The nation's retailers are preparing for the all-important holiday shopping season (pre- Halloween through Christmas and post - New Years), so if you expect to land one of these coveted virtual assistant gigs it would be a good idea to prepare now. Many stores are DOUBLING their workforce during the busy season, but also keeping their eye on the budget by hiring work at home and virtual assistant temps.

Many of the largest stores are drastically increasing their hiring to accommodate holiday shoppers. JCPenney is adding 30,000 retail associates and Toys R us is adding 10,000. Other companies that are hiring seasonal workers include Harry & David, 1-800 Flowers, Macy's, Walmart, FedEx and UPS, credit card companies, travel services (car rental, hotels, etc) and

Besides top retailers, there are also seasonal home based jobs available with most of the top call centers and outsourcing agents including:

Alpine Access (800 seasonal customer support staff)
Arise (6,000+ seasonal agents needed)
Cloud10 (virtual telephone agents needed)
Convergys (900 virtual agents needed)
Live Agent (UK virtual agents)
Liveops (2,500 holiday agents needed)
NEWcorp (Home based CCR's)
O'currance (Inbound sales agents)
TeleNetwork (tech support agents)
TeleTech (2,500 seasonal home based agents)
VIPdesk (700 temporary virtual agents)
West (Virtual agents)
Working Solutions (call center agents)



Seasonal and temporary Virtual Assistants are needed to offer customer support, technical support, ordering assistance, and catalog call takers. These jobs are 100% home based and most of the work is performed over the telephone and email, although some jobs require video and live chatting. There are also project openings for gift advisors, dispatchers, general clerical support, billing and accounting specialists, data entry techs, and many others.


Harry & David, for example, utilizes home based gift advisors to help them handle the influx of holiday orders. Convergys is the outsourcing agent - handling all hiring for this position. This means that while you will be working as a Harry & David associate, you will actually be employed and received your paycheck from Convergys.

Customer Service Reps/Seasonal Gift Advisors
Interface with customers via inbound or outbound calls or the Internet for the purpose of passively (i.e. order taking) or actively selling products and services. Responsibilities include processing customer orders and sales providing and receiving various information, up-selling client products, plus handling miscellaneous customer service and general information calls via the phone or Internet. Greet customers in a courteous, friendly, and professional manner using agreed upon procedures. Listen attentively to customer needs and concerns; demonstrate empathy. Clarify customer requirements; probe for and confirm understanding of requirements or problem. Meet customer requirements through first contact resolution. Confirm customer understanding of the solution and provide additional customer education as needed. Prepare complete and accurate work and update customer file. Communicate effectively with individuals/teams in the program to ensure high quality and timely expedition of customer requests.

Apply Online with Convergys




Another company hiring home based workers for the holidays is Support.com, a leading provider of outsourced customer services.

Seasonal Customer Service Reps - hiring 800
Provides online technology services to consumers and small businesses. Support.com provides an award-winning customer experience by using an innovative model that combines a cloud-based technology platform with a fully distributed workforce, Support.com is defining a new category of technology-enabled services and growing rapidly each year.

Apply Online with Support.com





Seasonal Customer Service Reps with Amazon
Multiple shifts (morning, mid-day, evening) are available. Three weeks of paid training are mandatory required- for all new CSAs, then you'll be ready and rock and roll with Amazon.com customers! This position currently pays $10.00-12.00/hour.

Apply online with Amazon Careers





Tech Support Reps are also in demand during the holiday season to support the thousands of online retailers who need support for their websites and online shopping portals.

Work at Home Technical Support Representatives - Seasonal
We are looking for technical support representatives to provide excellent support and customer service for Internet users. Once we receive your application we will contact you as promptly as possible. Dedicated space with adequate work surface. Work area must be free from background noise and distractions

Apply Online with TeleNetwork




There are many seasonal work at home opportunities that require you to live near a specific city. For instance, department store Neiman Marcus is hiring home based representatives for the holiday season.

Seasonal Customer Care for Neiman Marcus
Representatives will assist customers who are placing inbound phone or online orders while providing exceptional customer service, always exceeding the customer’s expectations. Customer Care Representatives will be completing transactions in real time, working simultaneously with multiple software applications; consistently following up on promises and commitments on a timely basis; appropriately identifying and escalating unresolved issues.

Apply Online with Neiman Marcus



Many major retailers are hiring seasonal AND permanent help. These jobs allow you to work from home while assisting customers with their brands such as Lands End, Kmart and others.

Customer Service Home Agents
Assist shopping members with questions and inquiries regarding the Rewards program for our brands. Answer contacts in a professional, courteous and helpful manner via telephone and email. You may provide this service from the comfort your home!

Apply Online with LANDS END






1-800 Flowers Seasonal Agents
1-800-FLOWERS.COM's customer contact center, recent winner of the global call center of the year award, is recruiting agents for its Work from Home Customer Service team. This team provides professional, courteous, responsive and accurate service to our customers from the comfort and convenience of their home office. Sales and Service Specialists serve as the first contact customers have with the company and will be responsible for the effective and efficient handling of customer needs. The Sales and Service Specialists will be completing transactions in real time, working simultaneously with multiple software applications; consistently following up on promises and commitments on a timely basis; appropriately identifying and escalating unresolved issues.

Apply Online with 1-800 Flowers




Teleflora is another big retailer that hires home based workers to take orders and assist customers from home:

Virtual Consumer Professionals
Consumer Sales Professionals (CSPs) will use every customer contact to reinforce the our commitment to customer service which includes taking inbound customer sales and service calls. CSPs should demonstrate the ability to work independently.

Apply Online with Teleflora





Virtual Assistants
Virtual Office Temps has numerous seasonal virtual agent projects available and will be listing more opportunities in the coming weeks. Please be sure to check back with us daily for updates.

Seasonal Tracking Specialists

Seasonal Customer Care and Order Specialists

Additional seasonal projects will be posted daily !




Getting Hired
To be hired to work from home as a seasonal agent you must have a home computer with high speed Internet, a Business Telephone with a mute and on-hold feature and a USB Headset . Generally, employers will NOT supply you with this equipment so make sure you have them before you apply.


To be hired we suggest: