How to hire a customer service executive

How to hire a customer service executive, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a customer service executive, 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

   A customer service executive's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, customer service executives 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.

   This list presents customer service executive salaries for various positions.

   Type of Customer Service Executive	Description	Hourly rate
   Customer Service Executive	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$12-50
   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
   Bilingual Customer Service	In bilingual customer service, a representative specializes in responding to calls using English or another foreign language that the customer prefers. Among their primary responsibilities include assisting customers and addressing any inquiries, concerns, or issues that they may raise... Show more	$12-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Strong Customer Service
   • Post Sales
   • Customer Complaints
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Inbound Calls
   • Emails
   • Customer Inquiries
   • Outbound Calls
   • Customer Support
   • Customer Accounts
   • Customer Care
   • Customer Orders
   • Customer Queries
   • Customer Issues

   Check all skills

   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.
   • Provide above average service to customers by bagging groceries appropriately and assist with carryout and loading merchandise into customer's vehicle.
   • Consult with customers to find best means to leverage telecom assets to reach their business objectives.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your customer service executive job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A customer service executive salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, customer service executives' average salary in idaho is 58% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level customer service executives earn 76% less than senior-level customer service executives.
   • Certifications. A customer service executive with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a customer service executive's salary.

   Average customer service executive salary

   $52,512yearly

   $25.25 hourly rate

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   Entry-level customer service executive salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

4. Writing a customer service executive job description

   A job description for a customer service executive 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 service executive job description:

   Customer service executive job description example

   We are a high-performance Farmers Insurance & Financial Services Agency - a Fortune 500 insurance company and Forbes' America's Best Employers for Women 2020. Our mission is to grow, preserve and protect our clients' assets “ their life, auto, home and business.
   
   If you want to be paid well, mentored, challenged, appreciated, and on a mission to make a meaningful career, then this is an honorable opportunity for you!
   
   We want a team member to join our winning sports team culture that is committed to giving world-class service by keeping current clients happy and bringing on new clients.
   
   Team members must have a positive attitude and care, listen to others, be open to feedback and criticism, and have a strong desire to learn and grow.
   Benefits
   
   Compensation is DOE and includes a base salary, commissions, bonuses, cash and non-cash awards, health insurance, vacation, and paid time off.
   
   Responsibilities
   
   ¢ Ensure agency is operating efficiently and effectively by taking care of all administrative processes and procedures so our agents can focus on helping clients have proper coverage ¢ Be the first to greet clients in office and pick up incoming calls and return calls, texts and emails by the end of the day ¢ Schedule and confirm 2 policy reviews or new business meetings a day for a total of 10-12 meetings a week and 1 social media reviews a week ¢ Process payments, claims, policy changes, prepare and mail life policies to clients ¢ Answer billing questions and conduct reviews to save clients from cancellations ¢ Process payments, claims, alerts, certificates of insurance, binder requests, and organize client files ¢ Follow-up on required documents ¢ Prepare proposals and write new business ¢ Build relationships with your own network of family and friends, existing clients, former clients, and prospects and bring 1-2 new auto, home, life, or business leads to our agents each day
   
   Requirements
   
   MUST HAVE ATTRIBUTES: ¢ Positive Attitude: Take 100% responsibility and ownership of your behaviors and results by eliminating BCD (Blaming, Complaining, and Defensiveness) ¢ Problem Solving: Build relationships by listening and relate to others and focus on creative solutions to their problems ¢ Self-Motivation: Commitment to succeed and go above what is required for continued professional growth and development ¢ Reliable: Responsible and follow through to completion ¢ Coachable: Embrace the truth and eliminate excuses to become better every day ¢ Resourceful: Use all resources available to provide solutions to problems effectively and efficiently *Successful candidate must pass background check.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right customer service executive 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 service executives they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit customer service executives 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 service executive job on Zippia to find and recruit customer service executive 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 service executives, 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.

   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 service executive

   Once you've found the customer service executive 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new customer service executive. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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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