporary Jobs for Tax SeasonLooking for a seasonal job? Tax preparation companies hire seasonal workers to help clients prepare income tax returns during tax season (typically January 1 through April 15). A tax preparation job can be a great way to earn extra money during income tax season and can sometimes lead to other more permanent opportunities in accounting and finance. The positions are often flexible, allowing you to work days, nights, or weekends, depending on your schedule. They can be full-time or part-time.Because of this flexibility, it is an ideal seasonal job for parents and people with full-time jobs. Some positions in tax preparation require tax experience or specific certifications. Others, like jobs in data entry andadministration, do not require tax experience. Read below forinformation on the types of tax season jobs available, the qualifications you might need, and how to find these jobs. Types of Tax Season Jobs Tax preparation offices ranging from small local offices to large tax firms hire a variety of types of seasonal workers. Online companies like Intuit (which makes TurboTax) also hires tax advisors. TheInternal Revenue Servicealso hires temporary employees for tax filing season. The types of jobs available vary in their duties. Tax preparer jobs require you to help clients prepare their tax returns and answer any questions they have. Other jobs that involve helping clients with taxes and general financial planning include audit associates, personal financial services associates, tax examiners, and tax advisors. There are also positions that do not require you to have much, or any, financial knowledge. For example, positions like general clerk and data transcriber require you to review, examine, and manage documents. Some companies also hire seasonal program coordinators, administrative assistants, and bookkeepers, who perform administrative duties like answering phones, maintaining databases, and m ore. Qualifications for Tax Season Jobs Depending on the job you apply to, some tax preparation companies seek candidates with specific experience and degrees. For example, a tax preparer job might require that candidates have a certain number of years of experience in accounting or tax preparation. Others might require Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification. Some tax preparation companies (including HR Block and Jackson Hewitt) offer income tax courses for applicants who lack experience or certifications but are interested in a seasonal job. Many courses begin before January so that you are qualified in time for tax season. In-person and online courses are available. Some classes are free, although they may charge you for books and class materials. Other classes charge a fee. Most last a few weeks or months and are part-time. Before you sign up for a training course, check to see if there is a charge for the class and, if so, what is included in the fee. Employment at the company isnt guaranteed after taking a course. However, taking a tax course can boost your application, especially if you have limited experience in tax preparation. How to Find Tax Season Jobs One way of finding tax jobs is to apply directly to the employers website. In most cases, youll be able to apply online for seasonal tax positions including tax professional, processing, advising, and administrative jobs. Below are the career websites for four of the largest tax preparation firms and organizations Jackson HewittHR BlockInternal Revenue ServiceLiberty Tax Another way to find income tax preparation jobs, especially at smaller companies, is to use variousjob search engines. You can search for a specific job title, such as tax preparer or tax advisor. Most job search engines allow you to search by type of job. Click the Seasonal Jobs box, if it is available. If there is a tax firm near you, you can also stop in and ask if they have any seasonal jobs available. Or you can send them a cold contact letter, which is a letter to a company asking about unadvertised job openings. Keep in mind that you can also offer tax preparation services yourself. You can set up an online tax preparation site (although this costs some money up front), or offer tax preparation in person. Most states (except for California and Oregon) do not require you to register with the state if you are a tax preparer. Therefore, this is something you could easily do seasonally, on your own time.

6 Ways to Treat Your Job Hunt Like a Business to Speed Up the Process

6 Ways to Treat Your Job Hunt Like a Business to Speed Up the Process6 Ways to Treat Your Job Hunt Like a Business to Speed Up the ProcessJob searching is an undoubtedly challenging and sometimes stressful task. It can be difficult to properly juggle your time, tools, and resources to optimize your job search without proper planning.Im here to tell you that it can be easier As I look back on job searching and the belastung two years I spent in the workforce particularly this year, working with jobbinnenseekers here at Simply Hired, I realized that optimizing your job search is a lot like planning a project. In fact, I wrote about how to deliver on a project a few weeks ago. The saatkorn six-step framework can be applied to the process of job hunting. Here is howDevelop a business caseBuilding a business case for your job search will set the foundation for your search. It can help you segment your search and identify high interest jobsjobs that are a high match for your goals. Start by defining the rationale for your job search. Think through your reasons for embarking on the search for a new job. Do these reasons align with your career goals and lifestyle needs? It may be helpful to create a quick cost-benefit analysis as part of your business case. What are the benefits of finding a new job at this stage in your career? What are the risks?Define the scopeDefine the scope of your job search. In project planning, scope boils down to two main components, time and resources. The same components can be applied to your job search. How long do you see your job search lasting? Be realistic here according to Simply Hired data, nearly one out of five job searches take seven months or more. What kind of resources will you need? Do you have an updated resume ready to go? If not, free online resources to update and/or draft resumes are widely available.Another helpful method to assess resources is to draft a skills inventory. Separate skills into three columns Passions, S kills Abilities, and Rather Not/Needs Improvement. Again, be honest with yourself. This assessment is important to understand what types of jobs you qualify for and if you want to work on skills in your Needs Improvement column. These revelations should factor into your timeline.Breakdown your game planUpon assessment of scope, you should have a sense of time and resource requirements. From here, you can break down your job search project plan. It often helps to break out your search into headers representing the main components of the search. For example, these components could be Research, Revise, Apply and Follow Up. Under each of these headers you can then list individual tasks. Each task should have a date of expected completion and list of requirements. Call out dependencies if a task requires deliverables from a predecessor, then that should be clearly labeled.Check out the example headers below.Define your goalsOnce you have your game plan, you should have a complete pictur e of what you must complete throughout your job search. Take a moment and channel this sense towards identifying major milestones and goals. The same brainstorm question from project planning can apply to your job search. What are the markers of completion? What is the best outcome for each task? How can this outcome be quantitatively and qualitatively measured? Dont forget to set time goals on these major milestones. This will enable you to plan your process at a more granular level.Document and reportDocumentation and reporting are very important in an organized job search. First, document your progress in a Planned vs. Actual table. The planned column lists all the major milestones and the dates of their planned completion. The actual column lists the same major milestones and the dates of their actual completion. If there are long delays in actual completion, provide an explanation for the delay. This will help you identify problem areas and prevent further delays.Another helpfu l tip is to create a job search log, especially for online job applications and create columns for each stage of the application process.ReviewReview your progress at recurring intervals. Depending on your overall timeline, this review could occur every 4-6 weeks. Take a close look at your original timeline, skills inventory, Planned vs. Actual table, and job search log. Are you hitting all of your milestones in the allotted time? Why or why not? Analyze these reasons to understand what to remedy or replicate (as appropriate) over the next 4-6 weeks.

How to be a Good Job Seeker

How to be a Good Job SeekerHow to be a Good Job Seekerafter years in one career or industry or are just unfamiliar with tips and tools needed to secure positions through online applications. The process of finding and securing a job can be stressful and take a toll on your ego, your pocketbook, and your confidence. It doesnt have to be that way. Today, I will talk about five tips I give to our job seekers who are looking for work through. To find a good job, you have to know how to be a good job seeker.Be PatientThis is probably the hardest thing to hear when you are in the job market. My first job, at the local pizza place, only required that I walk in, fill out a one-page application and pick my first day. Todays job market is not that simple. While one job seeker might feel that all of their applications are sitting around in a nebulous office somewhere in the ether, other job seekers feel like online applications open and close too quickly to keep track. Certain industries and jo bs are quick to fill, but the average job stays open for 45 days and the length of time from applying to hiring can be anywhere from 5 days to over 3 weeks. Anticipation is always hard to negotiate when you find the perfect job, but the most productive thing you can do, is to be respectful and patient during the job seeking and hiring process.Be ProfessionalIt seems like were saying this constantly. Being professional goes beyond wearing a great suit or having your hair perfectly styled (not that we knock either of those things you look magnificent) but extends out into the entire persona you bring to your professional image. There are endless amounts of literature, both in print and online, that talk to the importance of how you present yourself. From your phone image to your resume, you must be diligent with the amount of effort you put into marketing yourself. The simplest issues, like typos or noisy backgrounds, can cause irreversible damage to your image.Be PositiveI think my heart breaks at least once a week, from hearing peoples stories. There are so many job seekers and educated professionals that are entering into the workforce right now without any of the tools they need to be successful. Their methods are outdated, their town is in an economic depression, and the hopelessness comes through when I answer the phone. I know I was there before I was hired at, but I found my dream job. We hear from people on a weekly basis that were able to secure agreat flexible jobs through that they would have never expected.Be PoliteJob seeking can be a very frustrating reality with a lot of protocol that needs to be followed to be successful. From LinkedIn to cover letters to social media, you want to make koranvers that you are behaving both professionally and politely. Using follow-up thank you letters to interviewers and showing your best side to an employer will make you more likely to get a follow-up interview, or even your dream job.Be Focused offers a great resource to job seekers by eliminating the pain-point in looking through listings and wondering if you are going to be scammed. Dedicate an hour a day to your job search, stay organized and be thorough in your applications. Tailored cover letters sent to fewer employers have more success than machine-gun applying to multiple employers. Employers can tell who actually want to work for them against who is just looking for work everywhere. Discipline is expected with employment so channel that into a job search and you will find much better results.As summer starts up and schedules change, there is no need to put your job search on vacation. There are plenty of jobs on that could match you up with a highly regarded career and astonishing flexibility to enjoy the beautiful weather.