Job openings for customer service representatives may be plentiful, but the competition is also fierce. Entry-level positions may garner hundreds of applicants; supervisory and upper-management roles may require years of education and experience. By including five important things on your resume, you can turn your good customer service skills into an interview or a promotion.
Any customer service representative should be able to communicate clearly in a variety of ways, so that is something your resume needs to showcase. Communication skills are essential for speaking with consumers, handling complaints, and turning negative situations into positive opportunities. Employers want agents who can speak on the same level as customers while providing valuable information about products, services, invoices, and technical issues. If your ability to communicate comes across in a resume, you give employers a strong reason to be interested in you.
Great customer service representatives know how to take feedback and apply it to processes. Use your past employment to illustrate your ability to accept feedback and improve your own work output or the customer service processes in a department. McDonald's executives recently warned franchise owners to take customer service more seriously. The fast-food giant responded to growing customer complaints by sending a message through its restaurants: customers want to be treated well, purchase quality products, and eat in a quality setting.
Highlight achievements and results. Customer service representatives tend to work in fast-paced environments with specific hourly, daily, or monthly goals. List awards or statistics, such as satisfaction or conversion ratings. Also, target information to your niche when applicable, including telephone-related information for a call-center job and supervisory stats for a management position.
Include technical skills in addition to traditional good customer service skills. Customer service representatives in today's workplace must be able to multitask with numerous interfaces and computer programs while assisting the consumer. List specialty software and computer skills even if the company to which you are applying uses different programs. You want to show that you are capable of learning and quickly adopting new systems.
Show that you are a sustainable employee with the ability to grow. Highlight long-term employment and structure your resume so that different jobs with the same company tell the story of your progression within the organization. If you don't have a long employment history, try to include service history that proves you can stick with something. For example, if you are a recent graduate, your resume could be bolstered if you've been a longtime volunteer with a local agency.
Landing a customer service representative position is an achievable goal. Make sure you understand what the employer is seeking and do your best to highlight those attributes in your resume. Once you are done with the document, make sure you proofread it for typos or errors before you send it out.
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