Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement Most jobs require at least a high school diploma. Employers provide training to workers before they begin serving customers.

Education and training. Most customer service representative jobs require a high school diploma. However, because employers are demanding a more skilled workforce, some customer service jobs now require associate or bachelor's degrees. High school and college level courses in computers, English, or business are helpful in preparing for a job in customer service.

Training requirements vary by industry. Almost all customer service representatives are provided with some training prior to beginning work. This training generally focuses on the company and its products, the most commonly asked questions, the computer and telephone systems they will be using, and basic people skills. Length of training varies, but often lasts several weeks. Some customer service representatives are expected to update their training regularly. This is particularly true of workers in industries such as banking, in which regulations and products are continually changing.

Other qualifications. Because customer service representatives constantly interact with the public, good communication and problem-solving skills are essential. Verbal communication and listening skills are especially important. Companies prefer to hire individuals who have a pleasant speaking voice and are easy to understand. For workers who communicate through e-mail, good typing, spelling, and grammar skills are necessary. Basic to intermediate computer knowledge and good interpersonal skills are also important.
Customer service representatives play a critical role in providing an interface between customers and companies. As a result, employers seek out people who are friendly and possess a professional manner. The ability to deal patiently with problems and complaints and to remain courteous when faced with difficult or angry people is critical. Also, a customer service representative often must be able to work independently within specified time constraints.

Advancement. Customer service jobs are often good introductory positions into a company or an industry. In some cases, experienced workers can move into supervisory or managerial positions or they may move into areas such as product development, in which they can use their knowledge to improve products and services. Some people work in call centers with the hope of transferring to a position in another department.

 

Employment 

Customer service representatives held about 2.3 million jobs in 2008, ranking among the largest occupations. They can be found in almost every industry, although about 23 percent worked in the finance and insurance industry. Another 15 percent worked in the administrative and support services industry, which includes third party telephone call centers.

Job Outlook 

Customer service representatives are expected to experience faster than average growth. Furthermore, job prospects should be good as many workers who leave this very large occupation will need to be replaced.
Employment change. Employment of customer service representatives is expected to grow by about 18 percent over the 2008-18 period, faster than the average for all occupations. Providing quality customer service is important to nearly every company in the economy; in addition, companies are expected to place increasing emphasis on customer relationships, resulting in increased demand for customer service representatives. This very large occupation is projected to provide about 400,000 new jobs over the next decade.

Customer service representatives are especially prevalent in the finance and insurance industry, as many customer interactions do not require physical contact. Employment of customer service representatives in this industry is expected to increase 9 percent over the 2008-18 period.

Although technology has tempered growth of this occupation to some degree, it has also created many opportunities for growth. For instance, online banking has reduced the need for telephone banking services. At the same time, however, it has increased the need for customer service representatives who assist users with banking Web sites. Additionally, online services create many new opportunities for customer support representatives as companies that operate on the Internet provide customer service by telephone.
In the past, many companies chose to relocate their customer service call centers in foreign countries, which led to layoffs in some industries. Although many companies continue to offshore some of their customer service jobs, this is becoming less prevalent than in the past. While it continues to be less expensive to hire workers overseas, many companies have found that foreign workers do not have the same cultural sensitivity as those located within the United States.

Job prospects. Prospects for obtaining a job in this field are expected to be good, with more job openings than jobseekers. In particular, bilingual jobseekers should enjoy excellent opportunities. Rapid job growth, coupled with a large number of workers who leave the occupation each year, should make finding a job as a customer service representative relatively easy.

While jobs in some industries may be affected by economic downturns, customer service representatives are not as vulnerable to layoffs as some other workers. This is, in part, because many customer service representatives work in industries where customers have accounts. While customers may have less money to spend, and as a result may choose to purchase fewer goods or services, they continue to have customer service needs. For instance, during an economic downturn, individuals may have less money in their bank accounts, but they continue to need banking services and customer service from their banks. Nevertheless, companies do attempt to cut costs during such times, so downsizing is still a possibility.