How to hire switchboard operators, including answering service

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
• Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
• Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
• Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
• Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
• Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
• Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.
• Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
• Relay or route written or verbal messages.

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 and reading comprehension skills
• Working knowledge of customer and personal service, English Language and administrative
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $18.57 an hour ($38,630 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 switchboard operators, including answering service

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 answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address. 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 switchboard operators, including answering service do

• Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
• Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
• Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
• Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
• Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
• Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.
• Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
• Relay or route written or verbal messages.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionCustomer and Personal ServiceEnglish LanguageAdministrative

Education, experience and outlook for switchboard operators, including answering service

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 3 to 6 months (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Short-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: -26% over ten years, declining · about 3,100 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay switchboard operators, including answering service

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

See switchboard operators, including answering service pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Receptionists and Information Clerks
• Office Clerks, General
• Telephone Operators
• Customer Service Representatives
• Public Safety Telecommunicators
• Telemarketers
• Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
• Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
• Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
• Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants

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.