We're Hiring!

Been reading the blog and thinking to yourself, "well golly gee, the OTC Bookstore sounds like a right nice place to work"? You'd be right, and you have an opportunity to see for yourself, because we're hiring!

The job link on the OTC jobs page gives some info, but let's go into a bit more detail.

First and foremost, it's important to note that this position is seasonal, and therefore, not likely to be permanent. As I'm sure you regular bookstore-goers are aware, the store isn't nearly as busy during the middle of the semester as it is during the beginning, end, and in-between.

This position will be available starting around the middle of July. During that time, we'll be beginning to prepare for our Textbook Reservation program. There's a great deal of work that goes into doing that, including bringing shelves from our garage into the TextRes room, building them, and pulling together thousands (yes, THOUSANDS) of orders, ringing them up, putting them in tote bags, and sending them to their respective campuses. Now you see the need for hiring more employees to help out!

Things get even more busy in August when people begin purchasing their textbooks for the Fall. If you've been to the bookstore to get your books during a high-traffic time period, you've likely been in one of the lines that snake around the entire bookstore. During that time, we usually have at least four employees helping customers find their books, one issuing SmartCards, three or four helping customers get their uniforms and other general merchandise, four cashiers, and many others working behind the scenes. And that's just for one shift!

Of course, the question comes up, "what happens when things begin to slow down?" And several weeks into the semester, after students have purchased all their books and returned what they've decided they don't need, traffic drops significantly. And unfortunately, that also means that we no longer have the workload necessary to accommodate so many employees.

At this point, several possibilities present themselves:

1. We thank you for your service and part ways.

2. We thank you for your service, part ways, and if you exceeded the management's expectations, they possibly call you back to employment around the beginning of the following semester when things get busy again.

3. We thank you for your service, and if you REALLY exceeded the management's expectations and we have a need, you get hired on to be a year-round employee (or as we're affectionately called, "full-time part-timers").

So, that's the gist of our hiring process in a nutshell. But I'm sure one more question still remains: "what's it REALLY like working at the OTC Bookstore?"

Frankly, I think it's pretty darn nice.

It's hard work, to be sure, but despite the fact that we're a college bookstore, we have fun together. And I'm not just saying that because my manager just slipped five dollars into my back pocket. Really, how often can you say you and your managers regularly have casual conversations about the combustibility of dolphins or whether another manager is secretly Batman in their spare time?

So, think you got what it takes to become a part of our wacky lil' bookstore family? Request a copy of your college transcript (it usually takes about a day from request time to get it), put together a cover letter and resume, and send 'em our way!