MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The weather is beginning to warm up which means tourists will soon be filling up shops and restaurants on the Grand Strand, and that looks like good news for the local job front.
Some businesses, like Walmart, have so many seasonal positions open they have trouble filling them all.
The company is looking to hire 600 seasonal employees and they have 400 more year round jobs they need to fill in Horry County.
Local job seekers are taking advantage of the openings including Sierra Gore, who has been under-employed for the past six months.
Gore had recently moved to Conway and didn’t want to settle when it came to her career, “kind of waiting until the right job came, and it came,” said a giddy Gore.
Gore put her application in online last week and got hired on the spot at Walmart’s hiring office on Monday. She says she is excited to get started, “orientation next week and we go to training from there.”
Gore got a year round job working at the Neighborhood Market coming soon to the Market Common area.
Walmart human resource manager Clare Amrhein says they’re looking for employees with, “a good work ethic, someone who’s adaptable, and can appreciate a fast pace work environment and obviously can work well with the public.”
Amrhein says they’re making a push to hire high school students looking for summer work and also looking to hire seniors because a lot of them are looking for some extra money with a part-time gig.
There are also plenty of full-time jobs that start at $9 an hour, go up to $11 with experience, and supervisors can make $15.
“The problem is there don’t seem to be enough applicants to fill the positions,” said Amrhein.
Amrhein says Walmart will work with third party’s if necessary, but is committed to hiring locally, “and so we’re encouraging everyone to apply and they’ll have a job if they meet the criteria we have”
As part of the hiring push for 600 seasonal workers, Walmart is teaming up with Miller-Motte Technical College (MMTC) for job fairs. The first event is on Saturday, March 5 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at MMTC located at 2451 Hwy. 501 E in Conway. Applicants are advised to fill out an application online ahead of time, but can do it when they arrive.
Palmetto Goodwill will also host an upcoming career fair to match local job seekers with employers in Horry and Georgetown counties. Its is free and open to the public and will offer potential candidates an opportunity to learn about local opportunities, apply for open positions and explore career paths. It will be held on Friday, March 11 from 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. also at MMTC.
Vacation Myrtle Beach Resort Group will be holding a job fair to fill 50 full-time and part-time call center positions for the upcoming season. The job fair is on Tuesday, from 1:00pm – 6:00pm, at the group’s corporate office at 1144 Shine Avenue in The Market Common.