How to hire a customer care specialist

How to hire a customer care specialist, step by step

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

What does a customer care specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The customer care specialist 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

   Hiring the perfect customer care specialist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents customer care specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Customer Care Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Customer Care Specialist	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$12-18
   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
   Customer Representative	A customer service representative is a professional person who establishes communication between customers and the organization by answering questions, resolve complaints, and address emergency issues about the products and services he/she sells. He/She must possess an approachable personality, a passion for customer service, and work with his/her fellow workmates... Show more	$12-26

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Care
   • Customer Service
   • Outbound Calls
   • Data Entry
   • Troubleshoot
   • Inbound Phone Calls
   • Customer Inquiries
   • Customer Support
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Customer Complaints
   • Quality Customer Service
   • Credit Card
   • Health Insurance
   • Billing Issues

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Continue to manage a high volume of customer calls relate to HMO, PPO and POS concerns.
   • Provide unbias assistance to Medicaid providers with questions regarding Medicaid patient eligibility, medical claims statuses and other program questions.
   • Present PowerPoint presentations in a webinar format that introduce new features and enhancements to self- service, e-commerce portal.
   • Authenticate callers before providing personal health information to avoid breaking HIPAA guidelines.
   • Verify then analyze and troubleshoot customer's questions regarding student loan disbursement procedures and banking accounts.
   • Maintain working knowledge of numerous product lines as well as policies to effectively troubleshoot and/or replace defective products

   More customer care specialist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average customer care specialist salary

   $15.59hourly

   $32,427 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level customer care specialist salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average customer care specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	North Dakota	$39,744	$19
   2	California	$37,741	$18
   3	Illinois	$36,411	$18
   4	Minnesota	$36,016	$17
   5	New York	$35,597	$17
   6	Oregon	$35,456	$17
   7	Colorado	$35,258	$17
   8	Arizona	$34,969	$17
   9	Iowa	$33,127	$16
   10	Nebraska	$33,038	$16
   11	Utah	$32,393	$16
   12	Texas	$32,070	$15
   13	Wisconsin	$31,722	$15
   14	North Carolina	$31,335	$15
   15	Ohio	$30,914	$15
   16	Florida	$30,524	$15
   17	Indiana	$29,885	$14
   18	Tennessee	$29,754	$14
   19	Georgia	$29,220	$14
   20	Nevada	$29,173	$14

   Average customer care specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Axogen	$41,098	$19.76	11
   2	BD	$39,364	$18.93	14
   3	Verathon	$39,156	$18.82
   4	Illumina	$38,967	$18.73	1
   5	Insulet	$38,901	$18.70
   6	California Casualty	$37,959	$18.25
   7	Pacifi	$37,947	$18.24	2
   8	The Plymouth Rock Company Incorporated	$37,920	$18.23	11
   9	First National of Nebraska	$37,890	$18.22
   10	Solar.com	$37,624	$18.09	1
   11	Steris	$37,493	$18.03	11
   12	Johnson & Johnson	$37,116	$17.84	15
   13	MassMutual	$36,966	$17.77	4
   14	NRG Energy	$36,861	$17.72	1
   15	Southern	$36,854	$17.72	21
   16	EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants	$36,847	$17.71	1
   17	Mirabito	$36,585	$17.59	1
   18	Best Friends Animal Society	$36,519	$17.56	7
   19	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$36,486	$17.54	217
   20	American Express	$36,435	$17.52	15

4. Writing a customer care specialist job description

   A job description for a customer care specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a customer care specialist job description:

   Customer care specialist job description example

   
   This full-time customer service office position starts at $15.75/hr. plus competitive commission. If this sounds like the opportunity that you've been looking for, apply today!

   
   ABOUT TERMINIX SERVICE, INC.

   Under the ownership of the Knox family since 1947, Terminix Service, Inc. is a locally owned, independent business with its home office in Columbia, SC. Headquartered in Columbia, SC., we provide exceptional Commercial, Wildlife and Residential Pest Control Services from 54 branches across South Carolina, western North Carolina, and the CSRA region of Georgia. We are a unique blend of a family business and major corporation. We are recognized for being among the top 10 pest control companies in the country. But don't let size overwhelm you. Our senior leadership is from the second and third generations of the Knox family. When you join the Terminix Service team, you're among family. We invest in the people and communities where our employees live and work. We are not just in the BUG business, we're in the PEOPLE business.

   
   A DAY IN THE LIFE AS A CUSTOMER CARE SPECIALIST

   
   As a Customer Care Specialist, you arrive at the office each day determined to provide superb customer service to our clients and help keep our office running smoothly. Your primary responsibilities are to greet clients, answer phones, schedule and confirm appointments, manage accounts, handle accounts payables and receivables, process payments and invoices, and update spreadsheets and logs. You love keeping everything organized and accurate. And, as the front line for our clients and a liaison to the pest control technicians, your excellent interpersonal and communication skills are an essential part of your success.

   
   Your can-do customer service is often the first glimmer of hope for clients under siege and puts them at ease as you help them troubleshoot their issues and connect them with the services that they need. Your friendly, helpful demeanor comes through in all your interactions, whether in person or on the phone, and your attention to detail ensures that needs are met and accounts handled competently. You are never bored as there are always a variety of office tasks, including running errands, that you can help with.

   
   QUALIFICATIONS FOR A CUSTOMER CARE SPECIALIST

   
   * Customer Service experience
   * Need prior Office experience, including billing, collections, or accounting tasks
   * Valid driver's license and clean driving record
   * Ability to pass a background check and drug screening
   * Sales ability

   *Prefer prior Call Center work experience.

   
   Do you have exceptional customer service skills and understand good phone etiquette? Are you service-oriented, patient, and able to empathize with others? Are you able to prioritize tasks effectively? Can you present yourself in a professional manner? If so, then you might just be perfect for this Customer Care Specialist position!

   
   ARE YOU READY TO JOIN OUR OFFICE TEAM?

   
   If you feel that you would be right for this Customer Care Specialist position, please fill out our initial 3-minute, mobile-friendly application . We look forward to meeting you!

   
   

   Location: (29492)

   
   
   Job Posted by ApplicantPro
   

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5. Post your job

   To find the right customer care specialist 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 specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit customer care specialists 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 specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit customer care specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with customer care specialist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect customer care specialist 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.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new customer care specialist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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