Customer serivce associates are very special people because they know exactly what to say when a customer calls to complain. These workers are also in charge of processing orders and being able to answer any questions that come their way.
Typically, you only need a high school degree to become a customer service associate but you definitely need to have some customer service skills, especially since you'll be dealing with customers on a regular basis.
A lot of the customer service associate job can be learned while you're already on-the-job. Since almost every business gets customer complaints and questions, these jobs are everywhere. In fact, you can find a customer service associate in almost every industry so you get your pick when it comes to applying for a customer service associate position.
What is a Customer Service Associate?
What Does a Customer Service Associate Do
There are certain skills that many customer service associates have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, computer skills and customer-service skills.
How To Become a Customer Service Associate
If you're interested in becoming a customer service associate, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 35.0% of customer service associates have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.6% of customer service associates have master's degrees. Even though some customer service associates have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Customer Service Associate Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a customer service associate can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as office assistant, progress to a title such as executive assistant and then eventually end up with the title general manager.
Average Salary for a Customer Service Associate
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Customer Service Associate Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active customer service associate jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where customer service associates earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Customer Service Associate Jobs By State
Top Skills For a Customer Service Associate
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 40.9% of customer service associates listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and computer skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Customer Service Associate Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Customer Service Associate templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Customer Service Associate resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Customer Service Associate Demographics
Customer Service Associate Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among customer service associates, 61.6% of them are women, while 38.4% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among customer service associates is White, which makes up 60.8% of all customer service associates.
- The most common foreign language among customer service associates is Spanish at 66.7%.
Online Courses For Customer Service Associate That You May Like
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Best States For a Customer Service Associate
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a customer service associate. The best states for people in this position are California, Hawaii, Washington, and Massachusetts. Customer service associates make the most in California with an average salary of $39,030. Whereas in Hawaii and Washington, they would average $37,564 and $33,639, respectively. While customer service associates would only make an average of $33,201 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. New Hampshire
$32,355
Avg. Salary
2. Arizona
$32,886
Avg. Salary
3. Ohio
$29,075
Avg. Salary
How Do Customer Service Associate Rate Their Jobs?
5.0
5.0
Cashier • October 2022What do you like the most about working as Customer Service Associate?
I got to do a variety of tasks daily. Got treated with respect from management and other coworkers. Show MoreWhat do you NOT like?
Sometimes I had to finish up job tasks that were assigned to others that were not completed. Show MoreTop Customer Service Associate Employers
Most Common Employers For Customer Service Associate
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CVS Health | $34,436 | $16.56 | 917 |
| 2 | Amazon | $33,578 | $16.14 | 1,597 |
| 3 | Pitney Bowes | $32,213 | $15.49 | 832 |
| 4 | Target | $32,054 | $15.41 | 946 |
| 5 | Best Buy | $31,798 | $15.29 | 1,056 |
| 6 | Publix | $30,936 | $14.87 | 1,041 |
| 7 | Macy's | $30,265 | $14.55 | 1,187 |
| 8 | Kohl's | $29,871 | $14.36 | 2,807 |
| 9 | Walmart | $29,598 | $14.23 | 10,061 |
| 10 | Bed Bath & Beyond | $29,575 | $14.22 | 817 |
Becoming a Customer Service Associate FAQs
How Long Does It Take To Become A Customer Service Associate?
It takes 2 years of professional experience to become a customer service associate. That is the time it takes to learn specific customer service associate skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.
Do You Need A Degree To Work In Customer Service?
No, you do not need a degree to work in customer service. Educational requirements for this position are minimal and a candidate wanting to work in customer service typically needs to have a high school diploma or GED.
How Do I Get A Job As A Customer Service Representative?
To get a job as a customer service representative, apply for customer service jobs with a resume and cover letter that describe your accomplishments working with customers in the past. Working as a customer service representative involves talking face-to-face with customers, solving problems, and helping others, so these are the most important elements to focus on during the application process.
How Much Do Customer Service Associates Make?
Customer service associates make approximately $32,000 per year. Annual compensation for these jobs vary depending on job performance, experience, and location.
A customer service associate's performance impacts their base salary. The average annual bonus for an associate is approximately $2,000. Customer service associates who perform at a high level can earn annual commissions of approximately $7,000 a year.
What Qualifications Do You Need To Work In Customer Service?
The qualifications you need to work in customer service are customer relations, multitasking, and time management.
Other qualifications you need to work in customer service include:
What Skills Does A Customer Service Associate Need?
The skills that a customer service associate needs include communication, adaptability, and professionalism.
Other skills that a customer service associate needs are:
Dealing directly with customers to resolve problems
Communication skills
Adaptable to work with different individuals with different concerns
Ability to work professionally by conveying information to customers in a professional manner
Ability to be prompt and courteous to effectively address the needs of the customer
Why Should We Hire You For Customer Service?
To answer, "why should we hire you for customer service?", focus on your experience and expertise in the area of customer support. This is one of those broad questions that can take you down the wrong road. This question is really asking you to sell yourself. Think of yourself as the product. Why should they buy you?