How to hire a customer contact specialist

How to hire a customer contact specialist, step by step

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

What does a customer contact specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the customer contact specialist you need to hire. Certain customer contact specialist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A customer contact specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, customer contact specialists 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 contact specialist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Customer Contact Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Customer Contact Specialist	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$12-23
   Receptionist/Customer Service	Receptionists or customer service professionals are considered as the first contact point of the clients. They usually greet and welcome guests visiting an office or organization... Show more	$12-17
   Customer Relations Coordinator	A customer relations coordinator oversees a company's customer service programs, ensuring clients receive optimal support and service. They conduct market research and analysis, study client feedback, organize customer loyalty incentives, coordinate customer service teams, establish programs, supervise staff performance, and solve issues and concerns when any arise... Show more	$12-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Outbound Calls
   • Inbound Calls
   • PowerPoint
   • Strong Customer Service
   • Customer Inquiries
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Customer Care
   • Credit Card
   • Telephone Calls
   • Customer Calls
   • Customer Interaction
   • Customer Accounts
   • Insurance Claims
   • Customer Service

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Collaborate with clinical pharmacists and administrative benefits specialists to research, review and process clinical and administrative appeals respectively.
   • Interact extensively with residential customers to support account needs, while upselling on additional service offerings by identifying personal needs.

   More customer contact specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your customer contact specialist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A customer contact specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a customer contact specialist in Kansas may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level customer contact specialist usually earns less than a senior-level customer contact specialist. Additionally, a customer contact specialist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average customer contact specialist salary

   $35,056yearly

   $16.85 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level customer contact specialist salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average customer contact specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$51,547	$25
   2	District of Columbia	$47,761	$23
   3	New York	$47,748	$23
   4	California	$46,056	$22
   5	Alaska	$45,771	$22
   6	Illinois	$44,586	$21
   7	Wisconsin	$43,899	$21
   8	Minnesota	$42,168	$20
   9	Florida	$41,157	$20
   10	Georgia	$39,166	$19
   11	South Carolina	$38,997	$19
   12	Arizona	$38,924	$19
   13	Missouri	$38,351	$18
   14	New Jersey	$37,911	$18
   15	Washington	$37,622	$18
   16	Texas	$37,201	$18
   17	Maryland	$36,197	$17
   18	Michigan	$35,116	$17
   19	Tennessee	$35,096	$17
   20	Colorado	$34,934	$17

   Average customer contact specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Deloitte	$54,489	$26.20	456
   2	PSEA	$39,247	$18.87	2
   3	Community First Credit Union	$37,250	$17.91	6
   4	America's Best Closeouts, Inc	$34,932	$16.79
   5	CoStar Group	$34,827	$16.74	7
   6	ReadyOne Industries	$34,789	$16.73
   7	National Vision Administrators	$34,781	$16.72	7
   8	Fifth Third Bank	$34,343	$16.51	154
   9	Randstad North America, Inc.	$34,288	$16.48	35
   10	Discover	$33,963	$16.33
   11	Kelly Services	$33,353	$16.04	37
   12	ManpowerGroup	$32,988	$15.86	63
   13	Robert Half	$32,647	$15.70	199
   14	ACNB Bank	$32,641	$15.69
   15	Adecco	$32,424	$15.59	64
   16	Cambridge Savings Bank	$32,001	$15.39
   17	Frederick County Bank	$31,710	$15.25
   18	Altra Federal Credit Union	$31,618	$15.20
   19	Hudson Valley Credit Union	$31,467	$15.13	3
   20	Alaska Communications	$30,899	$14.86

4. Writing a customer contact specialist job description

   A customer contact specialist 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. Below, you can find an example of a customer contact specialist job description:

   Customer contact specialist job description example

   CUSTOMER CONTACT CENTER SPECIALIST
   
   Summary:
   
   At Cambridge Savings Bank, our purpose is to have a positive impact on our customers, employees, and community's financial well-being. We are committed to exceeding expectations and having a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. The Customer Contact Center Specialist will focus on building long term relationships with clients and assist our customers in managing and servicing their bank accounts and finances and always striving to positively impact our customer's financial wellbeing, while exhibiting our core values.
   
   Key Result Areas:
   
   + Ensure every point of interaction with customers and colleagues is in line with our brand, values, and mission of providing relationship-centric experiences.
   
   + Perform customer transactions via phone accurately and efficiently to ensure each interaction provides consistently high-quality experiences to internal and external customers.
   
   + Manage a call queue and make appropriate decisions by effectively using position authority, knowledge of operating and security procedures, and problem-solving skills to make on-the-spot decisions, including exceptions, adjustments, and overrides using 15 plus critical administrative sites.
   
   + Develop and maintain substantial knowledge of Bank products and services.
   
   + Responsible for performing a full range of customer service-oriented telephone and digital communications support activities to ensure customer satisfaction and compliance with Bank policies and procedures.
   
   + Participate in the implementation of emerging technologies as well as identify and respond to suspicious activity or fraud alerts through various channels. Proactive customer outreach is necessary for various reasons.
   
   + Sell and cross-sell the products and services of the Bank and its partners to prospective and existing business and personal customers based on their needs.
   
   + Provide support to all CCC functions, as necessary.
   
   + Perform additional duties as required.
   
   Qualifications:
   
   + HS Diploma or GED equivalent.
   
   + Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact with all types of people and quickly build rapport.
   
   + Technically proficient in MS Office and able to quickly learn and support digital platforms.
   
   + Strong sales and service skills, or the recognized ability to develop them.
   
   + Ability to work independently and take accountability for actions, making quick, quality decisions.
   
   Location:
   
   Waltham, Massachusetts
   
   About Cambridge Savings Bank:
   
   Cambridge Savings Bank is a full-service banking institution with over $5 billion in assets. As a mutual bank, CSB is committed to improving the quality of life of our employees, customers, and the communities we serve. One of the oldest and largest community banks in Massachusetts, Cambridge Savings Bank offers a full line of individual and business banking services across a robust Massachusetts-based branch network and through digital banking solutions for commercial, small business and consumer customers. To learn more about how we can meet your needs, visit us at cambridgesavings.com, or better yet, come meet us to help you make the most out of your banking relationship.
   
   Cambridge Savings Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

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5. Post your job

   To find customer contact specialists 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 specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level customer contact specialists 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 specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit customer contact 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 contact 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 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 contact specialist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the customer contact specialist 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 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 contact specialist 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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