Kickstart your job hunt with this proven Customer Service Representative resume example created by experts in the field.
A customer service representative is a very important team member of a company.
According to HR specialists, the demand for good customer service representatives is soaring as they provide essential services for businesses. In this highly competitive position, the customer service rep is at the frontline of the company and this person’s daily interactions with customers shapes the organization's reputation and credibility.
This role strongly influences customer satisfaction - a strong reason customers either stay or leave. Whether you're answering questions about a service or troubleshooting product issues, as a customer service rep, your goal is to keep customers happy.
Since the CSR role greatly influences customer satisfaction, the company’s performance and revenue is greatly affected by the functions of this unique and highly rewarding position. A great customer service specialist is expected to proactively support customers, mitigate customer complaints, and provide solutions.
Recruiters hiring the ideal candidate are looking for critical problem-solving skills, a positive attitude, and the ability to communicate in-depth product knowledge. The quality of CSR’s work directly affects whether or not the customer uses your product again, and if they recommend it to others.
Customers will often review the organization and the product based on their experience and satisfaction with the rep. Experts in the field state that friendly and welcoming CSR is responsible for over 70% of customers sticking with the brand. This is why recruiters are so keen to find the person with the right skillsets and experiences.
If you’re applying for a CSR position, your resume should reflect key character traits that are desired for this role, including empathy and flexibility, as well as great communication skills.
Let’s talk about the general CSR job market so you know if it’s the right fit for you.
It might be a relief to know that there many CSR jobs open for entry-level applicants. So if you are a fresh graduate applying for your first job, this could be your best bet in getting your foot in the door. But even if you spent some time out of the work environment, you can reenter the job market via this position.
Since there are many CSR positions, do your due diligence to find a company that has great culture and highly competitive compensation. If you invest in your professional development and provide value to your customers, you can climb up the ladder and progress quickly. You can develop many of the technical and soft skills on the job as long as you are motivated and willing to learn.
Speaking of technical skills, CSRs often use many different softwares and tools to correspond with customers. As a CSR, your familiarity with digital tools or any CSR management softwares is a big plus and will help you stand out from the crowd.
In general, the job outlook for customer service is slowly declining at just 2% year over year with a total number of 2,972,600 jobs (2018). There is a rise in customer success teams at B2B & SaaS product companies.
Working in Client Success, a related and more lucrative customer service career, one can get a salary of up to $94,000 per year (2018).
Data provided by Bureau of Labor Statistics
An outstanding customer service representative resume should clearly indicate your capabilities to your prospective employer and show that you’re the right fit for the role.
Even if you are a seasoned professional or an expert in this industry, you can get passed over for another applicant if you don’t clearly communicate your experiences in a relevant way. It is worth the extra time and effort to craft a high quality resume so that you can attract top-tier employers.
As we touched on previously in this article, your resume must pass through the automated applicant tracking system by including the right keywords, terms, and phrases. The key is to get your resume read by the actual hiring manager and impress them to land the coveted interview.
Some of the things you can expect from our customer representative resume guidelines include:
Otherwise known as a resume objective, this is the first section of your resume. This part is a condensed version of your cover letter and a brief summary of the resume that highlights the skills and experiences you definitely want the recruiter to notice.
Briefly describe your most notable achievements and traits that make you a great candidate. You can also state what you are looking for and how you are the most suited for this position. If you have some experience in the field, include the following:
Here's an example:
Lead Customer Support Representative with 5+ years of experience solving 30+ enterprise customer issues and improving overall customer satisfaction at a B2B SaaS comnpany. Exceptional at using enterprise support software to organize the severity and spread of customer issues. Looking to lead a customer support operation at a large B2B firm.
If you’re an entry-level applicant, be sure to cite your education and any relevant work experiences and skill sets even if they were not directly in a CSR role. Almost all jobs - especially internships and administrative work that students have experience in - require related skills like effective communication and personable character traits.
Let’s compare the correct and incorrect ways of writing the resume summary for CSR:
Incorrect Example: Recent communications graduate interested in joining your company to gain work experience and develop skills in customer service support.
Correct Example: Determined and detail-oriented graduate with a B.A. in Communications from Arizona State University with excellent interpersonal skills. Trained in public relations, conflict resolution, and sales and marketing skills with customer service representative experience at a retail company. Highly interested in joining Evergreen Inc. to build and increase customer loyalty through excellent customer service and proactive problem solving.
As you can see, there are considerable differences in these two resume summaries. The incorrect summary provides a vague and lazy description of the applicant, with no specific details. It also reads as if they are seeking to receive training from the company, instead of focusing on how they will be an asset to the company.
In the second example, the applicant comes across as a highly motivated graduate who already has relevant experiences under their belt. Citing specific details such as relevant certifications, skills, training, and work experiences creates a winning summary.
The reference to the prospective employer by name personalizes the resume and adding the value you would add as an employer is a powerful way to impress your hiring manager.
Check out our guide on how to write the perfect resume summary to nail this section, the first thing recruiters and ATS software see.
This section describes relevant work experiences and achievements that will demonstrate to your employers that you have what it takes to succeed in this role. To nail it, you must effectively communicate your most notable achievements and success as it relates best to the role you are applying for.
Review the job posting and the bulleted list of responsibilities and requirements the prospective employer is looking for in this position. Use the keywords that are repeated often in these descriptions and tailor your work history to best reflect your experience and skill sets.
For example, having experience as a cashier at a retail store can translate well into the same skill sets you would need to have to be a great customer support representative. It’s all in the way you word and phrase these experiences.
The truth is that recruiters don’t spend a long time reading your resume beginning to end. Research states that these specialists spend just about 8 seconds max looking at a typical CSR resume before deciding who the job’s right candidate is.
So you must catch your hiring manager's eyes by having the most relevant and impressive information at the top. It is why you should showcase your most recent and possibly important position first.
Here are some other tips:
Examples of Action Words:
Take a look at our list of over 350 action verbs that you can use on your resume.
Here's a comparison between an incorrect & correct version:
Incorrect:
Correct
Key Achievements
Senior-Level Work Experience for a Customer Service Representative
Look at all of the keywords that jump out from the correct version of the work history descriptions. This version passes the ATS test because it includes action verbs, highlighting an applicant’s skills. This job description also highlights achievements at the very top, showing their value and catching the eye of the recruiter.
The incorrect version does not fully reflect the amount of experience the applicant has, and only describes the responsibilities of the work, not any achievements or value that you provided.
Most customer service professionals have a specific set of people and organizational skills that should be demonstrated in your resume. Take a look at the job description and the list of skills that the employer is looking for and adjust and highlight your skills.
You do not have to list every technical and soft skill you have, so make sure it is only showing the relevant ones.
Use the following list of common customer service rep skills that would make your resume stand out:
More than any other job, customer service representatives require a number of soft skills. Research indicates that anyone holding a Customer Service job needs to be an active listener and socially-oriented. They also must be socially perceptive to make it in this field.
According to a results from job search websites for customer service jobs, there are plenty that don't require any education, and some that prefer it. Since customer support is a core function of pretty much every business, you can get started even without a formal college degree, although it won't hurt to have one.
Even so, studies show that more than 30% of the staff here have majors in either business administration or management. Others have communication technology, social science, psychology, and computer science degrees. Many larger companies hiring for their customer service department typically require a bachelors degree.
If you do not have bachelors degree, customer service certifications can be useful to get training in the function and get your resume noticed more. The Customer Service Institute of America offers training to help members become a Certified Customer Service Manager.
The HDI is also a credible institution that provides certifications in the tech support industry.
If you plan to obtain a certificate to advance your career as a customer service representative, be sure to list certifications on your resume the right way.
The technological developments and changes in customer service mean the positions are more competitive. To land the job, you need a persuasive and distinct resume. Mostly you need to showcase your passion, personality, and skills necessary for that CSR job.
Experts say that more than 20% of resumes experience trouble and often do not pass via the ATS. Reasons could range from a confusing layout or images. It is why you must create a near-perfect document that gives through the rigorous systems and on to the recruiting specialist.
So, create a resume using the proper format and fonts that work on any OS. Create a chart-stopping summary while also highlighting your strongest work experiences. Finally, let your critical skills that resonate with the job at hand shine through, meaning that nothing can stop you from getting your dream CSR job.
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