The holiday season: hot chocolate, seasonal parties, family togetherness… and lots and lots of expenses that make the season as much of a drain as it is a joy. The good news is there are a host of job opportunities to help you actually pay for all those gifts you need to buy—most are seasonal and require you to accommodate the holiday rush, but all will put extra spending cash in your pocket. Here are 9 customer service jobs to consider taking on as the holidays approach.
Personal Shopper
There’s a lot of shopping at the holiday season, and some people need you to do it for them. While personal shopping is often for upscale clientele, where you buy piles of presents for the wealthy and standing on long lines at Saks, it more often entails performing simpler tasks like buying groceries (or even takeout) and delivering them to people’s homes. When people are busier at the holidays and need to prepare extra food for visiting relatives, this type of service is in even more demand.
E-commerce Support/Social Media Customer Care
With a lot of customer orders at holiday time come a lot of questions and details that need handling. Demand for online customer support is high. The good news—support is a job that can even be done from home.
For those who are social media savvy, some companies hire customer care representatives specifically to monitor social media platforms and handle any complaints or issues a customer may voice through social media. While this can be about dealing with a lot of complaints, it can be a great seasonal job for the problem-solver with tech proficiency.
Hotel Concierge
If you live in a larger city, seeking out a temporary position as a hotel concierge can be a way to employ your customer service skills a bit removed from holiday stress, helping people when they are ready to relax. This position helps hotel guests find fun things to do in a city, and assists with finding transportation or even making reservations. With a greater number of travelers during holiday vacations comes a greater need for hotel support staff.
Retail & Sales Associate
Stores are open longer and need lots of help to meet the extra demand of ordering stock, processing orders, and helping customers find what they’re looking for. With the hustle and the bustle of the shopping season, the workflow at a retail store is likely to keep you on your toes.
Gift Wrapper
There’s an art to gift wrapping that many people do not possess. That’s why this job exists. Making a few extra dollars by beautifully wrapping someone else’s presents can help you pay for your own. For those who actually enjoy making their gifts look gorgeous, this job can be both an enjoyable and integral part of the holiday season.
Food Service & Hospitality Worker
The holidays always mean holiday parties. Whether it’s catering, waiting tables, bartending, or hosting, hospitality needs are highest during the holidays. Because event staff usually work a small number of hours (but often work late-night hours), catering companies often pay competitive wages. And if bartending is your specialty, you can expect to be well-tipped at the more upscale galas and corporate events.
Uber Driver
With all the events, holiday shopping, and travel to attend, one of the services people need desperately during the holiday season is a driver to get them where they are going. Once you pass the various driver requirements, if you have a license and a car and are over 21 you have a way to make money and help people get where they are going safely.
Holiday Tours & Events
Whether it’s a meet & greet with reindeer or a carol-singing bus tour, there are jobs out there that can get you into the holiday spirit, making the fun happen for families to enjoy. These types of jobs really do require a certain kind of energy and interest in working with kids and adults alike. While it’s not for everyone, it can be one of the more fun seasonal jobs out there.
Package Handler
There’s Black Friday, and now there’s Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving). This Thanksgiving weekend, retail stores will be brimming with customers, and then of course many shoppers are increasingly buying their gifts online. Shipping companies like UPS and FedEx need extra workers to get these packages to customers, and also to get holiday gifts to friends and relatives. Increasingly, Amazon itself is hiring, both to handle increased traffic at its fulfillment centers and for last-mile delivery to customers’ homes.
