How to hire a customer contact representative

How to hire a customer contact representative, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a customer contact representative, 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a customer contact representative 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 contact representative that fits the bill.

   This list presents customer contact representative salaries for various positions.

   Type of Customer Contact Representative	Description	Hourly rate
   Customer Contact Representative	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$13-20
   Customer Agent	A customer agent provides friendly service to external and internal customers. Customer agents talk to customers on behalf of businesses and companies... Show more	$12-18
   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:

   • Phone Calls
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Inbound Calls
   • Technical Support
   • Outbound Calls
   • Customer Inquiries
   • Customer Issues
   • Product Knowledge
   • Sound Judgment
   • Financial Transactions
   • Customer Interaction
   • Customer Calls
   • Call Handling
   • Payment Arrangements

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and plan escalations; assure HIPPA guidelines are followed for confidentially and privacy.
   • Demonstrate superb organizational and multitasking abilities
   • Provide provider customer service for the providers enroll in the SC DHHS dental Medicaid program.
   • Re-Adjudicate coordination of benefit claims to reflect Medicaid as a secondary payor.
   • Combine active listening with proactive decision-making skills to benefit Toyota customers.

   More customer contact representative duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average customer contact representative salary

   $16.62hourly

   $34,573 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level customer contact representative salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average customer contact representative salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$45,993	$22
   2	Illinois	$43,990	$21
   3	Colorado	$42,882	$21
   4	Hawaii	$41,658	$20
   5	Minnesota	$39,248	$19
   6	New York	$36,301	$17
   7	Arizona	$35,602	$17
   8	Florida	$34,893	$17
   9	Michigan	$33,200	$16
   10	Wisconsin	$32,968	$16
   11	North Carolina	$32,748	$16
   12	Virginia	$32,726	$16
   13	Texas	$31,613	$15
   14	Connecticut	$31,596	$15
   15	South Dakota	$29,928	$14

   Average customer contact representative salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	US Foods	$41,172	$19.79	11
   2	GEICO	$39,248	$18.87	26
   3	Navistar	$38,154	$18.34
   4	Boston Proper	$38,080	$18.31
   5	International Trucks	$37,540	$18.05
   6	University Of Minnesota Physicians	$37,012	$17.79
   7	Hawaiian Airlines	$36,855	$17.72	3
   8	CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS	$36,746	$17.67
   9	State of West Virginia	$35,958	$17.29	20
   10	Voya Financial	$35,794	$17.21	4
   11	RELX	$35,669	$17.15	8
   12	HealthCare Associates Credit Union	$35,012	$16.83	3
   13	Wintrust Financial	$34,293	$16.49	2
   14	Robert Half	$33,986	$16.34	180
   15	Randstad North America, Inc.	$33,967	$16.33	31
   16	PFS	$33,756	$16.23
   17	Xcel Energy	$33,410	$16.06	1
   18	SimpliSafe	$33,386	$16.05
   19	Texas Children's Hospital	$33,347	$16.03	7
   20	Amalgamated Bank	$32,884	$15.81	1

4. Writing a customer contact representative job description

   A good customer contact representative 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 contact representative job description:

   Customer contact representative job description example

   ARE YOU A CURRENT US FOODS EMPLOYEE? PLEASE APPLY DIRECTLY THROUGH OUR INTERNAL WORKDAY CAREER SITE.
   
   Join Our Community of Food People!
   
   Offer a professional approach to interact and support US Foods customers and sales organization to deliver an exceptional customer service experience. Provide support in performing high volume transactions and administrative duties. Effectively communicate with customers, sellers, and other internal roles and departments such as; Product Sales Support Administrator (PSSA), Merchandizing, Operations, Credit, Transportation and Routing, etc.
   
   The Customer Service Rep position has been segmented as blended meaning the work is a combination of onsite in Salem, VA and remote/virtual as defined by the role segmentation. This role will most likely be in the office approximately 2 times per month. This position can be located anywhere in the Southeast region in a commutable distance to a US Foods location.
   
   RESPONSIBILITIES:
   
   * Focus on the timely and accurate completion of high-volume, lower complexity transactions which includes special order processing and tracking, sample order processing and tracking, service request processing, credit and debit memo requests, eCommerce support such as new account set-up, customer password reset, delivery status inquiries (Where's My Truck), product recall contact updates, other data entry or administrative duties as assigned.
   * Receives inbound calls and place outbound calls to customers to take orders or respond to questions. Process service requests in support of sellers and customers
   * Obtains and examine all relevant information in order to assess validity of request and follow up as necessary
   * Makes outbound courtesy calls to customers to ensure orders are processed timely, when delivery changes are necessary, or other customer contact is required
   * Documents customer interactions and transactions, recording details of inquiries, complaints, and comments, as well as actions taken to support the request
   * Responds to customer and seller requests in a timely manner, either independently or by escalating to appropriate resources (Operations, Category Management, Finance, Replenishment, etc.) or external vendors, as required. Maintain ownership of all follow up communication from escalated inquiries
   * Attends department meetings and product or other training to develop personal growth and that for product and vendor knowledge
   
   QUALIFICATIONS:
   
   Education/Training:
   
   * High School diploma or equivalent required, with 1 year of customer service or support experience preferred
   
   Related Experience:
   
   * 1-year experience in customer service/ support role or similar responsibilities required
   * Experience in food service distribution a plus
   * Experience working virtually (i.e. from home)
   
   Tasks:
   
   * Ability to communicate with customers through various channels
   * Respond promptly to customer and seller inquiries
   * Processing of service requests, credits, orders, product recalls, forms, customer set-up and reminders, reporting and data gathering
   * Communicate and coordinate with colleagues as necessary
   * Ensure customer satisfaction and provide professional customer support
   
   Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:
   
   * Excellent written and verbal communication skills
   * Assist callers in a professional manner
   * Strong concentration and ability problem solve
   * Comfortable using computers\Data entry experience
   * Working knowledge of Microsoft applications
   
   #LI-DH1
   
   * EOE Race/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Protected Veteran/Disability Status*

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find customer contact representatives for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any customer contact representatives they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level customer contact representatives with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your customer contact representative job on Zippia to find and recruit customer contact representative 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 contact representatives, 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.

   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 contact representative

   Once you've found the customer contact representative candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new customer contact representative. 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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