How to hire a phone representative

How to hire a phone representative, step by step

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

What does a phone representative do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the phone representative you need to hire. Certain phone 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a phone representative to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a phone representative that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of phone representative salaries for various roles:

   Type of Phone Representative	Description	Hourly rate
   Phone Representative	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$12-32
   Customer Relations Representative	A customer relations representative is responsible for providing the highest customer service by interacting with customers to respond to their inquiries and concerns, process their requests, and resolve their complaints. Customer relations representatives assist the customers with their needs by offering products and services according to their requirements and budget limitations... Show more	$13-24
   Member Service Representative	A member service representative is responsible for providing customer service support to an organization. Member service representatives' duties include responding to customer's inquiries and complaints, developing effective sales pitches, processing customer's requests and orders, creating reports, developing recommendations to improve the operation's performance, and escalating high-level concerns... Show more	$10-21

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Outbound Calls
   • Telephone Calls
   • Inbound Phone Calls
   • Troubleshoot
   • Computer System
   • Financial Transactions
   • Alumni
   • Phone REP
   • Quality Standards
   • Schedule Adherence
   • Customer Inquiries
   • Customer Complaints
   • EOB

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Conduct telephone sales and interviews, compile and enter information into database, manage documents and insure customer satisfaction.
   • Provide status of medical claims and explain EOB's.
   • Research and resolve incorrect payments, EOB rejections and other issues with accounts.
   • Answer inbound provider calls to help with billing Medicaid claims and benefits and eligibility issues.
   • Update alumni on current happenings in university life and act as a liaison between past and current students.
   • Contact hundreds of alumni and their families by telephone and raise thousands of dollars to improve school facilities and maintain school grounds

   More phone representative duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your phone representative job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A phone representative can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, phone representatives' average salary in florida is 44% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level phone representatives 62% less than senior-level phone representatives.
   • Certifications. A phone representative with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a phone representative's salary.

   Average phone representative salary

   $42,827yearly

   $20.59 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level phone representative salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average phone representative salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$60,127	$29
   2	Nevada	$49,711	$24
   3	Utah	$47,642	$23
   4	Illinois	$47,298	$23
   5	Colorado	$46,680	$22
   6	Minnesota	$44,796	$22
   7	Texas	$44,427	$21
   8	Louisiana	$38,728	$19
   9	Oklahoma	$38,564	$19
   10	Tennessee	$36,201	$17
   11	Florida	$35,439	$17

   Average phone representative salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Press Ganey	$51,167	$24.60
   2	van Wagenen	$47,655	$22.91
   3	Datalot	$47,085	$22.64
   4	Robert Half	$42,686	$20.52	206
   5	Wells Fargo	$39,778	$19.12	57
   6	Regions Bank	$39,357	$18.92	26
   7	Apex Services	$35,842	$17.23	34
   8	Aerotek	$34,378	$16.53	5
   9	Enterprise Holdings	$27,615	$13.28	147

4. Writing a phone representative job description

   A phone representative job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a phone representative job description:

   Phone representative job description example

   Solar Canvasser Responsibilities - 20-30 hours per week

   • Educate homeowners about the benefits and cost savings when switching to solar energy
   • Generate leads via door-to-door canvassing, events, expos, booths, and trade shows
   • Work with Solar Advocate Team as a source of positivity - help coach and be coached by your peers
   • Schedule homeowners for a free solar assessment that demonstrates Apollo Energy’s solar energy product
   • Collect electricity usage with customers
   • Record information in company's CRM

   Phone Representative Responsibilities (10-20 hours per week)

   • Via phone, call internally canvassed leads and educate homeowners about the benefits and cost savings when switching to solar energy
   • Schedule homeowners for a free solar assessment that demonstrates Apollo Energy’s solar energy product
   • Collect electricity usage with customers by conference calling with utility companies
   • Add appointments and necessary information to the Google appointment calendar
   • Document all information in Zoho, the company CRM
   • Other duties as assigned

   Qualifications

   • A desire to help people and make a positive impact on the world
   • Motivated by career advancement and making a difference
   • Outgoing and friendly
   • Detail oriented
   • Capable of making 20-30 phone calls per day
   • Efficient worker in a variety of settings
   • Ability to work in a fast paced environment
   • High level understanding and use of Google-suite and CRM softwares
   • Strong sales ability or willingness to learn
   • 1+ years of successful phone sales experience (preferred, but not required)
   • Drive to have positive and productive conversations
   • Exceptional objection handling & closing skills
   • High integrity & ethical standards
   • College education preferred, but experience can be substituted for education
   • Track record of accomplishing whatever you put your mind to
   • Regular, reliable and predictable attendance required
   • Ability to work well with others in a collaborative team environment
   • Ability to multitask and coordinate with others
   • Canvassing experience preferred but not required

   Requirements

   • Ability to work Tuesday to Friday from 10:00am to 7:00pm and Saturday from 10:00am to 2:00pm
   • Authorized to work in the U.S.
   • Ability to stand/walk for 4+ hour canvassing shifts

   Compensation & Benefits

   • Base pay, plus generous commission structure (estimated $18-30+/hour)
   • Healthcare, dental and vision benefits
   • 401k with company match
   • PTO and paid holidays
   • Career advancement opportunities
   • Team incentives for extra days off every year
   • Awesome team that cares about the planet!

   Apollo Energy offers equal employment opportunities and applicants for employment without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, mental and physical disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, or all other applicable status protected by federal, state and/or local law.

   Available shifts and compensation: Available shifts all days except Sundays and Mondays. Compensation is $18.00 - $30.00/hour.

   About Apollo Energy : Apollo energy is a locally owned and locally focused solar electric company. Our only goal is to empower homeowners - one panel at a time. Learn more about us at www.harnessoursun.com.

   
   

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5. Post your job

   To find phone representatives for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any phone representatives they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level phone representatives with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit phone representatives, 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 to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   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 phone representative

   Once you have selected a candidate for the phone 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 phone representative first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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 phone representative?