Tips for a customer service job description this year

Many job roles require some amount of customer service, and many employees use customer service roles before progressing to management positions. When you list a customer service job in your CV, you should do so in a way that emphasizes the strong skills learnt in the role. To list your duties and achievements to the best effect, take some inspiration from our CV examples, and our customer service CV guide, complete with useful examples.

What are customer service duties and which ones should you cite on your CV? This can be a tough question because depending on whether you worked in a call centre or a supermarket, for example, your duties could be very different even if the job title is similar. Broadly speaking, your duties could include:

1. Number of customers managed on a daily basis

If you were able to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction while dealing with a high volume of people, this is something you should definitely mention. Even if you saw a relatively small number of people per day, however, you should discuss how you dealt with customer enquiries, complaints and how you met customer needs. 

2. Leadership positions

If you were a shift leader, team leader or supervisor at any point in your customer service career you should list the major duties that came with this responsibility. If you were responsible for processing customer complaints or managing customer accounts as well as team members, for example, you should include this information. 

3. Benefits to the company

Discuss what your actions did to benefit the company, your co-workers and how you benefited from your role and customer interactions. Discuss what you learnt from the job, as well as specific experiences and learnt skills you can apply to your new role. 

4. Training (given or received)

Just as you should list specific soft and hard skills and certifications in your CV, you should also talk about any training you received from previous employers. Likewise, if you were responsible for training others, you should list this as one of your duties. 

So now that we’ve singled out the types of duties and related things you can include from your customer service experience, how do you get them into your CV to impress a recruiter?

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of duties you could list in your customer service representative CV, but it’s important to choose only those that best meet the requirements of the job description you are applying for. Look over the job posting to find required skills that match specific qualifications such as these:

• Customer retention
• New customer processing
• Maintaining product knowledge
• Providing customer support via social media
• Inputting customer information (data entry)
• Managing the customer experience
• Fielding customer complaints
• Dealing with customer enquiries
• Providing excellent customer service
• Dealing with inbound calls
• Troubleshooting customer issues
• Creating, upgrading or removing customer accounts
• Protecting customer data 
• Processing refunds 
• Overseeing product recalls
• Customer relationship management (CRM)

These duties involve many different skills, not the least of which is the ability to multitask while displaying excellent communication skills under stress. Typical customer service skills are highly transferable. List them in your skills section, feature your top one or two skills in your summary (e.g., “Customer service professional with 3+ years overseeing product recalls and handling CRM software”) and stress them in your work history section.

There are a few simple guidelines you can follow to communicate your duties well, no matter if you were a customer services manager or had an entry-level position:

1. Consider the job description

All of the things that the hiring manager or recruiter wants to see in a job seeker can be found in the job description. Look at the language used and pick out keywords, then frame your duties in a way that addresses the concerns and priorities listed in the job advert. 

2. Use active language

Phrases like “I was responsible for” are passive and indicate a certain level of detachment. Instead, use active phrases like “developed,” “oversaw,” or “created.” Choosing action verbs to describe your duties will convey a sense of ownership and ambition that will grab a recruiter’s attention. 

3. Be as specific as possible

Talk about your achievements, specific times you overcame challenges, or were given more responsibility and excelled. Details are far better than generalisations when it comes to your CV. Writing “Answered 200 customer queries daily” impacts more than writing “Answered customer queries daily.”

By presenting your customer service duties in an active and detailed fashion, you will be more likely to catch the attention of a hiring manager and land that new job you have been seeking.