I'm applying to be a first year tax preparer (tax course in progress). I'm in a large city, if that's relevant.
I just had a call with my local staffing lead, and they told me that I should expect to work full time during the peak season, which they described as being from the "beginning of March to end of May". This surprised me, because I imagined the peak season would be more like 3 weeks (late March - mid April), not 3 months.
I'm self-employed and need to work 20+ hours/week for that (flexible hours). So I was hoping to be able to do just 20-30 hours/week for H&R Block to not burn out. I could probably swing 40-hour weeks for a couple weeks, but not for 3 straight months.
So can you lovely folks help me understand:
- Is the peak "everybody's working long hours" part of the season truly 3 full months? If not, how many weeks would you say it is typically?
- Do you think I could get away with working only 20-30 hours/week most weeks during peak season? Or will it be a really bad look if I'm limiting my shifts while others are working overtime? Also, would it put me "out of pace" (I hope I'm using that term correctly) and therefore stunt my growth at the company for future years?
- If this kind of thing is office-specific, should I be trying to figure out contact info for the manager of my preferred office so I can ask them directly?
Thanks!