How to hire a customer care professional

How to hire a customer care professional, step by step

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

What does a customer care professional do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a customer care professional, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A customer care professional's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, customer care professionals 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.

   Here's a comparison of customer care professional salaries for various roles:

   Type of Customer Care Professional	Description	Hourly rate
   Customer Care Professional	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$12-20
   Customer Account Representative	A customer account representative's role is to serve as the primary contact between a company and its clients. They typically reach out to existing and potential customers through calls and correspondence, answer inquiries, address issues and concerns, close sales by offering products and services, process payments, and ensure satisfaction to boost sales and improve client base... Show more	$12-22
   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

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Patients
   • Resourcefulness
   • Customer Loyalty
   • Custom Solutions
   • Broadband
   • Health Insurance
   • Credit Card
   • Multitasking
   • Inbound Phone Calls
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Customer Accounts
   • Troubleshoot
   • Outbound Calls

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Mentore new and struggling CSP's to help them reach and achieve their goals.
   • Continue to manage a high volume of customer calls relate to HMO, PPO and POS concerns.
   • Earn managements trust by serving as key CCP.
   • Answer phones, Microsoft word, PowerPoint, fax copy machines.
   • Mentor to other CSP's regarding claims and coverage, taking supervisor calls when necessary.
   • Assist other departments by heading projects, providing additional training for CCP who need specialize assistance.

   More customer care professional duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the customer care professional job description is a good way to get more applicants. A customer care professional 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 professional in Mississippi may be lower than in Wisconsin, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level customer care professional. Additionally, a customer care professional with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average customer care professional salary

   $16.62hourly

   $34,566 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level customer care professional salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average customer care professional salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$42,501	$20
   2	Montana	$42,080	$20
   3	Oregon	$41,331	$20
   4	Iowa	$39,177	$19
   5	North Dakota	$38,943	$19
   6	New York	$38,897	$19
   7	Alaska	$38,857	$19
   8	Minnesota	$38,845	$19
   9	Nebraska	$37,504	$18
   10	Massachusetts	$37,001	$18
   11	New Jersey	$36,946	$18
   12	Maryland	$36,796	$18
   13	Oklahoma	$36,683	$18
   14	Illinois	$36,631	$18
   15	Connecticut	$36,560	$18
   16	California	$36,320	$17
   17	Colorado	$36,206	$17
   18	Utah	$35,914	$17
   19	Michigan	$35,549	$17
   20	Delaware	$35,300	$17

   Average customer care professional salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	AIG	$49,931	$24.01
   2	OSF HealthCare	$48,734	$23.43	98
   3	Thrivent	$47,756	$22.96	13
   4	University of Colorado Boulder	$45,793	$22.02	10
   5	Ameriprise Financial	$44,447	$21.37	30
   6	Univ Of Colorado-Colorado Spgs	$43,476	$20.90
   7	Siemens	$42,213	$20.29	76
   8	University of Michigan	$41,444	$19.93	26
   9	Southern California Edison	$41,354	$19.88	1
   10	SEARHC	$41,199	$19.81	7
   11	American Woodmark	$41,196	$19.81
   12	Michelin	$38,876	$18.69	2
   13	American Express	$38,526	$18.52	11
   14	The Plymouth Rock Company Incorporated	$37,899	$18.22	13
   15	Kimberly-Clark	$37,821	$18.18	2
   16	Crum & Forster	$37,770	$18.16	4
   17	Bon Secours Community Hospital	$37,574	$18.06	135
   18	MVP Health Care	$37,407	$17.98	4
   19	Kootenai Health	$37,236	$17.90	4
   20	Beltone	$36,812	$17.70	68

4. Writing a customer care professional job description

   A customer care professional job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a customer care professional job description:

   Customer care professional job description example

   • Associate's Degree
   • Minimum 2 years of experience in spiritual or pastoral care in a faith tradition
   • Experience working with diverse faith traditions and/or diverse populations
   • Familiarity with substance use treatment or 12 step programs
   • Minimum of 2 years freedom from chemical use problems

   Preferred

   • Units in clinical pastoral education (CPE) programs
   • Board certification or membership of Spiritual Care Association

   Overview

   The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation (HBFF) is the largest nonprofit addiction recovery organization in the United States. It is also one of the most mission-driven places you will find. The HBFF team is passionate about providing hope and ultimately healing. As a living, growing and evolving institution, the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is - at our core- a people-powered organization. HBFF is comprised of 1600+ employees, seventeen treatment sites and produces $190 million dollars in annual revenue. This exemplary organization serves nearly 25,000 people annually and is committed to provide hope and healing for those experiencing addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

   What makes this organization unique is its total ecosystem approach to prevention, education, research, advocacy and treatment. All of the parts of the organization work together to inform, develop and deliver evidence- based practices that help people reclaim their futures and restore their hope.

   Being “a best place to work” is a strategic goal of HBFF and it's a goal that every employee plays an active role in helping to achieve. Our culture is a reflection of how encouraged and energized we each feel about contributing our ideas and performing to our greatest ability. Join us and do meaningful work.

   We deeply value our employees. Working at HBFF includes a comprehensive benefits package, including:

   Competitive Health, Dental and Vision Plans
   Retirement savings plan with employer match
   Paid time-off
   Tuition reimbursement

   
   The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We believe that diversity and inclusion among our colleagues is critical to our success as a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs; and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.

   We can recommend jobs specifically for you! Click here to get started.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find customer care professionals for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your customer care professional job on Zippia to find and recruit customer care professional 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 care professionals, 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.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 professional

   Once you have selected a candidate for the customer care professional position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new customer care professional 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.)

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