Enthusiastic customer service professional with 11+ years of experience in a retail setting. Outgoing, friendly personality, with the ability to make customers feel valued. Passionate about delivering exceptional service to customers and helping improve the company brand.
04/2018 - 06/2021, Customer Service Advisor, Hankee Candles, Belfast
- Work as part of a four-member team, supporting the day-to-day operations of the business.
- Assist and interact in a friendly, helpful manner with 70+ customers daily, striving to ensure all receive exceptional service.
- Handle cash and deal with other varied administrative tasks.
- Replenish shelves as required from new product inventory averaging three weekly shipments.
- Consistently retain the highest staff rate of success in resolving customer issues, and the most positive online customer reviews.
03/2014 - 03/2018, Sales Assistant, JJP Sports, Edinburgh
- Delivered professional, friendly service in a busy mall store averaging 90+ customers daily.
- Replenished stock frequently to compensate for limited shelf space.
- Handled cash, including closing at the end of night shifts.
- Consistently exceeded targets for up-selling products where possible.
- Worked with colleagues to consistently deliver company sales goals.
- Ability to answer customer queries and resolve complaints contributed to 28% reduction in product returns and 21% increase in sales overall.
02/2011 - 03/2014, Customer Service Advisor, Supermart, City of London
- Worked on a team of five, serving up to 225 customers per shift
- Dealt with customer queries during approximately 80% of working hours.
- Replenished stock frequently, from two to five times per shift
- Performed housekeeping duties during slower periods.
06/2006 - 09/2010, Service Design, University of the Arts, London
- Critical thinking and problem solving
- Ability to Multitask
- Effective Time Management
- Fast Learner
- Ability to Work in a Team
- Communication Skills
- Customer Service
Customer service CV example & writing guide
We all like to have an enjoyable experience when buying products or services, and the way a customer service professional makes us feel will determine how satisfied we are. A bad attitude and poor communication will lead a customer straight to the exit.
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An inspiring customer service professional will exceed the customer’s expectations, and this is what you want to get across on your CV. It doesn’t take long to form an impression when you meet someone for the first time, just as it doesn’t take long for a decision to be reached on the quality of a candidate.
With CV examples for more than 250 professions, Resume.io takes pride in creating quality tools to help your application stand out, even in a crowded applicant pool. Your customer service CV will reflect your capabilities in delivering exceptional service, ensuring customers come back time and again.
This guide, together with the customer service CV example, will walk you through the following:
- An understanding of a customer service professional (may be referred to as customer service representative, agent, assistant, or similar), and what makes a great employee
- Top tips on writing an effective customer service CV.
- How to ensure your CV stands out by using the right format.
- The relevant structure and what your CV should contain, including the summary, work history, education, and skills.
- Useful information on the design and layout of your customer service CV.
What does a customer service representative do?
As the name would suggest, a customer service representative is a person that deals with inquiries from customers. This may include general help and support, or complaints. They are the first point of contact for the customer, so they must be professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and confident. A customer service professional is responsible for upholding the brand of the company. They may work in a range of industries, including retail, where they deliver face-to-face customer service, or a call centre, where they speak to customers over the phone. In some cases, customer service representatives may deliver the service purely via electronic communication, such as social media or email.
According to data from Hubspot, 67% of customers will be willing to pay more if they receive a positive customer service experience.
How much do customer service professionals earn?
The average salary for a customer service professional in the UK is £18,548. In some customer service roles, you would also earn a commission, but this is usually only for target-driven customer service roles.
How to write a customer service professional CV
It is a good idea to plan out the writing of your customer service professional CV before you get started. These are the main elements of the CV you should consider:
- The CV header – also known as the profile or personal statement
- Employment section
- Skills section
- Education section
You will usually tailor your CV to the job you are applying for. For instance, if you are fairly open to the industry and are applying for both retail customer service jobs and call centre roles, you should tailor these to suit.
Make sure you find out all you can about the role and the company, as the expectations will vary. For instance, if you were applying to work in the Disney store as a customer service professional, you would be expected to show that you have a fun, engaging, confident demeanor and that you love kids, and Disney movies! However, if you are applying for a job as a customer service professional in a bank, the hiring manager will expect you to come across in a more serious, corporate manner. Do you understand why you must tailor your CV for every job? We hope so!
The purpose of your customer service CV is to get you to the next stage, which would be an interview. Regardless of the role, we would suggest that you stick to the same formula, including:
- Consider the employer and write your CV with them in mind. You may need to adapt the style depending on the company you are applying to.
- Use a CV template that is clear and concise, but without getting too focused on an elaborate design. This isn’t necessary, the content is the important part.
- Refer to relevant keywords throughout your CV to optimise it for an ATS (applicant tracking system)
- Choosing the best CV format for customer service professional
Choosing the best CV format for customer service
It is always advisable to use reverse chronological order for your CV format, with the employment history at the top. The only exception to this is if you have very little relevant customer service experience, as in which case, you may want to begin with your education. It is really a judgement call with this, which should be based on your expertise and what the employer is looking for. Each section should start with your most recent education/experience and work your way back. Around 10 years is sufficient.
There is a severe worker shortage across the UK, due to the Coronavirus pandemic and Brexit. In some cases, employers are offering welcome bonuses of up to £10,000. With retail vacancies taking a hit during the pandemic, there is now a shortage of staff, with retail vacancies rising by 14% from July 2021 to August 2021. It is good news for customer service professionals, as if you are looking to gain employment in the UK, you may well be fighting off the attention from employers.
CV summary example: a brief encounter
The CV summary is situated at the top of your customer service CV, and this is sometimes referred to as the profile. The summary is a brief introduction to yourself and should be enough to give the hiring manager an appetite to learn more about you. In the case of customer service, it should portray your attitude towards customer service and how you can deliver excellent service to customers.
We would suggest avoiding referring to yourself by your name or using ‘I’ throughout your CV. It is much better to use descriptive language. For example, instead of saying ‘I have strong customer skills, you could say ‘demonstrated strong customer service skills by increasing retention levels by 20%.’ See our CV example below for more ideas on how to accomplish this.
Experienced customer service professional with 10 years' experience in a retail setting. Outgoing, friendly personality, with the ability to make customers feel valued. Passionate about delivering an exceptional service to customers and helping improve the brand of the company.
The summary can be a bit more challenging than the rest of your CV, as it is less structured so it might be worthwhile to have a look at some administrative CV examples. You may want to consider starting with the customer service CV sample or a more specialist area such as call centre agent CV example and guide.
Employment history sample: the path to success
Every journey has to start somewhere and with your employment history, you want to encapsulate where you came from and what brought you to the place where you are applying for the role.
The employment history is the main section of the CV, except for graduate roles or if you have little or no work experience. Customer service is part of every job, so even if you have not worked directly as a customer service professional, you will be able to pull out some relevant customer service experience from any job.
You should always start with the most recent employment and remember to use descriptive action words.
Most candidates write their CV in terms of the duties of the role, which can be easily pulled from their job description. However, a customer service CV will stand out more if you can show your achievements. For example, did you improve customer retention? Have you made an impact on customer survey results? Quantifiable data is always more appealing than just rhyming off the duties. Check out our adaptable CV sample below.
Customer Service Advisor, Hankee Candles. Glasgow
Apr 2018 - June 2021
- Support the day to day operations of the business.
- Dealing with customers in a friendly, helpful manner.
- Handling cash and dealing with other administrative tasks.
- Replenishing shelves as required.
- Resolving customer issues, and ensuring all customers receive an exceptional service.
- Working as part of a team.
Sales Assistant, JJP Sports, Edinburgh
Mar 2014 - Mar 2018
- Responsible for delivering a professional, friendly service to customers.
- Replenishing stock where required.
- Handling cash and up-selling products where possible.
- Working with colleagues to deliver the company goals.
- Dealing with customer queries and complaints.
Customer Service Advisor, Supermart, City of London
Feb 2011 - Mar 2014
- Dealing with customer queries
- Replenishing stock
- Housekeeping duties
- Working as part of a team
CV skills example: what can customers expect?
When writing your CV skills, you should consider it from the perspective of the customer and what they would expect from you. If you walk into a shop, or you call a company, what do you expect them to offer you?
Most people would expect a friendly demeanor, a positive exchange, the customer service professional should be able to resolve the query and everything should be dealt with quickly and efficiently. This is what should come across in your skills section. Make the hiring manager feel that you are going to be an asset to the company and that you will strive to exceed customers’ expectations. Below you’ll find the skills section from our adaptable CV example.
- Critical thinking and problem solving
- Ability to Multitask
- Effective Time Management
- Fast Learner
- Ability to work in a Team
- Communication Skills
- Customer Service
Customer service CV education example
Education is not usually as important as experience and skills with customer service roles. However, it is important to list your educational qualifications. If you are applying for a call centre agent role (take a look at the call centre agent CV example and guide) and you have any training that may be relevant, you should also list this. Check out the education section formatting in our CV example below.
CV layout and design: make the right impression
The number one priority with your CV is for it to generate into an interview. As such the layout and design must be clear, and it can be easily read on different devices. It is better to stick to just a simple layout, because if you overcomplicate it, it may be off-putting to the reader.
If you are unsure of the best layout and design to use, don’t worry, we have you covered. You can use one of our CV templates for inspiration.
- Choose a clean header that stands out from the rest of the page.
- Proofread your CV before you submit.
- Opt for a layout that matches the company you are applying to.
- Use more than two different font styles on one CV.
- Write in a tiny font size in order to save space (same with a font size over 12 point.)
- Fill in too much of the page with text or it will become tiring for the reader.
Key takeaways for a customer service CV
- Put yourself in the shoes of the customer and what they might expect when they communicate with you.
- Use a clear, concise design without any gimmicks.
- Structure the customer service CV in the best way to suit and use relevant keywords.
- Our adaptable CV example specifically for customer service representatives can give you insight into each section of a great CV.
