How to hire customer service representatives

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Check to ensure that appropriate changes were made to resolve customers' problems.
• Complete contract forms, prepare change of address records, or issue service discontinuance orders, using computers.
• Confer with customers by telephone or in person to provide information about products or services, take or enter orders, cancel accounts, or obtain details of complaints.
• Contact customers to respond to inquiries or to notify them of claim investigation results or any planned adjustments.
• Determine charges for services requested, collect deposits or payments, or arrange for billing.
• Keep records of customer interactions or transactions, recording details of inquiries, complaints, or comments, as well as actions taken.
• Refer unresolved customer grievances to designated departments for further investigation.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong active listening, speaking, reading comprehension, critical thinking, monitoring and writing skills
• Working knowledge of customer and personal service, English Language and administration and management
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $21.53 an hour ($44,770 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for customer service representatives

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to check to ensure that appropriate changes were made to resolve customers' problems. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to complete contract forms, prepare change of address records, or issue service discontinuance orders, using computers. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to confer with customers by telephone or in person to provide information about products or services, take or enter orders, cancel accounts, or obtain details of complaints. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to contact customers to respond to inquiries or to notify them of claim investigation results or any planned adjustments. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
6. Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
7. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What customer service representatives do

• Check to ensure that appropriate changes were made to resolve customers' problems.
• Complete contract forms, prepare change of address records, or issue service discontinuance orders, using computers.
• Confer with customers by telephone or in person to provide information about products or services, take or enter orders, cancel accounts, or obtain details of complaints.
• Contact customers to respond to inquiries or to notify them of claim investigation results or any planned adjustments.
• Determine charges for services requested, collect deposits or payments, or arrange for billing.
• Keep records of customer interactions or transactions, recording details of inquiries, complaints, or comments, as well as actions taken.
• Refer unresolved customer grievances to designated departments for further investigation.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingMonitoringWritingCustomer and Personal ServiceEnglish LanguageAdministration and Management

Education, experience and outlook for customer service representatives

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Short-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: -5.3% over ten years, declining · about 289,500 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay customer service representatives

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See customer service representatives pay in every state

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Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.