25 Customer Service Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

Crafting a customer service resume is like delivering excellent support—it requires precision, clear communication, and an understanding of what is a resume. Your resume serves as the first impression a potential employer has of you, making it crucial to convey your skills and experience effectively.

In an industry where 78% of customers abandon purchases due to poor service, knowing how to write a resume that reflects your dedication to quality is essential. This guide will help you learn the best strategies for presenting your ability to resolve issues, stay composed under pressure, and create positive experiences—ensuring your application makes the impact you intend.

First things first. Let’s have a look at what a classically good resume looks like in regards to a customer service candidate.

Customer service resume sample

Below is a great example of a resume written by a customer service applicant. Feel free to copy and adapt it to your needs.

Having seen a proper resume, let’s get into the details of what goes into creating one yourself.

How to format a customer service resume

Think of your resume as the first impression you make on potential employers, much like a well-designed storefront invites customers in. Just as every detail in a store’s layout is carefully considered to enhance customer experience, understanding what makes a good resume is crucial.

Your resume format should be clear, organized, and tailored to impress recruiters, reflecting your professionalism and attention to detail. Here’s how to format a polished resume layout for a customer service representative.

The order of the resume sections should flow as follows (we’ll go over each of these in detail later):

• Header
• Resume summary
• Work experience
• Education
• Certifications
• Key skills
• Additional sections (e.g. languages, hobbies and interests, etc.)

This structure is favored by recruiters because it presents your qualifications in the most organized and appealing way.

Resume design tips

• Keep resume margins between 0.5 to 1 inch to maintain a professional and readable layout.
• Use business colors on your resume, primarily black and white, with minimal accent colors for resume headings to create a polished and clean appearance.
• Choose clean, professional fonts like Arial, Lato, or Rubik, sized 10 to 12 points for readability.
• Consider a double-column resume layout to clearly organize your customer service skills, technologies, and achievements.
• Aim for a one-page resume, though two pages are acceptable if you have extensive experience directly relevant to customer service.

Resume header

• In your resume header, include your contact information, such as your city and state, but omit your full address, as it's less crucial for customer service roles, especially if remote.
• Provide a professional email address and relevant links, such as your LinkedIn profile.
• Generally, avoid adding a photo unless specifically requested or customary in your job market.
• Craft a clear resume headline that summarizes your customer service expertise and emphasizes your adaptability and success in various service environments.

File format:

• Save your resume as a PDF to maintain consistent formatting.
• Use “FirstNameLastNameCustomerService_Resume.pdf” as a naming convention for clarity.

Unsure if your current resume meets ATS standards? Try Enhancv’s free ATS checker to see how it measures up!

With your resume format set, the next step is to focus on your work experience, a crucial element in writing a standout resume that focuses on your strengths in customer service.

How to write your customer service resume experience

Listing work experience on a customer service resume is essential as it demonstrates your ability to handle real-world customer interactions, establishes your credibility, and highlights your capacity to resolve issues effectively. It shows potential employers your expertise in managing customer needs and your proficiency in working within a team-oriented environment.

How to write work experience entries

• Job title, company (optional, company description), location, and dates: This information sets the context of your experience, providing a clear timeline and background.
• Concise bullet points: Clearly describe your key responsibilities and achievements in each role, focusing on your ability to assist customers, manage inquiries, and resolve complaints.
• Relevant skills and tools: Mention specific customer service software, CRM systems, and methodologies you’ve used, such as Zendesk, Salesforce, or problem-solving techniques.
• Impact underlined: Quantify your results when possible, such as the number of customer issues resolved, customer satisfaction ratings improved, or efficiency enhancements you implemented.
• Action verbs and strong adjectives: Use powerful action verbs and descriptive resume adjectives to convey your contributions and emphasize your proactive approach.

Customizing your resume is essential because it makes your skills and experiences more relevant to the job, proving that you’re a strong match for the position. It also meets the employer's expectations by showcasing your awareness of the role and the company’s challenges—especially vital in customer service, where knowing client needs and giving effective solutions is crucial.

How to tailor your work experience effectively

• Carefully read the job posting: Identify the specific skills and qualifications required, and incorporate these keywords and phrases into your work experience descriptions.
• Illustrate relevant experience: Focus on aspects of your past roles that closely align with the new position’s requirements, such as customer engagement, conflict resolution, or teamwork.
• Highlight relevant roles: If you’ve held a variety of positions, prioritize those that align most closely with the job you’re applying for, displaying the responsibilities that demonstrate your suitability for the role. This may involve placing greater emphasis on certain aspects of your past positions.

Let’s have a look at an actual job ad for a Customer Sales Representative and use it as the basis for tailoring your resume sections.

Below is a tailored work history section. The highlighted texts in the job ad have been targeted in the entries.

Targeting explanation:

• Highlighted customer service and support skills, directly aligning with the job's requirement for world-class customer care.
• Emphasized experience with CRM systems like Salesforce and Zendesk, matching the job's need for handling orders, quotes, and RMAs.
• Demonstrated quantifiable achievements in improving customer satisfaction and operational efficiency, aligning with the job's focus on enhancing customer satisfaction and service quality.

Now that you’ve seen the best way to customize your customer service experience, let’s explore the element of quantifying your achievements.

How to quantify your experience on a resume

Including numbers and results on a customer service resume is crucial because they clearly show the impact of your work, such as improving customer satisfaction or reducing response times. To quantify these effectively, use specific metrics like the percentage increase in customer satisfaction, the number of customer issues resolved, or the reduction in average call handling time.

To better help you, here are some examples of using metrics in the context of customer service:

• Quantify the percentage increase in customer satisfaction scores after implementing the feedback you provided.
• Specify the average response time reduction in handling customer inquiries after you optimized a specific process.
• Detail the number of customer issues resolved per day or week and the impact this had on customer retention.
• Indicate the percentage of calls or emails successfully converted into repeat customers through your service efforts.
• Mention the percentage improvement in first-contact resolution rates after you developed or refined customer service strategies.

Now with that understood, let’s go through what you can do to create a successful resume even if you lack professional experience.

How do I write a customer service resume with no experience

If you're applying for an entry-level customer service job, don't be discouraged—many people start their careers in customer service, and you can still secure a position even without prior experience. Crafting a successful resume without work experience is achievable by emphasizing other parts of your application to prove your potential and skills.

Here is a list of things you can do:

• Display transferable skills: Skills gained from other experiences, such as communication, problem-solving, empathy, and teamwork, are crucial for customer service.
• Show relevant coursework or certifications: List any courses or certifications, such as LinkedIn Learning customer service courses, that demonstrate your knowledge and commitment to the field.
• Add a volunteer or internship experience section: This means any unpaid work or internships where you developed customer service skills, detailing specific tasks and accomplishments.
• Incorporate an achievements or awards section: Mention any academic achievements, awards, or recognition that underlines qualities valuable in customer service, like leadership or excellence in communication.
• Leverage personal projects: Describe any personal projects or initiatives where you showed customer service skills, such as managing a community event or volunteering for a local organization.
• Add a cover letter: Accompany your resume with a cover letter that explains your passion for customer service and how your background makes you a strong candidate despite lacking formal experience.

Include a strong objective statement

Start with a concise resume objective statement that reflects your enthusiasm for customer service and outlines your key strengths and attributes relevant to the role.

Below is an ideal example of such a statement.

With your work experience outlined, it’s time to examine how to properly illustrate your hard and soft skills on your next resume.

How to list your hard and soft skills on your resume

Providing a skills section on your customer service resume quickly displays your core competencies, allowing employers to easily evaluate how well you match the role. This section ensures that your customer service skills, both technical and interpersonal, are prominently featured.

Let’s take a look at the two types separately.

Hard skills

Hard skills on your resume demonstrate your technical abilities in customer service. List these in a Skills or Technical Skills section, aligning them with the job description to ensure they’re relevant and easily noticed by hiring managers and applicant tracking systems.

Here’s a comprehensive list of the most sought-after hard skills for customer service professionals.

Soft skills

These are crucial for customer service roles as they showcase your ability to interact effectively with customers. Soft skills should be woven throughout your resume—in the summary, objective, work experience, and education sections—to highlight how you’ve applied them in real situations, rather than listing them separately.

Here are the essential people skills to feature in your next customer service application.

The next step is to showcase your educational background to further demonstrate your qualifications and knowledge.

How to list your certifications and education on your resume

Detailing your education on your resume, along with any relevant certifications, reinforces your qualifications and expertise as a customer service professional. This enhances your credibility and shows your dedication to ongoing professional growth.

Education section

Elements of an education entry:

• Specify your major and minor to show formal training in skills relating to customer service.
• List the name of where you studied. This adds credibility to your resume and can help establish connections if the employer has ties to the institution.
• Include the year you completed your studies to provide a clear timeline of your educational background. Consider adding the month if you’re a recent graduate.
• Mention relevant coursework that directly aligns with customer service, like conflict resolution, psychology, or communications, to highlight specific skills that apply to the role.
• Detail any academic honors, such as Dean’s List or Cum Laude—this will illustrate your diligence, commitment, and excellence in your studies.
• Display any customer service certifications or additional training programs, to emphasize your expertise and dedication to the field.
• Provide your GPA if it’s above 3.5.

Next, let’s look at an example of a candidate successfully listing their associate’s degree on an education entry. They’ve specifically tailored to the customer service job shown earlier.

This entry effectively targets the job ad by emphasizing relevant coursework such as Business Communication and Customer Relationship Management, directly aligning with the skills needed for a Customer Service Representative. It also brings attention to certifications and honors, showcasing the candidate's commitment to professional development and excellence in customer service.

Certification section

Sometimes, it's better to list certifications on your resume in a separate section to ensure they stand out and highlight your commitment to professional development (especially if you have several to display).

Elements of a certification entry:

• Certification name
• Issuing organization
• Date of completion or expiration (if applicable)
• Brief description of skills or knowledge gained (optional)

Here are the most popular certificate programs now available.

With your education section complete, focus next on creating a strong resume summary that captures your essential skills and customer service expertise.

How to write your customer service resume summary

The resume summary is a critical component of a customer service resume, serving as a concise introduction that highlights your key skills, relevant experience, and significant achievements in customer care. It’s designed to capture the attention of hiring managers by quickly showcasing the most impactful aspects of your background and demonstrating your suitability for the role.

Elements to include:

• Mention how many years you’ve worked in customer service to establish your experience and reliability.
• Underline essential skills relevant to customer service, such as communication, problem-solving, and familiarity with CRM systems.
• Quantify your achievements when possible, like improving customer satisfaction ratings or reducing response times, to provide concrete evidence of your impact.
• Briefly touch on your approach to customer service, such as a commitment to empathy and proactive problem-solving, to give a sense of your style and dedication.
• Tailor your summary to reflect the language and specific needs of the job posting, emphasizing how your background aligns with the company’s customer service goals.
• Avoid using the personal pronoun "I" to maintain a professional tone.

By crafting a focused and engaging resume summary, you position yourself as a unique candidate from the very beginning.

This summary is effective because it displays relevant experience and skills that directly align with the job requirements, involving a specific metric (95% customer satisfaction rating) to demonstrate proven success. It also underlines key attributes like problem-solving, communication skills, and familiarity with industry-specific procedures.

Let’s move on and consider some additional sections to further support your qualifications and make your application shine.

Additional sections for a customer service resume

Optional sections on a customer service resume can provide a more comprehensive view of your qualifications and help differentiate you from other candidates by illustrating unique skills, achievements, and experiences.

• Volunteer experience: Showcase volunteer roles that require customer service skills to show your dedication to helping others and your ability to engage with diverse groups.
• Awards and honors: List any awards or recognition you've received for outstanding customer service or related achievements to prove your excellence in the field.
• Languages skills: Mention any languages you speak fluently to highlight your ability to communicate with a broader range of customers.
• Professional affiliations: Include memberships in customer service or industry-related organizations to describe your engagement with the field and commitment to staying informed about industry trends.
• Hobbies and interests: Add hobbies and interests that demonstrate interpersonal skills or empathy to show your ability to connect with others and enhance your customer service capabilities.

In conclusion

By carefully structuring your resume and emphasizing relevant skills, experience, and achievements, you can effectively shine a light on your suitability for a customer service role. Remember to tailor each section to the job description to maximize your chances of getting noticed by potential employers.