"Thank you for calling Apple Customer Service. My name is Rebecca. How may I assist you today?"
In the past two to three years, this is how you describe your CV experience. With your day-to-day tasks, including the likes of:
- customer queries and challenges;
- latest software updates;
- recommendations on bespoke products.
As a customer service representative, you need to know how to talk the talk.
Customer service is a skill that smart brands across the globe value, being the number one reason for:
- the rise of some household names, versus other businesses slipping into the debris of oblivion;
- certain products being sold out in less than 24 hours, versus others staying on the "rack" (or in the "box") for decades.
Following the mantra that the customer is always right, customer service professionals aim to leave their mark with a memorable experience - where trust is at the core of any interaction.
As we all know, a happy customer is one that always comes back.
“Service, in short, is not what you do, but who you are. It’s a way of living that you need to bring to everything you do if you’re to bring it to your customer interactions.”
So how do you go about listing your customer service skills on your CV?
Read on to discover how to:
- Why customer service skills matter to recruiters;
- Top skills that best describe your customer service talents;
- CV customer service achievements and highlights for the win;
- How to interweave customer service skills all through your CV;
- CV sections to further define your customer service skills and land you the job.
What are customer service skills
If you think that customer service representatives are just those "pesky" chatbots you have to deal with on the phone or online, you're certainly wrong.
Customer service professionals are the ones guiding clients through their buying journey. From consideration to product maintenance through the years.
If a customer service professional has harnessed various professional skills, this journey could lead to years-longstanding relationships.
Customer service skills are all about professional, effective, and helpful interactions. More specifically, customers turn to professionals for assistance to:
- make informed decisions;
- resolve problems or complaints;
- communicate their product or service experience.
Customer service includes a unique blend of bespoke soft skills and a technical stack, but we will get more into defining what this mix is in the next sections.
For now, remember that the ultimate goal of customer service is creating and sustaining customer happiness.
Getting the five stars rating is the most worthy investment for any business and the best mark for a job well done.
Why are customer service skills important for your CV
Organisations have so much to win from hiring professionals who actually enjoy dealing with customer-facing communication.
Here are some of the five most prominent benefits:
- Improved customer experience - Apt professionals know how to create a space where customers feel seen, heard, and appreciated.
- Enhance customer retention - Businesses who are constantly in search of leads have a lot to lose. Experienced customer service professionals know how to build dialogues within which important brand values become naturally nested.
- Nurture brand loyalty - It's simple, nowadays, people tend to trust people. Customer service professionals are the human embodiment of the brand, thus enhancing its reputation over the years.
- Incentivise referrals - We tend to rave about services we’d recommend or tear to pieces bad customer experiences. Happy customers tend to come back - and often bring about their network to you.
- Impact the bottom line - If we trust a product or service, we are more likely to continue spending resources on it over the years.
Recruiters know that candidates with excellent customer service skills are once in a blue moon.
They have to balance both an analytical mindset with exceptional communication skills.
The secret ingredient to what makes a customer service representative successful?
Patience.
In the next part of this guide, discover what are the most popular customer service skills for your CV.
What skills, activities and accomplishments help you highlight your customer service skills
Specify your customer service experience by detailing your bespoke set of soft and hard skills.
Soft skills are those interpersonal abilities that are a bit more difficult to measure (e.g. communication and resilience). Yet, hiring managers are really impressed with candidates who can present versatile customer service soft skills.
Hard skills are your ability to use different customer service software, tools, and chatbots. This also includes product (or service) specific knowledge.
No need to search any further: discover the most in-demand skills for customer-facing roles.
PRO TIP
Mix and match soft and hard skills that best fit your experience and the job requirements to stand out in any environment. From B2B to B2C and beyond.
Customer service soft skills for your CV
Customer service soft skills can be divided into three segments. Those being communication, personality, and mindset, read on to find our specific skills for your CV.
- Interpersonal communication - customer service is all about effective, clear, and concise communication (both verbal and written). Your communication style puts people at ease, building long-lasting customer relationships. With a customer-always-comes-first, systematic approach, your CV experience demonstrates how you've understood customer inquiries and explained complex information.
- Active listening - you take the time to actually understand the meaning and intent behind every word (and non-verbal conversation cues). Your ability to be fully present in the communication can be quantified via any feedback you've received in the past from clients or superiors.
- Teamwork - no man is an island, especially in customer service. You're able to smoothly collaborate and share know-how with your team to ensure that an excellent customer experience is always delivered. If you've led a team in the past, detail your responsibilities in the projects section, with a shoutout to the actual outcomes.
- Sales - this includes a variety of skills, like upselling, cross-selling, and service-based selling. Also, persuasion and negotiation play a huge role in influencing customers to accept your resolution. If you happen to have much experience in sales, build a dedicated achievements section to celebrate some of your most noteworthy accomplishments.
- Stress management - no one enters the field of customer service, expecting a smooth ride. Staying calm and collected (no matter the high-pressure circumstances) is key to always maintaining excellent customer service. Think of a situation where you've dealt with an angry customer and explain how you've turned the negative experience into a positive one.
- Patience - in your day-to-day, you meet with many different personas and face versatile situations. Listening to different concerns and resolving problems can sometimes take hours and hours on end. So, your ability to be patient with customers should be spotlighted in different CV sections, as this is one of your strongest assets.
- Positive attitude and language - creating and sustaining a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere for customers. This is a definite soft skill for your customer service CV, as a cheerful and friendly demeanour always catches on.
- Adaptability and resilience - every day is different when you work in customer service. What is more, a one-size-fits-all approach (and script) is never a good fit. You are flexible and even after a difficult conversation, you can carry on your responsibilities. Dive into this skill set within your CV summary with details of how you've handled more challenging customer cases.
- Emotional intelligence and empathy - in customer service, you always have to see things from the other's perspective. Responding to requests with care and compassion, while respecting the feelings of others. Include customer feedback to describe your approach.
- Diplomacy and tact - in your role, you shouldn't take complaints on a personal level or look at them in a judgmental way. Instead, always be resolution focused.
- Organisational skills - time management and multitasking play a key role. Prioritising tasks to meet deadlines and dealing with multiple customer inquiries at the same time make up your career, so far. Within the experience bullets, make sure to include the name of any prioritisation frameworks you use (e.g. Value vs. Effort or Kano Model) to deliver outstanding and timely customer service.
- Conflict resolution and complaint handling - you sometimes have to face irritated or dissatisfied customers. De-escalating tense situations to effectively resolve their problems is a key soft skill for any customer service professional.
- Problem-solving - your ability to provide creative and effective solutions, on time. The skill is split into two parts: your ability to identify the problem and the steps you've taken to resolve it. Experimentation and analysis are other soft skills that also deal with problem-solving.
- Attention to detail - it's always those minor details in any customer communication that make the real difference. Listening to those crucial details leads to more accurately dealing with cases and minimising the potential for errors.
20 more soft skills for your customer service CV
- Customer retention
- Customer advocacy
- Customer experience
- Building loyalty
- Critical thinking
- Decision-making
- Confidence
- Helpfulness
- Politeness
- Tolerance
- Eidetic (or photographic) memory
- Research
- Curiosity
- Competitive
- Public speaking
- Determination
- Perseverance
- Responsibility
- Attentiveness
- Proactive approach
Customer service hard skills for your CV
Now, your customer service hard skills mainly deal with:
- Product/ service knowledge - your in-depth know-how of the technical stack and specifications, helping you to assist customers. Use any certifications, training, or higher education that have helped you become an expert in the field or industry (and obtain the relevant technical knowledge).
- Customer service software - your proficiency in different helpdesk software and live chat applications should definitely make your CV. Include details about the years of experience you happen to have using the particular software, the results you've obtained, and the training you have.
- CRM systems - customer relationship management platforms contribute through the whole process and help you stay organised. You could use your aptitude for the specific software to also detail the soft skills you have (e.g. time management, prioritisation, etc.).
- Project management software and ERP (enterprise resource planning) - successful customer service integrates many aspects of project planning, including understanding KPIs, setting up goals, etc. That's why it's an excellent idea to list project management tools that cover the whole process.
- AI and Automation - whether it's using canned messages or finding ways to log in your information automatically, customer service is definitely enhanced with technologies.
- Typing speed - your ability to reach over 110 words per minute is definitely something worth taking note of on your CV, especially for more junior candidates looking to stand out amongst the crowd.
- MS Office suite - this is one of those basic skills, which the role can't exist without. At one point you'd either have to make a report or presentation, and thus your MS skills would be vital.
Now that we’ve provided you with a list of customer service soft and hard skills, check out five quick tips on how to successfully integrate them across your CV.
How to demonstrate customer service skills on your CV
- Assess job requirements in detail to determine the key ones. Sprinkle those keywords across your customer service CV to show your ability to assess and understand written communication. This is also a good activity in passing further assessment by the Applicant Tracker Software (ATS). The ATS is sometimes used in lieu of recruiters physically scanning your CV.
- Select your CV format and layout with intent. The reverse chronological format is an excellent choice for candidates with more customer service experience. Meanwhile, the functional or hybrid formats could work for more junior professionals. Always invest in a clear and approachable CV design, that structures your experience coherently.
- Describe your ability to deliver an exceptional customer service experience in detail. Use concrete examples that are backed up by tangible results and success.
- Integrate any feedback you've received from superiors, happy clients, or sales stats and figures all across different sections of your customer service CV.
- Make sure your customer service CV shows your personality by integrating various CV sections and highlighting key skills all across.
Example 1: Demonstrate customer service in the experience section
02/2018 - 11/2022 
- •Successfully managed and resolved 50 customer chats daily, achieving an outstanding 95% average positive feedback rate, showcasing commitment to customer satisfaction
- •Collaborated effectively within a team of 20 junior representatives, fostering a positive team dynamic, and trained six incoming representatives
- •Improved efficiency by integrating Toggl for time tracking, reducing daily administrative tasks by an average of 2 hours, enabling increased focus on delivering top-notch customer service
- •Cultivated positive communication with customers, fostering brand loyalty over a 4-year period, which resulted in a remarkable 13% increase in profit margins
When writing about your customer service skills in the CV experience section, list your most impressive achievements.
PRO TIP
One of the best formulas to specify your customer service experience bullets is use:
- an action or power verb
- skill
- a quantifiable result
In the case above, the candidate has provided specific examples of his skill set, which is always backed up by tangible outcomes (e.g. used Toggl - reduced admin work by 2-hour AVG).
If you want to go above and beyond in your experience section, make sure to always tailor your achievements to the job specifications and requirements.
Should I show or say what level my customer service skills are?
Customer service is the perfect opportunity for entry-level candidates to gain valuable experience, providing opportunities to grow their skill set and career.
That's why you don't need to define the level of your customer service skills, but instead:
- include any relevant experience items, including volunteer work and internships;
- fill in the gaps of your CV experience with relevant education, certificates, and skill set;
- show interest in the field you're set to pursue.
Your customer service CV could be a short one but should engage hiring managers and meet necessary job requirements.
Example 2: Demonstrate customer service in the CV summary section
The CV summary is where your personality shines while providing recruiters with a snapshot of your professional qualifications.
Think of it as a three-to-four-sentence elevator pitch, detailing your years of experience, aligning skill set, and noteworthy achievements.
Be creative about your CV summary by balancing your interpersonal skills, technical capabilities, and professional storytelling.
PRO TIP
Make sure to remark within the CV summary the purpose of your role - that customer happiness always comes first.
Example 3: Show your customer service skills in your achievements sections
When creating a dedicated CV achievements section, remember to always list the most noteworthy and relevant ones to the role.
In the case above, the candidate has provided tangible outcomes of their efforts, backed up by various customer service skills.
Example 4: Use a separate skills' section
Within your customer service CV, it’s also vital to highlight your technical stack. This would in terms help you pass any ATS assessments along the way.
Make sure to also include the specific product or service knowledge you have to showcase your niche of expertise.
Example 5: Demonstrate the skill through other sections of your CV
Now that we've covered the ground on the essential sections for your customer service CV, here are some additional ones you could include:
- Education - apart from your higher education degree, list any pertinent certificates, licences, and training you've completed.
- Languages - if you can freely communicate in a different language, make sure to include it in your customer service CV. Provide recruiters with the level you’re at by referring to one of the more widely accepted frameworks used to assess the specific language.
- Awards - your "Employee of the Month" recognition would most certainly help you stand amongst the crowd of experienced customer service professionals.
- Hobbies and interests - add some personality to your profile with your interests outside of work. Remember that at the end of the day, hiring managers also care about the cultural fit of candidates to the team and organisation.
Key takeaways for your CV
- Customer service skills are used to define how you sustain a business’s or brand’s reputation by building healthy relationships with customers. That’s why this skill set is valuable for your CV.
- Mix and match a variety of soft and hard skills to prove how your experience has helped you build your customer service skill set.
- Integrate different customer service skills across your CV summary, experience, education, and achievements section.
- Make sure that your customer service CV also showcases your personality - what it’s like to work with you and what kind of customer experience you deliver. Define these within your CV summary.
