How to hire a customer care agent

How to hire a customer care agent, step by step

Here's a step-by-step customer care agent 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 care agent job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new customer care agent
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a customer care agent do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The customer care agent 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a customer care agent to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a customer care agent that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of customer care agents.

   Type of Customer Care Agent	Description	Hourly rate
   Customer Care Agent	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$12-18
   Call Center Agent	A call center agent is responsible for answering calls and assisting clients by responding to inquiries. They also handle complaints and resolve issues, troubleshoot errors, and process applications... Show more	$11-19
   Customer Service Consultant	A customer service consultant is responsible for addressing the customers' inquiries and concerns regarding the company's services and resolving complaints to provide the best customer service and satisfaction. Customer service consultants also sell new goods and products to the customers, demonstrating features and benefits before proceeding with the orders, payment, and delivery details... Show more	$9-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Care
   • Customer Service
   • Work Ethic
   • Excellent Interpersonal
   • Customer Interaction
   • Excellent Organizational
   • Inbound Phone Calls
   • Customer Loyalty
   • Outbound Calls
   • Customer Inquiries
   • Upselling
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Customer Accounts
   • Customer Support

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and plan escalations; assure HIPPA guidelines are followed for confidentially and privacy.
   • Apply excellent upselling techniques to increase company profits.
   • Answer all inquiries and concerns relate to a participant's account with the upselling of products and services.
   • Demonstrate superb organizational and multitasking abilities
   • Provide superior customer service to inbound calls from DirecTV customers regarding their schedule service/install appointment.

   More customer care agent duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the customer care agent job description is a good way to get more applicants. A customer care agent salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a customer care agent in Mississippi may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level customer care agent. Additionally, a customer care agent with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average customer care agent salary

   $15.28hourly

   $31,774 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level customer care agent salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average customer care agent salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$39,935	$19
   2	New York	$39,767	$19
   3	North Carolina	$36,535	$18
   4	Montana	$36,365	$17
   5	Minnesota	$35,301	$17
   6	Indiana	$34,835	$17
   7	Wisconsin	$34,826	$17
   8	Michigan	$33,852	$16
   9	Iowa	$33,439	$16
   10	Illinois	$33,338	$16
   11	Nevada	$32,532	$16
   12	Utah	$31,858	$15
   13	Kentucky	$31,445	$15
   14	Pennsylvania	$31,264	$15
   15	Nebraska	$31,094	$15
   16	Colorado	$31,085	$15
   17	Ohio	$30,674	$15
   18	Arizona	$30,269	$15
   19	Texas	$29,759	$14
   20	Georgia	$28,830	$14

   Average customer care agent salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Bassett Furniture Industries	$38,217	$18.37
   2	Marvin and	$37,349	$17.96	5
   3	Amica Insurance	$36,573	$17.58	3
   4	CarMax	$35,710	$17.17	93
   5	Mérieux NutriSciences	$35,434	$17.04
   6	American Water	$35,418	$17.03	3
   7	Opportunity Bank of Montana	$35,262	$16.95
   8	Advance Financial	$34,667	$16.67
   9	Safelite AutoGlass	$34,552	$16.61	66
   10	Lighting Service Inc.	$34,528	$16.60
   11	Bank of Tennessee	$34,509	$16.59
   12	Evine	$33,921	$16.31
   13	The RoomPlace	$33,910	$16.30
   14	Hilton Grand Vacations	$33,756	$16.23	39
   15	CVS Health	$33,713	$16.21	267
   16	Best Buy	$33,595	$16.15	113
   17	GE Appliances	$33,562	$16.14	43
   18	Ace Hardware	$33,544	$16.13	19
   19	ICF	$33,543	$16.13
   20	SelectQuote Insurance Services	$33,299	$16.01	13

4. Writing a customer care agent job description

   A good customer care agent 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 care agent job description:

   Customer care agent job description example

   We are seeking experienced customer service professionals to be a part of our energy services and solutions team! This is a full time opportunity that will start onsite in North Houston, TX and will have remote flexibility after training.
   Candidate Must be Bilingual Spanish/English
   
   Pay Range: $16 - $17/hr
   Up to $3000 bonus after 6 months - Depending on performance
   
   Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm
   Training is ONSITE with REMOTE flexibility after training program
   
   Job Duities: Answer incoming customer service calls Provide the customer with full resolution to issues or concerns Correspond and coordinate with other departments to achieve issue resolution for customer Follow up with the customer in writing when necessary Notate customer accounts with regards to all resolutions, pending status and updates Flag accounts appropriately to avoid collections and interruptions of service based on resolution Accept payments over the phone and issue reconnect orders when necessary Answer emails from customers in company boxes for support, information, and access Return all messages from the external call center where a resolution was not completed Enter adjustments to customer accounts based on business rules Benefits
   We put our Ambassadors first. When it comes down to it, we know we can't fulfill our Promise to our business customers without your commitment. You represent our organization while on assignment. In return, we do our best to show our commitment to you. Our Ambassador Benefits package includes Medical, dental and vision coverage. It also includes 401k, sick time, holiday and much more. We are an equal opportunity employer.
   
   We are an equal opportunity employer and make hiring decisions based on merit. Recruitment, hiring, training, and job assignments are made without regard to race, color, national origin, age, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, or any other protected classification. We consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right customer care agent for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with customer care agents they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit customer care agents who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting customer care agents requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 care agent

   Once you've decided on a perfect customer care agent candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

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.)

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How much does it cost to hire a customer care agent?