How to write a customer service CV (With example)

Customers rely on customer service agents to provide credible information, product recommendations and services. When looking for positions, aspiring customer service agents demonstrate their ability to meet customers' needs through documentation, such as cover letters and CVs. Knowing how to correctly format a CV and what information to include can make you a stronger candidate. In this article, we discuss what a customer service CV is, explain how to write a customer service CV and provide an example CV.

What is a customer service CV?

A CV refers to a document that outlines a candidate's education, work experience and other professional information in a concise and organised manner. You design a customer service CV to assist you in applying for a career in the customer service industry. You draw attention to your skills, qualifications and expertise to urge recruiters to call you for an interview and potentially hire you. Customer service CVs are often requested by employers alongside a cover letter, which is a more personal accompaniment to your application.

Related: Customer service skills: Examples, definition and how to demonstrate

How to write a customer service CV

Knowing how to write a customer service CV provides you with an excellent opportunity to inform hiring managers why you're the most qualified candidate for the position. It also helps you to avoid common CV mistakes that lower your chance of success. Your ability to effectively communicate this message is strongly influenced by the way your CV is organised and the kind of information you provide. Learn how to write a customer service CV below:

1. Decide on a format

Decide on a format before you begin writing your customer service CV. The most common CV format begins with a section listing your experience in a backwards chronological order, starting with your most recent job first. If you're fresh out of education and don't have much employment experience, list your education as your first section instead.

2. Introduce yourself

Your header contains information such as your name, phone number and email. Providing this information provides hiring managers with a means to reach you if they want to schedule an interview. Below this, you include a personal summary which describes you professionally and outlines what you're searching for in a position. The personal summary is usually brief and consists of a sentence rather than a whole paragraph.

Related: How to become a customer service specialist in 5 steps

3. List your accomplishments

Enhance your professional overview with a list of your most remarkable professional accomplishments placed towards the top of your CV. There's no limit to the number of points you provide, though it's advisable to include no more than the five accomplishments most relevant to the position to make the section easy to skim for the reader. Aim to list accomplishments that relate to the customer service sector.

Related: Customer service skills: Examples, definition and how to demonstrate

4. Include employment experience

Fill your CV with information about any relevant former career roles so that hiring managers see you have transferable experience. There's no restriction on the number of jobs that you add. Include job titles, business names and addresses, start and finish dates and a summary of your responsibilities for each position. If you're still working at one of your present jobs, write 'to present' rather than an end date.

5. Display your educational background

Include your greatest level of academic experience alongside any other relevant degrees to demonstrate your training and educational qualifications. List the name of the qualification, the name and address of the institution and the dates that you attended. If you're still working toward a particular qualification, specify the date you intend to complete it.

6. Include training experience

Include any training experience that is relevant to the role. Professional development courses, certificates and licences are examples of training experience. Include the course title, sponsoring institution, date of completion and a brief description of the course for each entry. If you have any licences or certificates, indicate the name of the credential and, if appropriate, the reference number.

Related: 10 important customer service responsibilities (Plus skills)

7. Include your industry expertise

Include a summary of your soft and hard industry skills. Hard skills refer to ideas including technical knowledge or practices. Soft skills refer to personality characteristics. Some examples of necessary talents for a customer service CV include:

• conflict resolution

• patience

• time management

• communication

• handling complaints

• developing interpersonal relationships

8. Highlight your bilingual abilities

If you're fluent in more than one language, state this on your CV. Having this experience appears advantageous for a customer service agent because it demonstrates your ability to interact with people from various nations or with different cultures than your own. This is useful as you're likely to encounter people from many backgrounds during your time working in a customer-facing role.

Related: How to become a customer service advisor (With salary and skills)

9. Include voluntary work

List information about your volunteer activities to demonstrate the labour and services you have contributed on an unpaid basis. Include a summary of the title of your job, the sponsoring organisation, the start and end dates of your services and a list of the tasks associated with the position for each item. Voluntary work demonstrates your work ethic and your passion.

10. Mention hobbies and interests

Consider inserting an extra section that includes your professional and personal passions and interests alongside any awards or recognitions you have. Write this as a bullet point list or in a paragraph style, depending on your preference. Mention hobbies or interests that are relevant to customer service and the skills those roles require. For example, playing a team sport, such as football, suggests that you work well as part of a team.

11. Include references

If the job description requests a professional reference, put it directly in your CV as an attachment. List the names, positions and contact information of each individual. Before including any references on your CV, ensure the contact information is accurate and get the reference's permission. Adding a phrase that states 'I offer references upon request' lets hiring managers know you prepared references, even if the position doesn't specifically seek them.

12. Make sure your CV is error-free

After you finish writing your CV, proofread it for spelling and punctuation errors before submitting it. Check to ensure that all contact information, email addresses, location information and names are accurate. Consider asking a family member or friend to go through your CV too.

Example of a customer service CV

Below is an example of a customer service CV:

Jonathan Oates | 0123 456 789 | Jonathan@email.com

Professional Summary

A punctual, positive and helpful customer service advisor with over 10 years of experience in customer-facing roles, including customer sales advisor and customer complaints handling. I want to join the business to help provide a better level of customer service in a busy, well-known retail environment, with the chance to grow in the role and achieve new opportunities in more advanced positions. In previous roles, I've helped raise the positive reviews of the brand by 20% while improving the up-selling of products within the business by 45%.

Professional Experience
Customer Service Advisor at NewClothingCo| October 2020–present

• Perform regular stock rotation to ensure the shop floor is properly organised as per regulations

• Answering and responding to customer complaints with a high level of professionalism

• Helping answer queries with customers, including sourcing items, refunds and returns

• Ensuring the stock room is in a clean and organised state, helping colleagues handle stock queries more efficiently

• Encouraging customers to sign up for the company newsletter to increase customer retention and brand advocacy

• Working with colleagues and visual merchandising teams to properly display new clothing ranges and promotional materials

• Assisting customers with filling in customer surveys, helping the branch build positive reviews in the process

Professional Experience
Shop floor assistant at Donkey Shelter| August 2019–October 2020

• Operated tills

• Helped customers find items

• Handled donations

Skills

• Effective verbal communication

• A positive demeanour with both customers and colleagues, ensuring a positive working environment

• Above-average attention to detail, ensuring that sales items are in the right place and shop floor promotions are correctly organised

• High-level organisation skills including the physical organisation of the shop stock and rotas, customer data entry and time-management

• Excellent understanding of core skills necessary to provide a high level of service within a retail environment

• Fluent in English, French and German

Education
Global Hospitality Management (BSc, Hons) | July 2019 Birmingham Hospitality University | Birmingham

Interests
Football, charity runs, hiking, weightlifting.

References
Available upon request.

Please note that none of the companies, institutions or organisations mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed. The model shown is for illustration purposes only, and may require additional formatting to meet accepted standards.