How to hire a customer support representative

How to hire a customer support representative, step by step

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

What does a customer support representative do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

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

   Type of Customer Support Representative	Description	Hourly rate
   Customer Support Representative	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$13-22
   Customer Advisor	A customer advisor is responsible for assisting customers with their inquiries and concerns regarding the company's goods and services. Customer advisors also coordinate with the sales and marketing team to sell services by reaching out to potential and existing clients to increase revenue resources and profits... Show more	$9-24
   Customer Agent	A customer agent provides friendly service to external and internal customers. Customer agents talk to customers on behalf of businesses and companies... Show more	$12-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Technical Support
   • Windows
   • Customer Inquiries
   • Data Entry
   • Customer Support
   • Work Ethic
   • Inbound Phone Calls
   • CRM
   • Customer Interaction
   • Strong Problem-Solving
   • Strong Work Ethic
   • Email Support
   • Strong Customer Service
   • Outbound Calls

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage customer relationships using company CRM system, deliver post sales training on system, and offer additional assistance as needed.
   • Manage software maintenance renewal partner and assist with upselling additional and higher functionality licenses to increase revenue.
   • Coordinate and escalate efforts with adjacent operations and engineering groups to offer end-to-end solutions for customers with complex technical issues.
   • Track and measure all activity demonstrating the impact of CRR involvement.
   • Act as technical liaison and sell product into Telco and LAN markets.
   • Support internal users regarding installation of hardware, software and other windows application issues.

   More customer support representative duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the customer support representative job description is a good way to get more applicants. A customer support representative salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a customer support representative in Mississippi may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level customer support representative. Additionally, a customer support representative with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average customer support representative salary

   $37,404yearly

   $17.98 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level customer support representative salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average customer support representative salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$46,084	$22
   2	California	$44,759	$22
   3	New York	$44,086	$21
   4	Washington	$42,663	$21
   5	Maine	$41,760	$20
   6	Minnesota	$40,842	$20
   7	Oregon	$40,208	$19
   8	Illinois	$39,261	$19
   9	Colorado	$38,563	$19
   10	Ohio	$38,336	$18
   11	Iowa	$37,920	$18
   12	Virginia	$37,751	$18
   13	North Carolina	$37,248	$18
   14	New Mexico	$36,666	$18
   15	Arizona	$36,223	$17
   16	Kansas	$36,059	$17
   17	Indiana	$35,440	$17
   18	Texas	$35,301	$17
   19	Missouri	$34,900	$17
   20	Florida	$34,688	$17

   Average customer support representative salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	University of California-Berkeley	$47,761	$22.96
   2	Capgemini	$46,872	$22.53	10
   3	General Electric	$43,771	$21.04	11
   4	Triumph Group	$42,586	$20.47
   5	Sunrise Systems	$42,463	$20.41	1
   6	Boeing	$42,196	$20.29	61
   7	Cook Children's Medical Center	$42,188	$20.28
   8	Intel	$41,980	$20.18	3
   9	United Natural Foods	$41,638	$20.02
   10	Benefits & Risk Management Services	$41,095	$19.76
   11	Clean Harbors	$40,982	$19.70	32
   12	The George Washington University	$40,948	$19.69
   13	Management Consulting	$40,889	$19.66
   14	PacificSource Health Plans	$40,799	$19.61	1
   15	Logitech	$40,765	$19.60	1
   16	TechLink Services	$40,750	$19.59
   17	Fastenal	$40,621	$19.53	34
   18	Fidelity Investments	$40,561	$19.50	76
   19	Peterson Holding	$40,516	$19.48	4
   20	Palmer Hamilton	$40,459	$19.45	1

4. Writing a customer support representative job description

   A job description for a customer support representative 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 support representative job description:

   Customer support representative job description example

   The Group: The Products group is the home of manufacturing and innovation at Morningstar. The individuals in this group transform our high-quality data, independent research, and technological expertise into well-designed products that delight our clients. The group's product management, product development, and service teams collaborate with our Client Solutions group to help provide clients with relevant products and bundled solutions.
   
   The Role: Client Support Representatives (CSRs) provide “smart, fast, and nice” end-user support on-demand via phone, email, chat or other “remote” tools. CSRs are considered the first line of support for our products, and engage with end-users across various customer segments, including individuals, advisors, and institutions. They are support generalists with a practical level of knowledge across a range of products and customer types and expertise spanning usage, investment, and basic technical issues.
   This position will be based in our Oakland, Maryland office.
   
   Responsibilities
   Responding to client (end-user) questions/inquiries via telephone, email, and (in the future) chat in a complete, accurate, and timely manner in accordance with service level standards (SLAs) Troubleshooting client issues and resolving or escalating appropriately Managing occasionally unhappy client interactions and de-escalating emotionally charged situations when necessary.Balancing service-delivery efficiency with quality of care Continuous process improvement, looking for smarter and better ways to serve clients Ongoing education and skill-building (self-administered as well as centrally administered) with respect to service process, investing, product, and customer context Ad hoc projects designed to leverage product/client knowledge while gaining exposure to other areas outside of customer service Providing feedback to sales and product teams regarding potential business opportunities and product innovations, based on insights gained through service interactions with clients and analysis of support data/logs Participating in the onboarding/training of new CSRs and other new hires who can benefit from product and client understanding
   
   Requirements
   Excellent written and oral communication, with excellent interpersonal skills. Strong problem solving and analytical skills with high attention to detail, and excellent time management.Proficiency with Windows-based applications.Fast learner, flexible and proven ability to work in a demanding environment with strong multi-tasking skills.Sound client service skills with a proactive approach, and take ownership of issues as they arise.An interest in the investment industry.Bachelor's degree is preferred.
   
   Morningstar is an equal opportunity employer.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right customer support representative 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 support representatives they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit customer support representatives 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 support representative job on Zippia to find and recruit customer support representative candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting customer support representatives requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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 support representative

   Once you have selected a candidate for the customer support representative 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 employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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 support representative?