Jobs will be harder to find at Walmart this holiday season. Here's why, and here's how you can get one.

• Walmart announced that it will hire 40,000 new seasonal and permanent workers for the holidays.
• That number marks a decrease from the 150,000 workers Walmart sought to hire for holiday 2021.
• Retailer says a customer-centric attitude may give applicants a better chance of getting a job there.

Walmart is once again hiring thousands of new workers this holiday season, but a shift in its overall recruiting strategy promises to make for a more competitive environment for prospective employees. This year, the company has slashed its holiday hiring goal – to a little over a quarter of the workforce that it's aimed to bring on in past years.

The Arkansas-based retail giant announced its plans to hire 40,000 new workers for holiday 2022 on Wednesday. That number is a dramatic reduction from Walmart's 2020 and 2021 holiday hiring goals of 150,000 new workers. Last year, the retail giant said it would onboard 20,000 new workers just to work in supply-chain positions, such as order fillers, freight handlers and lift drivers. 

The reduced hiring goals point to Walmart's recent years of intensive onboarding, where the company added thousands of new workers amidst the pandemic. Insiders say that this year's number of required hires is down because the company's staffing position was so bolstered by last year's hiring spree.

What's more, back during Walmart's May earnings call, CEO Doug McMillon called out "weeks of over-staffing" for cutting into the company's profit. Given Walmart's stature within the world of retail, the reduced hiring numbers may be a sign that other companies follow suit come holiday 2022. 

Seasonal and full-time jobs

For prospective employees, that means that fewer new open positions will be available this year. The 40,000 roles will be a mix of seasonal and full-time gigs. Current workers will get the first crack at opting for additional hours to help with the holiday hustle.

In a blog post, Walmart's senior vice president of field people, Maren Waggoner, wrote, "Whether an associate begins working at Walmart during the holidays or at another time of year, they can count on finding opportunity and benefits at every turn."

The post specifically mentioned roles like temporary "seasonal store associates" to help with in-store tasks and pickup, permanent truck drivers, and new customer care workers to deal with calls.

In its announcements, Walmart directed prospective workers to its jobs portal, which lists roles by type and location. For prospective workers looking to stand out from the crowd, a customer-centric attitude is one thing that can bolster an applicant's chances. 

"We are looking for associates who are passionate about serving customers and helping our customers create special moments this holiday season," Walmart spokesperson Anne Hatfield told Insider.