McDonald's Goes On A Hiring Spree

IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - Fast food restaurant McDonald's is starting a big push on Tuesday to hire more employees. About 50,000 positions are available nationwide, with roughly 1,200 of those jobs being offered right here in North Texas. There are more than 300 McDonald's restaurants in the DFW area, and all of them are looking to hire some more workers.

From cooks and cashiers to maintenance and management, nearly every position at McDonald's now has an opening, as the fast food chain looks to expand its staffing. Jobs include both part-time and full-time, and even seasonal employees.

Most of the job openings are for crew members – those people that the customer sees at the registers and in the kitchen. But those positions can, and often do, expand into upper-level roles both at particular stores and within the entire company.

Jeff Smith started working at a McDonald's in Illinois in 1978, making milkshakes. He now owns four of the fast food restaurants across North Texas. Promoting within the company is common at McDonald's, said Smith. About 50 percent of all store operators start off as crew members, and even more store managers begin in these entry-level positions.

So, as McDonald's starts a push to hire more crew members, Smith said, they are really hoping to build for the future. "We're just not really hiring for the here and now, we're also hiring for the future. And even if they don't stay at McDonald's," Smith said, "hopefully we can give them some tools that might be able to help them at other jobs that they may acquire."

Crew members are given an opportunity to improve upon their customer service and accounting skills. A store manager works on production management, store advertising and marketing. Smith said that these skills can be translated to many other jobs, both within the McDonald's organization or at other companies who may be hiring in the future.

But Smith added that McDonald's is an exciting place to be right now, as the company continues to see its sales and transactions increase, even during rough economic times. The peak hours are getting longer. A large number of stores are open 24 hours a day. And McDonald's has been pushing their McCafe brand of coffees and smoothies. "We have a need for more people," Smith said.

Those interested in applying for a job at McDonald's can visit any of the restaurants across North Texas. A handful of stores have even been equipped with computer kiosks to assist with the application process. Or applicants can apply online at mctexas.com.