How long does it take to become a Collections Representative?

It takes 4 years of professional experience to become a collections representative. That is the time it takes to learn specific collections representative skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.

How To Become A Collections Representative: What It Is and Career Path

What is a collections representative and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

A collections representative is an individual who works for a company or organization to collect unpaid debts from clients or customers. They are responsible for contacting debtors, negotiating payment plans, and ensuring that payments are made. They must possess excellent communication skills, be persistent yet respectful, and have strong organizational abilities. A collections representative plays a crucial role in the financial health of a business by helping to recover outstanding debts and improving cash flow.

ScoreCollections RepresentativeUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,015

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.48%

Asian 3.41%

Black or African American 12.19%

Hispanic or Latino 18.90%

Unknown 3.94%

White 61.08%

Gender

female 69.41%

male 30.59%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.9

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a collections representative?

Pros

Opportunity to help people resolve their debts
Potential for high earnings through commission-based pay
Opportunity to develop negotiation and conflict resolution skills
Variety of work tasks, including phone and in-person communication, data entry, and research
Opportunity to learn about financial laws and regulations

Cons

Dealing with difficult and sometimes angry customers
High stress levels due to meeting quotas and deadlines
Negative stigma attached to the collections industry
Challenging to collect debts from individuals who have no means to pay
Needing to follow strict compliance guidelines when communicating with debtors

Key steps to become a collections representative

Explore collections representative education requirements

Most common collections representative degrees

High School Diploma

33.2 %

Bachelor's

27.7 %

Associate

22.9 %

Start to develop specific collections representative skills

Skills	Percentages
Payment Arrangements	14.16%
Customer Service	12.60%
Delinquent Accounts	9.32%
Past Due Accounts	6.40%
Customer Accounts	3.91%

Complete relevant collections representative training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New collections representatives learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a collections representative based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real collections representative resumes.

Research collections representative duties and responsibilities

Protect A/R assets by managing a portfolio of accounts to maximize gainful sales and reduce debt losses.
Maintain effective communication and utilize negotiation skills with internal and external customers to effect collections while maintaining customer good will.
Submit all reconsideration and appeals if need.
Conduct periodic data cleaning of queues balances deny with deny appeals.

Prepare your collections representative resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your collections representative resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a collections representative resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable collections representative resume templates

Build a professional collections representative resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your collections representative resume.