How to build a compelling customer service resume
Whether you are a call center operator, client relationship manager or a sales support officer, your job is all about meeting customer needs and ensuring their enjoyable experience.
There’s one thing you may need to do before you can advance your career path — craft an impressive customer service resume.
The way you present your professional experience and exceptional skills will certainly depend on a specific job you are applying for. There are, however, certain guidelines that can help bring any customer service CV to the highest standard.
Stick to our tips, and you’ll land the job of your dreams in no time.
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1. How to skillfully format your customer service resume?
“Wow, that looks clean-cut!” This is what you want a hiring manager to say when first laying their eyes on your resume.
A well-organized and neat CV can be decisive. After all, there are 250 candidates on average applying for the same position. And let’s be honest, there’s just not enough time in this world for the recruiter to wade through clumsy chunks of text.
The aim is to make your piece of writing easy to skim and easy to navigate. Lead a hiring manager’s eye to desirable sections through impeccable formatting.
- Set 0,5-1 inch margins on all sides.
- Distribute your resume sections in a neat way. You may want to opt for a two-column layout.
- Employ negative space so that there is enough space between individual sections.
- If you have previous customer service experience, list your job history and education in a reverse-chronological order. If you are new in the field or you’ve just gotten your feet wet, you may use a functional resume putting your skills and education under the spotlight.
- Make your headings bigger.
- Avoid stylish fonts, and opt for the classic ones such as Garamond, Calibri, or Gill Sans.
- If you want to use color, do it wisely — go for a subtle one.
- Save your CV as a PDF document unless the job posting in question states otherwise.
Choose your preferred template and make your resume shine.
2. How to create a captivating customer service professional summary for your CV?
The right professional profile is, in the first place, relevant to the job you are applying for. It markets your best work experience, the most significant accomplishments and your brilliant customer service skills.
That’s right — you need to sell your abilities to your prospective employer at the very beginning, or you might simply risk being ignored.
Make your customer service professional summary concise and to-the-point. Using keywords from the job ad, mention your measurable achievements, convey your interpersonal skills and reflect your troubleshooting mastery.
Customer service professional summary example
Pro-active and performance-driven Client Associate who excels at developing and maintaining relationships with clients, and providing exceptional service. Effective team player and communicator offering excellent negotiation skills and the important ability to function well in fast-paced business environments. Reached and maintained 98% customer satisfaction.
3. What are the best skills to put on your customer service resume?
If you are wondering what technical competencies and interpersonal skills the recruiter will target in your resume, you are asking the right question.
In order to find the answer, you may need to refer back to the job posting you are replying to.
Remember to feature required skills from the posting at the top of your list, and add any other relevant customer service competencies.
The best customer service soft skills for your resume
- Outstanding communication (oral and written)
- Active listening
- Problem solving
- Customer service orientation
- Flexibility
- Organizational skills
- Attention to detail
- Ability to persuade
- Stress resilience
- Positive attitude
- Patience
- Time management
- Willingness to improve
The most effective hard skills for your customer service CV
- Microsoft Office Suite
- CRM software
- Data Entry
- CS Principles and Practices
- Sales Force
- Multi-line phone systems
- Visio & Project
- Oracle
- Logistics
- Budgeting
4. How to properly list work experience in your customer service resume?
Make your work history an effective projection of your future company’s success.
In order to write an engaging customer service work experience section, you may need to combine your expertise, ability to build strong relationships with clients and measurable achievements.
Use bullet points to provide a clear account of your relevant accomplishments, and avoid using large blocks of text.
Customer service professional summary example
Marknight, Texas
Client Associate
2017–2020
- Focused on enhancing client relationships and managed all incoming phone calls and emails.
- Conducted client meetings, maintained relevant databases, and developed and coordinated office schedules.
- Identified client goals and targets, and worked on the creation and implementation of a new contact management system.
- Improved client satisfaction with provided services by 12% within one year.
- Recognized as a top-achieving employee by the company executives numerous times.
5. How to make your education section shine with academic achievements?
Whether you have formal education in a related field or not, mentioning your areas of interests, academic achievements, or even active participation in various college clubs can certainly pay off.
Were you a member of the Debate Club? Ace in the hole! You must have outstanding communication skills.
Customer service education section example
2013-2016
BA in Communications
Villa University, Texas
- Areas of interest: Applied Communication
- Finalist, Student Essay Writing Competition 2015
- Led the Student Debate Club
6. How to use additional sections in order to showcase your customer service skills?
When it comes to extra sections on your CV, you may effectively opt for languages, certifications, accomplishments, awards, conferences, and many more.
Which ones you decide to incorporate depends on their relevance to a specific job position.
Showcase those activities and interests that have made you a better customer service professional, and get the hiring manager on your side.
Your extra sections could be listed as follows
Volunteering Activities
- Fund Allocator, St John Charity, Miami, FL, United States, February 2019 - March 2021
Certifications
- Certified Customer Service Professional (CCSP), Customer Service Institute, 2020
Including a dedicated section for customer service certifications on your resume is vital in showcasing your commitment to providing exceptional customer experiences and your proficiency in customer service skills.
These certifications validate your knowledge and expertise in customer service best practices and demonstrate your dedication to delivering top-notch service.