How to hire a holiday sales associate

How to hire a holiday sales associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step holiday sales associate hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a holiday sales associate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new holiday sales associate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the holiday sales associate you need to hire. Certain holiday sales associate roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a holiday sales associate to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a holiday sales associate that fits the bill.

   This list presents holiday sales associate salaries for various positions.

   Type of Holiday Sales Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Holiday Sales Associate	Retail sales workers include both those who sell retail merchandise, such as clothing, furniture, and automobiles, (called retail salespersons) and those who sell spare and replacement parts and equipment, especially car parts (called parts salespersons). Both types of workers help customers find the products they want and process customers’ payments.	$8-15

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sales Floor
   • Cash Handling
   • Sales Associates
   • Stock Room
   • Customer Service
   • Product Knowledge
   • Strong Customer Service
   • Retail Environment
   • POS
   • Inventory Control
   • Retail Sales
   • Sales Transactions
   • Stock Shelves
   • Customer Transactions

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Stock the shelves work a POS register, and manage orders for future titles.
   • Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
   • Operate POS system and register new/potential customers into the e-mail subscription database.
   • Prepare quality food products, process accurate register transactions, maintain general appearance and cleanliness of store premises.
   • Improve customer solicitation pitch to increase Kohl's credit card application solicitations.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your holiday sales associate job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A holiday sales associate can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, holiday sales associates' average salary in michigan is 40% less than in hawaii.
   • Seniority. Entry-level holiday sales associates 48% less than senior-level holiday sales associates.
   • Certifications. A holiday sales associate with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a holiday sales associate's salary.

   Average holiday sales associate salary

   $11.56hourly

   $24,038 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level holiday sales associate salary

   $17,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

4. Writing a holiday sales associate job description

   A good holiday sales associate job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a holiday sales associate job description:

   Holiday sales associate job description example

   Salary: $15.00/hr

   
   

   Job Functions: The Outreach Holiday Associate will assist in the operation of Registration on site and remote, the Holiday Tent, Metro Market, Metro Outfitters and Holiday Partner Pop-up sites as needed. The Outreach Holiday Associate will support Outreach Services' extended hours as a primary staff through the holiday season. This position will be required to work nontraditional hours including scheduled evenings, weekends and holidays.

   
   

   Essential Responsibilities:

   1. Facilitates Holiday Registration, Distribution, the Metro Market, Metro Outfitters and Holiday Partner Pop-up sites. Uses the mission, vision, and guiding values of Metropolitan Ministries and the Outreach Policy Guidelines as a framework to assure services are delivered with concern for the care, safety and welfare of our clients.
   2. Works with Volunteer Services to identify volunteers and collaborative partnerships to support the flow of Client Services area of responsibility in the holiday tent. Assists with training and managing volunteers both in the holiday tent and in Outreach.
   3. Works closely with Volunteers Leadership to ensure clients are registered and checked-in through the holiday registration platform accurately and timely.
   4. Provides overall support and exercises leadership as needed during extended hours (Evenings, holiday registration and holiday distribution).
   5. Support the team in other tasks as assigned and attends all team meetings. Meets personal goals and actively contributes to the achievement of the team and organization.
   6. Participates in Metropolitan Ministries' events and holiday efforts.

   Requirements:

   Education/Experience:

   Minimum of two years' experience in social services, or volunteering, or closely related field.

   
   

   Skill Requirements: Requires heart for ministry and comfort working with poor and homeless families. Requires understanding of poverty, a high degree of maturity, strong inter-personal skills and the ability to work with low socio-economic and diverse populations facing crisis situations in a professional and diplomatic manner. Ability to deescalate clients on the edge of verbal or physical violence. Ability to work as part of a team within a multi-disciplinary framework. Demonstrates high computer literacy with knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel. Requires oral and written communication skills and the ability to write reports and conduct and participate in meetings. Bi-lingual a plus, but not required.

   
   

   Physical Requirements: Must have adequate hearing and speaking ability. Must be capable of working outdoors in sunlight and higher temperatures on occasion. Must have the physical, emotional, and spiritual stamina to handle job-related issues and stress and ability to be on your feet for extended periods of time. Must be able to lift 35 lbs or more.

   
   

   Other: Must demonstrate legal authorization to work in the United States. Must pass required background pre-employment screening. Must be able to communicate effectively in English and have reliable transportation. Must have current driver's license and cleared to drive vehicles rented under Metropolitan Ministries insurance

   
   

   PM21

   
   
   

   PI193097264

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find holiday sales associates for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   To find holiday sales associate candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with holiday sales associate candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new holiday sales associate

   Once you've found the holiday sales associate candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new holiday sales associate. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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