How to Become a Teller
What is a Teller
If you like handling money, you might look into becoming a bank teller. Just be careful not to steal any of that money. We hear they frown upon that.
The job of a teller can be stressful, especially since you're expected to process routine transactions perfectly. You may even have to deal with people using counterfeit bills or some people who are just plain crabby. But we've found people are generally happy to receive money, so you may be in the clear on this one.
Tellers don't require a lot of formal education. In fact, as long as you have a high school dipolma and receive a month of on-the-job training, then you'll be good to go.
What Does a Teller Do
Tellers are responsible for accurately processing routine transactions at a bank. These transactions include cashing checks, depositing money, and collecting loan payments.
How To Become a Teller
Most tellers have a high school diploma and receive about 1 month of on-the-job training. Some banks do background checks before hiring a new teller.
EducationTellers usually need a high school diploma or equivalent. Some tellers may take some college courses, but a degree is rarely required for a job applicant to be hired.
TrainingNew tellers usually receive brief on-the-job training, typically lasting about 1 month. Normally, a head teller or another experienced teller trains them. During this training, tellers learn how to balance cash drawers and verify signatures. They also learn the computer software that their bank uses and the financial products and services the bank offers.
AdvancementExperienced tellers can advance within their bank. They can become head tellers or move to other supervisory positions. Some tellers can advance to other occupations, such as loan officer. They can also move to sales positions.
Important QualitiesCustomer-service skills. Tellers spend their day interacting with bank customers. They must be friendly, helpful, and patient. They must be able to understand customer needs and explain service options to their customers.
Detail oriented. Tellers must be sure not to make errors when dealing with customers’ money.
Math skills. Because they count and handle large amounts of money, tellers must be good at arithmetic.
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And if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Teller Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a Teller can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as Certified Nursing Assistant, progress to a title such as Team Leader and then eventually end up with the title Sales Account Manager.
Teller Jobs You Might Like
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Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Teller
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12 Teller Resume Examples
Build a professional teller resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your teller resume.
Harold Walker Teller |
Bobby Campbell Teller Experience Teller2017 - Present Citi•Tucson, AZ
Teller And A Sales Associate2015 - 2017 Wells Fargo•Phoenix, AZ
Front End Cashier2011 - 2015 McDonald's•Las Vegas, NV
Skills Customer OrdersTravelers ChecksSlice MeatStock ShelvesBank ProductsProcess Merchandise ReturnsSales FloorCustomer RelationshipsCustomer ServiceCompany Policies Education High School Diploma 2011 - 2011 |
Learn How To Write a Teller Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Teller resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Teller Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Choose From 10+ Customizable Teller Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Teller templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Teller resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Teller Demographics
Teller Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among Tellers, 77.0% of them are women, while 23.0% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among Tellers is White, which makes up 61.8% of all Tellers.
- The most common foreign language among Tellers is Spanish at 70.9%.
Find the best Teller job for you
Teller Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Teller Jobs - $36K and Up
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- Part Time Teller Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Teller Jobs
Online Courses For Teller That You May Like
Learn about money, (central) banks and financial markets: participants, products, trading motives, pricing and structure...
Course for Bankers, Consultants and managers to Understand Credit Analysis Process from Indian Context...
Top Skills For a Teller
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 16.7% of Tellers listed Customer Service on their resume, but soft skills such as Customer-service skills and Detail oriented are important as well.
Best States For a Teller
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Teller. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Hawaii, California, and Washington. Tellers make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $35,065. Whereas in Hawaii and California, they would average $34,277 and $34,246, respectively. While Tellers would only make an average of $34,160 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. New Jersey
$35,065
Avg. Salary
2. Arizona
$32,386
Avg. Salary
3. Wisconsin
$31,735
Avg. Salary
How Do Teller Rate Their Jobs?
Top Teller Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ Tellers and discovered their number of Teller opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Wells Fargo was the best, especially with an average salary of $33,907. Bank of America follows up with an average salary of $33,951, and then comes JPMorgan Chase & Co. with an average of $32,132. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a Teller. The employers include Staffmark, Disabled Veterans National Foundation, and CPM Federal Credit Union
Teller Videos
Becoming a Teller FAQs
How long does it take to learn to be a bank teller?
It takes about one month to learn to be a bank teller. A month is usually how long company training takes for someone with no prior teller experience.
New bank tellers are typically trained by more experienced tellers or head tellers. To get on-the-job training, you'll first need to be employed by the bank. In order to increase your chances of employment, you might want to consider finding a finance school to prepare you for the job and further career advancement.
Is it hard to be a bank teller?
No, it is not hard to be a bank teller. You only need a college degree to become a bank teller, and teller positions are not difficult to find. Although being a teller does not pay well, it does open the door to new job opportunities. Finally, being a bank teller means having a relatively stress-free job that has a great work-life balance and benefits.
What qualifications do I need to become a bank teller?
The qualifications you need to become a bank teller include a high school diploma or equivalent certification like a GED and the ability to perform general arithmetic to ensure that you will be able to handle money accurately and safely.
Which bank pays the most as a teller?
The top-paying banks for most tellers are Citizens Financial Bank and Central Bank. Other banks that pay the most are Foreign Exchange Teller, Work From Home Foreign Exchange Teller, and Work From Home Travel Teller.