Gone are the days when working a customer service job meant working behind a glass cubicle to deal with customers. Many customer service jobs today can be carried out remotely, from your own home.
Just think. No commuting or driving across town. Both businesses and customer service workers see the benefits of working from home: happier, more satisfied employees, increases in productivity, and lower costs to run the business.
Nearly every type of business in every industry requires customer service workers to help promote customer satisfaction.
For example, PCI often has customer service jobs available that support colleges and universities in connecting with their alumni.
Customer service is booming in 2021. If you have a reliable computer and internet connection, you can likely land a remote job in the customer service industry.
What do Customer Service Reps Do?
Customer service reps assist customers when needed. Some of the responsibilities and qualities customer service workers must have are:
- Conveys an empathetic tone
- Communicates with customers, either through the phone, by email, or in a chat box
- Resolves complaints from customers
- Becomes familiar with products and services to the point they’re able to answer questions
- Processes orders, requests, credit applications, and more
- Maintains records of interactions, comments, complaints, and transactions
- Ensures that customers are satisfied through the customer service process
- Communicates with senior members of the team
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 2,919,000 customer service representatives are actively working in the U.S., earning a median annual salary of $37,320. Top wage earners in the industry who have more years of experience can potentially earn upwards of $56,000. Salary.com lists the median salary for a customer service manager at $95,293.
Finding Success in a Customer Service Job
There are some key things you can do to get a great job in customer support. Once you’ve landed a job, then you’ll want to find success. Here’s how to do it all.
- Treat your job prospect like a customer. Pitch them by using customer service lingo in your cover letter and resume. Companies get tons of applications. What you want to do is stand out, so you get chosen for an interview. The problem is that many companies don’t even read every resume and cover letter they get. They use tracking systems to select the best-qualified candidates for the roles. These tracking systems scan resumes for keywords relevant to the industry. So, use some of the languages they’d use to describe the person they’d most likely want to hire.
- Sell yourself in your interview. Once an interview is set up, it’s half the battle. Now all you have to do is sell yourself by conveying examples of real-life problems and situations you’ve solved and how you solved them. The examples don’t have to be about something you did at a former job. Any good example will do. Then sell how you’d make your problem-solving skills work to match the company’s values. Convey enthusiasm and confidence about the prospect of working for the company. If the interview is a remote one, you’ll want to ensure that there will be no disturbances in the background. If a potential employer hears noises, they’ll be less likely to hire you.
- Learn all you can about the company. What products do they sell, or what services do they offer? What are they passionate about? Read their blogs, find out about their culture, and make contact with them on social media. These are especially great things to do for companies that genuinely interest you, particularly if the job isn’t in the cards for you right now. By connecting with them, it enhances your chances of getting on later on. And once you do, you’ll be able to do an even better job at doing your work.
- Highlight transferable skills. You don’t always have to have experience in customer service to land those jobs. But you do have to have the skills it takes to do the work effectively. Emphasize any transferable skills you have that relate to the customer service industry. For instance, are you a great communicator, can you convey genuine empathy, and can you easily solve problems? If so, it sounds like customer service is the right job for you.
- Hone in on traits that cater to remote work. One of the biggest challenges for both employers and employees in the remote work field is finding self-motivated workers who will be committed and self-driven to do their jobs when they’re supposed to. Companies want to be sure if they hire someone, they’re actually going to put in all the hours. Honesty and reliability are two great traits to have.
Now that you know what it takes to succeed at a remote customer service job, seize the opportunity to make it work for you.
