How to hire a customer associate

How to hire a customer associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step customer associate hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a customer associate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new customer associate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a customer associate do?

Post a customer associate job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The customer associate hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A customer associate's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, customer associates from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of customer associates and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Customer Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Customer Associate	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$10-24
   Customer Relations Representative	A customer relations representative is responsible for providing the highest customer service by interacting with customers to respond to their inquiries and concerns, process their requests, and resolve their complaints. Customer relations representatives assist the customers with their needs by offering products and services according to their requirements and budget limitations... Show more	$13-24
   Customer Support Representative	A customer support representative is responsible for answering calls and correspondence, providing customer assistance in various technical issues, concerns, or difficulties. There are also instances when they must make calls to follow-up on the issues, or even sell products and services... Show more	$13-22

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sales Floor
   • Product Knowledge
   • Customer Service
   • Phone Calls
   • Customer Calls
   • Outbound Calls
   • Stock Merchandise
   • PowerPoint
   • Customer Complaints
   • Customer Support
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Customer Inquiries
   • Inbound Calls
   • Troubleshoot

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage product queries, process orders and deliveries of medical devices to NHS and private hospitals in UK.
   • Collaborate with management to train new employees on company policies and procedures and manage customer concerns via LiveChat.
   • Provide troubleshooting steps to service apple products.
   • Answer phones, operate POS and collect payments of cash, credit/debit cards and checks.
   • Job duties include not only calls, but faxing, copying, outlook, multitasking.
   • Require to have above average language skills, phone, negotiating, collaboration, persuasion, innovation.

   More customer associate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your customer associate job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A customer associate salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, customer associates' average salary in idaho is 43% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level customer associates earn 59% less than senior-level customer associates.
   • Certifications. A customer associate with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a customer associate's salary.

   Average customer associate salary

   $15.86hourly

   $32,989 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level customer associate salary

   $21,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 29, 2025

   Average customer associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$47,526	$23
   2	District of Columbia	$46,210	$22
   3	Massachusetts	$44,698	$21
   4	New York	$44,133	$21
   5	Illinois	$38,063	$18
   6	Colorado	$37,597	$18
   7	Arizona	$36,629	$18
   8	Nevada	$36,452	$18
   9	Texas	$36,019	$17
   10	Minnesota	$35,889	$17
   11	New Hampshire	$35,475	$17
   12	Florida	$34,366	$17
   13	Washington	$34,007	$16
   14	Rhode Island	$33,981	$16
   15	Delaware	$32,848	$16
   16	Pennsylvania	$32,302	$16
   17	Wisconsin	$31,822	$15
   18	North Carolina	$31,526	$15
   19	Missouri	$30,157	$15
   20	New Mexico	$29,228	$14

   Average customer associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Udemy	$80,854	$38.87	1
   2	Instructure	$63,758	$30.65	1
   3	Splunk	$60,503	$29.09
   4	Eaton Vance	$59,374	$28.55
   5	Autodesk	$51,529	$24.77	2
   6	Accenture	$47,462	$22.82	200
   7	Merkle	$47,233	$22.71
   8	Datadog	$46,302	$22.26	1
   9	The Economist Newspaper Group	$45,666	$21.95
   10	KPMG LLP	$45,532	$21.89	22
   11	The University of Chicago	$45,107	$21.69	2
   12	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$44,674	$21.48	188
   13	Palo Alto Networks	$44,661	$21.47	3
   14	Fidelity National Information Solutions	$44,645	$21.46	3
   15	Prophet	$41,973	$20.18
   16	Verisk Analytics	$41,397	$19.90	4
   17	Element Fleet Management	$41,227	$19.82	1
   18	Wolters Kluwer	$40,323	$19.39	142
   19	The Plymouth Rock Company Incorporated	$40,264	$19.36	13
   20	Dataminr	$39,699	$19.09

4. Writing a customer associate job description

   A good customer associate job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a customer associate job description:

   Customer associate job description example

   • Bachelor's Degree in Business, Science, Engineering, Finance or Supply Chain Management (or other related fields) or equivalent relevant experience.
   • 1-3 years of experience in Consulting, Customer Success, Customer Service, Sales/Account Management or Program Management
   • Strong technical acumen and ideally, familiar with the EV/commercial vehicle industry, customer-facing roles, or software platform work

   Location: This role is remote or can be located within one of Proterra's offices in California or South Carolina.

   #LI-Remote

   Travel : 10-15%

   Proterra is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, providing equal employment opportunities to all Employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, including, but not limited to, lactation or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law or ordinance. Proterra participates in the Electronic Employment Verification Program (E-Verify).

   Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

   The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

   Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

   The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right customer associate for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your customer associate job on Zippia to find and recruit customer associate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit customer associates, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new customer associate

   Once you've selected the best customer associate candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new customer associate first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a customer associate?