Andy Harvey, a human resources senior executive in Southlake, Texas, was laid off and is now working part time in a department store and volunteers with the Fort Worth Career Search Network.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Andy Harvey might consider stand-up comedy. The 66-year-old job seeker and career human-resources manager snagged a permanent part-time job at a Fort Worth department store a few weeks ago, after he walked in to interview for seasonal work.

“How do you feel about working in women’s shoes?” a manager asked during the interview.

“Well, I’ve never worn them before, but I’d be willing to try,” quipped Harvey, who was an HR director at John Peter Smith Hospital, Baylor Health Care System and Texas Health Resources.

Ba da bing, ba da boom.

And a job.

Harvey joined a growing number of out-of-work or underemployed professionals who are taking seasonal jobs this year to bring in income, keep their skills sharp and broaden their networking. In Harvey’s case, he got a promotion even before he got hired.

“You’re getting a chance to meet people, and you’re getting a chance to help other people,” said Harvey. “It’s an extension of networking.”

Tammy Philpot-McCune is another longtime HR manager walking a similar path. Laid off in October 2008 from a job as a benefits administrator at Computer Sciences Corp. in Fort Worth, Philpot-McCune decided to pursue seasonal work this fall to broaden her skills and meet people.

“I’d never done retail,” she said, but she viewed it as an addition “to my story.”

She got a job working the jewelry counter at a Kohl’s store, starting Nov. 12. She also volunteers at the Career Search Network and took on a $10,000 project at her church.

Philpot-McCune is seeking work in HR, and she’s targeting Lockheed Martin right now.

“There’s a lot of optimism” about 2010 in her networking groups, she says. “You have to believe that with any challenge in life, it’ll be all right.”

Besides offering hope to job seekers, part-time seasonal work can also be a potential boon for employers.

Matt Kirkham, who owns The Import Store in Fort Worth, recently hired a part-time employee with marketing expertise to help sell a new proprietary scent diffuser the company recently introduced.

The woman, a longtime friend, is working two to three hours a day on the sales floor, showing the diffuser to customers. But Kirkham envisions her “growing with the company” as demand for the product grows and The Import Store seeks more distribution channels for it.

Not just anybody would have worked in the position, Kirkham says.

“They have to understand it, they have to understand people, and they have to understand the difference between pressure sales and explaining it,” he said.

Harvey’s road to seasonal work began after he left his most recent HR job in 2006 and went into financial planning. He’d developed an interest in the field as he designed benefits plans and helped physicians with their questions.

A stint in financial planning ended last year, and Harvey decided to return to HR after considering retirement. Financial planning would have taken too long to build a livelihood, says Harvey, who recently began drawing Social Security.

“Until you build a client base, you starve to death,” he says. “I got away from my strength, which is HR.”

Harvey, whose expertise is in benefits and training, readily acknowledges his age is an issue in his job search. But he believes he could do anything from heading up an HR department at a large company to becoming an HR generalist.

To help keep himself sharp, he volunteers at the Fort Worth Career Search Network and leads a task force for the group that helps prepare job seekers for interviews.

One of the task force’s recent “Questions of the Week,” posted on the network’s Web site (www.fwcsn.org), popped up during Harvey’s department store interview: “Tell me about a recent conflict you had and how you handled it.”

“Classic,” Harvey says. “It’s the behavioral question.”