BENJAMIN Heng landed his dream vacation job last month. He was paid to play some of the latest video games to hit town.As a ‘game marshal’ hired to promote Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, the 20-year-old gave ‘live’ demonstrations at shopping malls, earning about $600 for eight days of work.

‘Obviously, being able to play video games on the job is cool,’ said Mr Heng, who has just completed national service and is waiting to enter the Singapore Management University.

‘But I’m also interested in business, and this is an opportunity for me to broaden my horizons by seeing how big companies push their sales.’

With consumer buying at a peak this festive season, companies are again turning to students on vacation to beef up staff levels.

The GMP Group, a local recruitment agency, recorded about 200 vacancies for vacation jobs, a 10 per cent rise over last year. Ms Annie Yap, its chief executive officer, singled out the retail industry as the most hungry for student temps.

‘People have been getting fat bonuses and pay raises this year, so the consumer market is quite active,’ Ms Yap said.

Robinsons’ department stores, for instance, hired about 130 students this year as temporary staff, 5 per cent more than last year.

Other student jobs include promoters, telemarketers and administrative assistants.

Events management firm DMC Events hired 60 students to be promoters, 30 per cent more than last year. They sell products like credit cards and cameras or help people redeem vouchers and freebies.

With 2007 a bountiful year for initial public offerings or IPOs, students like Maybelline Chan are snapped up to court potential investors.

The 20-year-old Nanyang Technological University undergraduate spent nearly 11 hours a day at Raffles Place distributing the prospectus of China-based shipbuilder JES International Holdings and handling basic questions. JES was listed on Wednesday.

Paid $8 an hour, she said: ‘This job allows me to save up for my driving lessons.’

The December holidays are also an opportune time for companies to recruit those seeking part-time or contract work when school starts.

Fast-food giant Burger King is training 30 student temps to work at its outlet in Changi Airport Terminal 3 which opens on Jan 9. Students make up about 40 per cent of Burger King’s 720-strong workforce.

Students working five days a week can earn up to $1,200 to $1,800 a month.

But a growing group is more keen on jobs that give them an insight into prospective careers. They eye working in multi-national companies as it ‘gives them a golden opportunity to gain some valuable insight into the working world,’ said Ms Dawn Plunkett of recruiter Kelly Services.

From Strait Times

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_189295.html

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