How to Beat the Holiday
Slump
Thanks for subscribing to
this newsletter. The aim is to provide information that you can use in your
escort business. Being an escort is a very challenging job and because we are
dealing with one of the most basic of human needs, that is, sex, we often find
that there are times when business is absolutely booming and we may have
difficulty in keeping up with appointments. Then there are other times when the
phone doesn’t ring for weeks or even months. We are dealing with human nature,
but if you can study trends, human behaviour is largely predictable. For me,
and I am sure it is similar for you, it is down to the time of year and what
your clients are spending their money on. The ups and downs of getting any work
may vary with the country you live in or are visiting.
For example, I was visiting
Paris two years ago during the summer and, while I did get some clients, I
didn’t get the volume I was used to. I asked my friend with whom I was staying
why this was the case and he told me that Parisians leave the city for a whole
month (July 15th to August 15th) as it is their usual
holiday time. I was a little peeved at
myself. Why? I had taken things for granted and not carried out enough research
on client-behaviour.
Here in the UK it seems to
be tied in with the school holidays, for example, from June/July to around
mid-September, and of course the other statutory holidays, and some bank
holidays. A lot of DINK-clients (Dual Income No Kids) also like to take their
holidays abroad to get the sun during September. Many clients have financial
difficulties after Christmas and New Year and don’t quite recover till around
the end of January. Any bookings made for these times may need to be
double-checked to make sure your client is till on-board.
So, how do you make money
during these times? Do you have any skills, hobbies and other interests that
you could make money with?
Here is a list of ten jobs
you might consider looking into. Please note that some of them may require a
visa or work permit and these need to be applied for at least 6 weeks in
advance. Others require specific qualifications, so make sure you have saved
enough money to put towards your study. If you are a student and you wish to
gain valuable work experience in your field of study, you need to start
applying for work from September/October.
So, here’s the list!
1.
An extra. In the Netherlands, the best time for getting work
as a ‘figurant’ is from late August to October/November. The agencies I
signed up with charged a small fee but those were for photos which they took
there and then. I always got work…extras are always needed. Tip: do your
research, find out as much as you can about the agency and its clientele. Phone
the clients (they are usually listed on the agencies website, or their
documentation; if they are not, ask the agency for a list) and ask about the
agency. In fact, agencies in the UK usually do not ask for a registration fee.
However, if you are being asked to pay more than £25 to sign up, go elsewhere.
It’s a scam. The Stage newspaper has an online link with a section for extras
and commercials.
2.
Teaching. This depends on your level of expertise and
qualifications. A lot of adult education courses take place during the summer
and more often than not, you may be required to already have a teaching
certificate or be prepared to obtain one. There are numerous agencies that you
can sign up with. There are also opportunities to work with training companies.
There are some things you need to take note of, however:
v
You may need a work
permit (see www.workpermit.com, there
is a London-based office), unless you are an EU citizen;
v
You will need a
National Insurance number;
v
You will need to have
a valid passport (some agencies, such as Protocol National UK require this);
v
If you are going to
teach kids, you will be subject to a background check. If you sign up with an
agency or other employer, they usually pay the cost of doing this check for
you. If not, you have to do this yourself. See the Criminal Records Bureau
website for details. There are two levels of Disclosure you can apply for:
Standard or Enhanced. Most, if not all the adverts you will see, ask for
Enhanced Disclosure.
3.
Pub work. This should be fairly easy to get. You may wish to
do some cold calling or watch for adverts in the press.
4.
Summer camp work. There are websites for this kind of work in the
UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, to name a few. Check for visa
requirements. In addition to these kinds of jobs, you may be interested to know
that there is a severe shortage of skilled and unskilled labour in the US. You
may also get temporary work in Australia if you have specialist skills they
need. Again, check sites such as www.workpermit.com. Make sure you apply well in advance. You
will need a job offer letter from the employer which you will use to aid you in
your visa application since this process will take several weeks.
5.
Retail. Supermarkets and other large retailers always need
temporary staff, particularly during busy seasons, for example, Christmas. No
harm though in finding out if they need summer staff. Again, apply early. You
might be competing with a lot of students looking for similar jobs.
6.
Ski resorts. There is actually a skills shortage of staff in
these resorts and a lot of companies are taking on staff from the UK on
temporary visas, known as H-2B visas.
7.
Personal Trainer. If you are not already doing this and you have an
interest in health and fitness, sign up with specialist websites such as
Leisurejobs.co.uk. This is one area where increasingly, one is required to have
qualifications at level 3 AND public liability insurance, amongst other things.
If you are not qualified yet have experience and knowledge, perhaps you can
make a deal with your local gym to offer personal training to clients and/or
help around the gym. Gym and fitness instructors need a level 2 qualification.
8.
Security work. This is an area that has come under regulation in
the past few years. In the UK you need to have a qualification from the
Security Industry Authority. Courses take four weeks and usually cost around
£180. If you happen to get work through an agency and you are not qualified,
your pay will only increase once you achieve the qualification. Check the press
for details, as well as sites such as Jobcentreplus.
9.
Information
Technology. There are so many
things you could do with IT skills: typing/word-processing, web design,
teaching, web hosting, home-working, systems analyst., etc., etc., etc. There
are a lot of websites advertising for IT staff. Also check the trade press such
as Computing magazine.
10.
Agency work. When I returned to the UK from Jamaica in 1986, I
started studying for a Certificate in Computer Technology at my local college.
I had never seen a computer until this time but found I had a knack for using
it. I got my first temp job through Pertemps. I temped for ten years with a
variety of agencies (Brook Street in Victoria, London, was my best one; always
guaranteed to get work) before deciding to go into teaching. I started off
doing data entry. This is job that can be done at home now and you need to have
fast and accurate typing skills. Very soon I got work with as a word-processing
secretary and PA to top directors. Temping provides flexibility and variety.
However, word of warning. Watch out for tax. I was studying full time from 1991
to 1996 and did my temping during the holidays. I then studied evenings from
1996 to 1997 and tempted during the day. When I started my second job in
September 1997, I was soon landed with a tax bill demanding I pay back over
£600!!!
I trust you found these
tips helpful. You may have other ideas coming to mind, such as teaching English
as a foreign language. Take a bit of time to look at them and do some research
where necessary. Update your CV. Do a course where necessary and if you can
afford to. And go out and get that job! Good luck!
The Stage. This newspaper
for the entertainment industry comes out on Thursdays. Check out their website
at http://www.thestage.co.uk/ .
The Criminal Records Bureau
is the government department responsible for carrying out background checks
(and I promise you, they are thorough) if you want to work with children and
young people. You pay a small fee and your application should take about four
to six weeks. Remember, they get a lot of these applications so apply early if
you are working independently. If you are a volunteer, however, you don’t have
to pay. http://www.crb.gov.uk
The Department for Work and
Pensions has very good information and useful resources. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/, http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/index.html
Workpermit.com. Only
discovered this site recently as I was interested in getting work in the USA. http://www.workpermit.com. They have some
news articles and videos (unrehearsed, so you may find them amusing for
bloopers), as well as job listings in the UK and around the world. You can sign
up with the website as well. The number for the London office is +44 207 842
0800; it is also on the website.
If you are looking for work
in the US you need to check whether or not you require a visa. The US
Immigration Support has a website with a wealth of information, including how
to get a H-2B visa. By the way, you need to book an appointment to see an
advisor when you are visiting the US Embassy, you cannot just walk in! http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/visa_h2b.html
Barzone has a website where
you can register and search for work in pubs http://www.barzone.co.uk/
or you may wish to do your own cold calling and/or networking.
The big four: Tesco http://www.tesco.com Sainsbury’s, http://www.sainsbury’s.co.uk
Asda (look in the bottom right of the home page and you will see the jobs
option listed under Asda Corporate) http://www.asda.co.uk/corp/home.html
and Morrison http://www.morrisons.co.uk/consumer/
Department Stores: Examples
are Debenhams http://www.debenhams.com/ Selfridges http://www.selfridges.com/ House
of Fraser http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/ Marks and Spencer (you might like to
know that the boy band Take That is modelling M & S’ menswear on the site!)
http://www.marksandspencer.com/gp/node/n/42966030/202-2673251-5837433?ie=UTF8&mnSBrand=core
Personal Training or
fitness/gym instructor work at http://www.leisure.co.uk.
By the way, Virgin Active is looking for fitness instructors. You need a level
2 gym instructor qualification. Check out the website at http://www.virginactive.com/ Interviews
are usually held in London if you’re in the UK. You can also sign up with a PT
agent if you have level 3 qualifications (including registration with the
Register for Exercise Professionals [REPS]) and personal training experience http://www.fitnessagents.co.uk/ REPS
website is here http://www.exerciseregister.org/
Here’s the report on the
staff shortage being experienced by ski resorts and farms in the USA - http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071001/nne_ski_workers.html?.v=1
Security work – the web
address for the Security Industry Authority is http://www.the-sia.org.uk/home check
the local press for available jobs and note whether or not you need a license,
or you can get one while working (this option is much more difficult).
Information Technology-
besides checking the Jobcentreplus website, you may also find jobs at Computing
magazine and the agencies list in this article.
Employment agencies – both
general and specialist
The following agencies are
the best that I have worked with through my years of temping.
Protocol National – they
will need to see your passport as part of your registration http://www.protocol-national.co.uk/pn/pages/default.aspx
Nord Anglia http://www.nordanglia.com/ (includes
international schools)
Pertemps http://www.pertemps.co.uk
Brook Street http://www.brookstreet.co.uk/
The following agencies are
not yet proven:
Capita – you need a minimum
of six months recent teaching experience http://www.capitaresourcing.co.uk/education/
The company does cater for other sectors.
Hays has a section for
further and higher education lecturers http://www.hays.com
Award winning Morgan Hunt
appears to be focused on London and the North West, at least that is where I
have been seeing most of the recent teaching jobs on the site. http://www.morganhunt.com/Public-Sector/en/default.aspx.
Other sectors catered for.
The Times Educational
Supplement website is the online version of the printed version which comes out
every Friday. The print version costs £1.40. http://www.tes.co.uk
Fejobs.com for further
education lecturers (also includes schools) http://www.fejobs.com
If you only want to teach
English as a foreign language, try this one:
Do you want to use this
article on your e-zine or website? You may, as long as you acknowledge the
source of the article and include my web address http://www.blackhulk.com
©
Almando 7th October 2007. All rights reserved.