How To Become A Customer Service Executive: What It Is and Career Path

What is a customer service executive and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A customer service executive provides assistance, resolves issues. and answers inquiries for customers. They act as the first point of contact between a company and its clients, representing the brand and maintaining customer satisfaction. A customer service executive must possess excellent communication and problem-solving abilities. Their responsibilities include handling complaints, placing orders, providing product information, managing accounts, and maintaining records. A customer service executive consistently prioritizes customers' needs while working in a fast-paced environment.

ScoreCustomer Service ExecutiveUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,512

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.9

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 6.86%

Black or African American 12.84%

Hispanic or Latino 20.14%

Unknown 5.58%

White 53.93%

Gender

female 62.96%

male 37.04%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

5.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a customer service executive?

Pros

Potential for career growth and advancement within the company
Often offers flexible scheduling and work from home options
Receive bonuses or incentives for meeting performance goals
Access to training and development programs
Chance to learn about various industries and products

Cons

High stress levels due to dealing with upset or angry customers
May be required to work long hours or weekends/holidays
May receive low pay or have limited earning potential
Can be emotionally taxing, particularly for those who are highly empathetic
The job can be monotonous and boring at times

Key steps to become a customer service executive

Explore customer service executive education requirements

Most common customer service executive degrees

Bachelor's

52.5 %

Associate

13.4 %

High School Diploma

11.5 %

Start to develop specific customer service executive skills

Skills	Percentages
Strong Customer Service	60.46%
Post Sales	10.11%
Customer Complaints	2.80%
Customer Satisfaction	2.35%
Inbound Calls	2.10%

Complete relevant customer service executive training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New customer service executives learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a customer service executive based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real customer service executive resumes.

Research customer service executive duties and responsibilities

Manage all customer inquiries through phone calls and emails and ensure appropriate assistance in compliance with company policies and procedures.
Help troubleshoot technical incidents including basic browser issues, Apps, subscription problems.
Mentore new sales associates and present information and on the job training to new employees utilizing Microsoft PowerPoint.
Develop excellent customer service by combining patience and determination to troubleshoot account issues.

Get customer service executive experience

Generally, it takes 6-12 months to become a customer service executive. The most common roles before becoming a customer service executive include customer service representative, cashier team lead and sales associate.

Prepare your customer service executive resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your customer service executive resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a customer service executive resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable customer service executive resume templates

Build a professional customer service executive resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your customer service executive resume.