How to hire a customer specialist

How to hire a customer specialist, step by step

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

What does a customer specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the customer specialist you need to hire. Certain customer 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 specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, customer 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.

   This list shows salaries for various types of customer specialists.

   Type of Customer Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Customer Specialist	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$10-31
   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
   Customer Sales Representative	The primary role of customer service representatives is to help customers with questions and complaints. It is also their duties and responsibilities to provide customers with information about services and products, take and process orders, and process returns and modifications... Show more	$12-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Transactions
   • Client Facing
   • Phone Calls
   • Customer Loyalty
   • Related Training
   • Customer Service
   • Patients
   • CRM
   • Product Knowledge
   • Data Entry
   • PowerPoint
   • Strong Customer Service
   • Customer Support
   • Customer Inquiries

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create powerpoint presentations as well as presented.
   • Used a CRM tool effectively to track all customer interactions and setup follow up.
   • Identify or create customer wants and needs and offer solutions/benefits to upsell new or additional services.
   • Install, remove, rearrange, program, test, troubleshoot and maintain fiber and copper network services.
   • Process all new patient referrals as assigned and verifying that all the necessary requirements are meet according to Medicare s guidelines.
   • Prepare and process documents and correspondence for Medicare audit.

   More customer specialist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, customer specialists' average salary in alaska is 63% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level customer specialists earn 67% less than senior-level customer specialists.
   • Certifications. A customer specialist 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 specialist's salary.

   Average customer specialist salary

   $38,371yearly

   $18.45 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level customer specialist salary

   $22,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 11, 2026

   Average customer specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$60,109	$29
   2	Massachusetts	$58,036	$28
   3	California	$51,842	$25
   4	North Carolina	$47,703	$23
   5	New Hampshire	$47,403	$23
   6	Pennsylvania	$46,481	$22
   7	Texas	$43,120	$21
   8	Arizona	$40,063	$19
   9	Indiana	$39,349	$19
   10	Florida	$39,337	$19
   11	Georgia	$38,818	$19
   12	Colorado	$38,529	$19
   13	Michigan	$38,466	$18
   14	Ohio	$38,190	$18
   15	Illinois	$37,734	$18
   16	Washington	$37,554	$18
   17	Tennessee	$37,371	$18
   18	Virginia	$37,153	$18
   19	Alabama	$37,011	$18
   20	Maine	$35,610	$17

   Average customer specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	AbbVie	$122,912	$59.09	21
   2	Bain & Company	$122,657	$58.97
   3	Citi	$122,150	$58.73	7
   4	Zoho	$120,502	$57.93
   5	Microsoft	$112,412	$54.04	44
   6	Canva	$110,300	$53.03
   7	Vista Equity Partners	$107,050	$51.47
   8	Conga	$103,459	$49.74
   9	Cisco	$101,348	$48.73	20
   10	FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies	$95,887	$46.10	2
   11	Standard Chartered	$95,067	$45.71	8
   12	Informatica	$93,781	$45.09
   13	ServiceNow	$88,636	$42.61	15
   14	Salesforce	$87,333	$41.99	6
   15	Crowe	$84,817	$40.78	1
   16	Juniper Networks	$79,976	$38.45
   17	Quorum International	$68,015	$32.70
   18	Catapult Systems	$67,856	$32.62
   19	Autodesk	$67,232	$32.32	12
   20	SI Group	$66,599	$32.02

4. Writing a customer specialist job description

   A job description for a customer specialist 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 specialist job description:

   Customer specialist job description example

   You are in for some awesome perks (Part-time and Full-time benefits based on your role and tenure)
   Backup childcare Tuition assistance for yourself and dependents Generous employee discount Medical, dental, paid time off Rewards/discounts for learning about new products Self-paced learning in sales, leaderships, time management, inclusion & diversity and so much more. Seasonal employees also receive our generous employee discount.
   
   Customer Experience Specialists are the face of Best Buy for everyone who visits our stores. They are obsessed with finding the right solutions to fit each person's immediate and future needs. Specialists build long lasting relationships with our customers as they provide unique and personalized service over time.
   
   Customer Experience Specialists are given the full training necessary to recommend the right products and services to each customer. This includes fundamentals of delivering world-class product knowledge and customer service in a customer obsessed environment. You will be trained in the department that most interest you and be exposed to learning about new and exciting product categories as they are developed.
   
   At Best Buy, we create work environments where every employee feels like they truly belong and contribute to our shared purpose. We're committed to being one of the best companies for our customers and employees by fully embracing people from all backgrounds and identities. Our customer base is diverse, and we are committed to ensuring our workforce is reflective of the communities we serve.
   
   We are obsessed with building long-term relationships with our applicants, employees, and customers. If you like working in an environment that inspires individual and team success, you'd be a great addition here.
   
   Key Responsibilities Greets, welcomes, and engages with customers in a warm and friendly manner. Uses acquired skills and knowledge to recommend products and services to meet customers' current and future needs. Serves as a brand ambassador by bringing your love and passion for the Best Buy brand, customer service, and technology together in service of our customers. Assists customers with their sales orders, returns, and exchanges. Applies the appropriate knowledge and expertise through ongoing learning and self-development. Utilizes available tools to stay current on skills and promotional initiatives. Helps execute profitable growth through critical business drive times while supporting our customer obsession. Maintains merchandising and ensures their department is clean and well stocked. Works in cooperation with their supervisor and associates in other departments. Basic Qualifications Working and thriving in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment Working a flexible schedule that matches your availability (weekends, nights, holidays, etc.)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find customer specialists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your customer specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit customer specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit customer specialists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   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 specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect customer specialist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   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 specialist. 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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How much does it cost to hire a customer specialist?