How to Write a Customer Service CV (Tips and Examples)

The customer service field has seen tremendous growth and provides abundant job possibilities. From retail stores to call centres, hospitality, and more, personnel must offer exceptional service and make sure customers are happy with their business. You play an essential role in the organisation with the aim of keeping customers satisfied while supporting the sales process.

Regardless of your experience, it is challenging to create a good CV that impresses recruiters and hiring managers. In today's world, appearances count for a lot, but several factors must be considered. They include content, writing strategy, format, template, and additional career-related documents. To increase your chances of success, we suggest you tailor your CV to a job description while ensuring it is applicant tracking system (ATS)-friendly.

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Customer Service CV example

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Shannon, a Customer Service Team Leader, has selected the Cambridge template in this example. After working in customer-focused roles, this professional CV example and template highlight Shannon's ambition to find a senior position within the industry.

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What to include in a customer service CV?

Customer service is all about supporting your customers before and after to ensure an enjoyable experience with your brand or service. When writing a CV, it is essential to focus on the skills and qualities that make you an ideal candidate, similar to a secretary position. In addition, highlight your ability to support, interact and help others professionally.

The core CV sections typically include your personal profile, work experience, education, and key skills that target and align with your career goals. For more advice, see the article on how to improve your CV.

Focus on the skills and experience you have that are relevant to the role. Remember to be industry-specific and research the relevant terms associated with customer service. Adapting your CV to a specific role increases your chances of landing more interviews. Ultimately, recruiters or hiring managers want to see how and why you are the best candidate for the position. If you've got previous experience with from a web-chat job or excel in providing exceptional customer service working from home, make sure you highlight this in your CV.

How to write a personal profile for a customer service CV

A compelling personal profile, also known as a personal statement, should demonstrate your experience and soft skills, specifically showcasing why you are the right fit for the role. This section is your first opportunity to impress a recruiter with your customer service knowledge or experience. Therefore, this brief elevator pitch should accurately reflect your current motivations and objectives.

When describing yourself in this section, pay close attention to your sentences' structure, key phrases, and conciseness. To strengthen your writing further, use action verbs throughout your CV to demonstrate how you are proactive and accomplish objectives or tasks.

What skills to put on a customer service CV

To succeed in related customer service roles, such as a shop assistant or call centre agent, job seekers need solid communication abilities, ability to adapt, and know-how of company and product value. Having the right skills can benefit your CV, even if you lack experience or if you’re applying for a more experienced role, such as a Customer Service Manager.

Your CV should include a mixture of hard, soft, and transferable skills. Hard skills are measurable and easily defined, while soft skills describe personal qualities and traits. Transferable skills are gained throughout your personal and professional life. If you’re new to the job market, a recent graduate, or have little experience, consider creating a skills-based CV.

Below are examples of skills to include on your CV, and you can get more insight into how to add skills to your CV.

Examples of soft skills:

• Adaptability

• Patience

• Communication

• Effective listening

• Decision-making.

Examples of hard skills:

• Customer service skills

• Sales and marketing

• Budgeting

• Team management

• Product knowledge.

Examples of transferable skills:

• Teamwork

• Problem-Solving

• Leadership

• Time-management

• Collaboration.

Discover more skills by reading our cashier CV example article.

How to write work experience on a customer service CV

List your relevant experience and research the job you are targeting. Use action verbs and keywords from a job posting to summarise your duties. We suggest aiming for three to six lines to describe your work responsibilities and measurable achievements. Thus, structuring your work experience section like this ensures you create an eye-catching and effective CV.

Explore our hairdresser, cabin crew member, or bartender CV example articles for more inspiration.

When writing your CV, list your most recent experience. Additionally, if you have experience over 15 years old, we suggest leaving them out and highlighting the transferable skills developed within that role within the additional experience section of your CV instead. For more tips on how to write this section, refer to our work experience guide.

Examples of work experience for a customer service CV:

Customer Service Team Leader, Microsoft, UK, London, 2020-2022

Directed and supported a team of 15 customer service representatives in managing a diverse client portfolio of 50+ accounts within the Dynamics CRM framework. Conducted extensive market research to identify evolving customer needs, adapting sales strategies to better cater to these requirements. Cultivated robust client relationships through proactive communication, frequent follow-ups, and swift responsiveness to client inquiries and concerns. Collaborated with the marketing department to develop and execute customer-centric campaigns aimed at enhancing client engagement and satisfaction.

• Led the acquisition of new B2B clients, contributing significantly to a noteworthy £1.2 million increase in sales revenue within the inaugural year.

• Consistently surpassed monthly and quarterly sales targets, exceeding benchmarks by an average of 20%, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and retention rates.

• Conducted product demonstrations and tailored training sessions that led to a substantial 30% increase in client product adoption rates.

Customer Service Advisor, Amazon UK, 2015 - 2023

Managed a diverse portfolio of national accounts generating annual revenues exceeding £20 million, focusing on delivering exceptional customer service and support to key clients within Amazon UK. Improved collaboration between regional account managers to ensure consistent service delivery, aligning actions with customer service objectives.Analysed customer feedback and market trends to devise strategies that enhanced customer experience and satisfaction. Provided guidance and mentorship to a team of account coordinators and analysts to achieve service-orientated goals.

• Achieved a remarkable annual revenue growth of 15% by implementing customer-centric service plans and initiatives, resulting in improved customer loyalty and retention.

• Successfully negotiated and maintained high-value contracts, resulting in a 25% increase in overall customer satisfaction scores across the national account portfolio.

• Implemented customer-focused operational changes, leading to a 40% increase in client satisfaction scores and increased positive feedback.

Customer Service Representative, Global Enterprises Inc., London, 2018-2021

Managed client relationships within the Dynamics CRM framework, focusing on providing exceptional customer service and exceeding client expectations. Conducted continuous customer research to adapt sales approaches and identify opportunities to enhance the overall customer experience. Prioritised proactive and empathetic communication to address client inquiries promptly and effectively. Conducted product demonstrations and tailored training sessions to ensure seamless product adoption and customer satisfaction.

• Instrumental in acquiring new B2B clients, contributing significantly to generating £1.2 million in sales revenue within the initial year.

• Achieved an average 25% increase in client satisfaction scores through personalised and attentive customer service, fostering long-term client relationships.

• Conducted training sessions resulting in a substantial 35% increase in product adoption rates among clients, leading to increased customer loyalty and repeat business.

How to write a customer service CV with no experience

If you have little to no work experience, highlighting your relevant qualifications and certifications in customer service can effectively demonstrate your transferrable skills on your CV. Shift the attention from work experience to your relevant qualifications and certifications and place them at the top of your CV.

If you’re a school leaver, we suggest highlighting your A-levels, GCSE, or equivalent qualifications in English and sciences. Usually, a university degree may not be necessary, but employers would expect you to hold customer service-related qualifications, such as a Customer Service NVQ or BTEC in the UK. To learn more, read on how to create a skills-based CV.

Example of customer service CV with no experience:

Customer Service Intern, Boots UK, London, UK, 2022-2023

Collaborated closely with the customer service team, managing client inquiries and providing assistance to ensure customer satisfaction. Conducted research to identify emerging needs and preferences of clients, contributing insights to refine customer service strategies. Actively engaged in client interactions, responding promptly to inquiries and resolving issues to maintain high customer satisfaction.

• Assisted in the onboarding of 10 new clients, supporting the initial stages of client acquisition and contributing to the growth of customer engagement.

• Contributed to the improvement of customer service processes by suggesting and implementing innovative ideas during team meetings.

• Participated in training sessions, absorbing knowledge and developing practical skills to enhance customer interactions.

How to write additional experience for a customer service CV

Customer service is a broad industry. Use this to your advantage and mention the various skills, duties, and tasks involved in this sector. An ideal customer service manager should have a wide range of experience to be successful. In addition to the core skills and knowledge required for the role, try listing additional courses and certificates on a CV to boost your chances of success further.

Use the additional experience section to highlight experiences that might be short-term or outdated. Try to include key responsibilities, achievements, and experiences within volunteer roles or previous employment where you had to supervise, manage or work within a team. If you need more inspiration, you can add hobbies and interests to your CV.

How to list education on a customer service CV

In the UK, you are not required to undergo higher education to achieve a customer service manager role, nor as an assistant. Yet, it is crucial to complete secondary or tertiary education and have GCSE qualifications. Most recruiters are less concerned with qualifications or certificates for this role. Instead, they focus on possessing good hands-on experience and relevant skills or qualities to perform in a role.

When structuring education on a customer service CV, we suggest following a chronological CV format to make your application professional and easy to read. The details you should include in your education section are straightforward. Just mention the name of the school, its location, date of graduation, and the degree/diploma/certificate obtained. This should suffice for a customer service CV as far as hiring managers and recruiters are concerned.

Examples of education for a customer service CV:

• Customer Experience Management, University of Manchester, 2020

• BA (Hons) in Hospitality and Customer Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science

• Business Administration, University of Edinburgh, 2021

For those without experience, highlight relevant qualifications or other experience to make your application appear more substantial. Refer to our graduate article if you need more ideas on improving your CV.

Key takeaways

It’s time to wrap up and summarise the essential points from this guide to writing a winning customer service CV. The key it to keep your CV tailored, relevant, and specific to your target job's needs. See our final key takeaways below:

Next steps?

When you're short on time and need a rapid CV turnaround, our expert team can handle the entire process with pre-prepared, stylishly formatted CV and cover letter templates. Explore our easy-to-use CV Builder with a job finder tool for navigating the job market effortlessly. We help structure winning applications, including top-notch customer service CVs, to land your dream role. To find out more about this, consult our CV Writing Service team.

Discover our modern CV article to ensure you stay ahead of the competition!

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FAQ

What education should you have to apply for a customer service position?

Depending on the industry, most applicants need GCSEs and secondary education for all customer service assistant roles. However, for higher-level roles such as store manager, you may be asked to have a higher education qualification or certificates to support your application. Nowadays, there are an increasing number of work from home jobs in customer service, which do not require further education and are very flexible. Learn more about remote and hybrid working opportunities.

How should you describe customer service skills on a CV?

Ensure this section is actionable and demonstrates how these skills relate to your job and responsibilities. For example, when describing customer service skills on a CV, you must focus on what experiences or tasks you have completed that make you competent and skilled for the role. Back your descriptions up with evidence and support your claims.

How should you say that you have customer service experience?

Provide an example of how you performed excellent customer service or demonstrated competencies for the role. Refer to the relevant skills and qualities listed in this article and the keywords and requirements in the job posting. It may be better to emphasise transferable and soft skills, as these can be acquired more easily.

What are the top 5 customer service soft skills on a CV?

The main qualities of customer service revolve around three Ps: professionalism, patience, and a people-orientated approach. As for the CV skills, we suggest including the following:

• Communication

• Empathy

• Problem-solving

• Conflict resolution

• Time management.

Refer to how to add soft skills to a CV for more details.