A customer service CV should be aimed at customer satisfaction and experience. Therefore, for one to make a winning customer service CV, there are key skills you should not miss out on.
Tailoring your CV to the role at hand is one of the greatest CV-writing tips of all time. It helps you highlight the skills and experience that a particular recruiter is looking for. All job adverts will clearly give you the key requirements, qualifications, experience, and desired skills of the job in question. When it comes to customer service, recruiters are looking for someone who will make their business thrive by taking good care of their customers.
What is a skill?
This is the talent or expertise needed for one to do a given job or task. When it comes to a customer service job, recruiters want to be sure that you will fulfill their customer's needs. How can they know that? Through the key skills you highlight on your CV.
Here are must-have skills to include in a customer service CV:
Empathy
Your ability to put yourself in the customer’s shoes is key in any customer service job. You can serve customers better when you look at things from their perspective. The gap between you and the customer is often bridged by a level of empathy.
“I cannot deny that sometimes customers are hard to handle, but that is never an excuse for you to serve them badly. I always find it easier when I try to look deep into their issues. What would I do if I was the customer? How much would this affect me if I was in their shoes? Would the guarantee be that important to me if I was a customer?
These questions help me handle my customers better. Even when you cannot give them the solutions they want all the time, there are better ways to explain this to them. When we are looking for someone to join our team, we give you such scenarios and see how best you’ll solve them. And empathy is key.“ - Sharon, Customer Service, and Sales Assistant.
Self-control
We all need it but as customer service personnel, you need it more. Recruiters are looking for a candidate who will not go off on the customer. How best do you handle difficult customers? No one is going to hire you if you immediately exchange words with a rude customer. Your potential employer is looking for someone who can handle such pressure, an employee who has their emotions under control. When writing a customer service CV, make sure to include this skill.
Ability to use positive language
An all-time optimist. Recruiters want that. Customers will be more glued to someone who makes them feel their problems are solved even by just talking to them. You cannot do this with negative language.
For instance:
Imagine you are a receptionist at a dermatologist clinic when a customer walks in and drowns you with complaints about her bad skin. Do not join her in the pity party. Instead, throw a compliment at her.
“Your skin is not as bad, just a few prescriptions and you will be good to go.” This sounds better than, “Oh my God, why did you wait so long to come to us? Your skin is terrible.”
Remember, regardless of the situation, always choose to be kind.
Adaptability
As a customer service person, you are likely to have unpredictable days. One second the customer understands everything well, and the next, they are completely lost for choice. You need to quickly adjust to customers’ changing needs and preferences. Besides, all customers are different and the quicker you realize it, the better you become at handling them. Highlighting these skills in your CV gives you a better chance of getting to the next recruitment stage.
Professionalism
No matter how bad the situation gets between you and the customer, your recruiters need to know that you will still take charge of the situation. Being professional draws the line between you and the customer. You will easily avoid trailing off the script even when things get worse.
“Even when a customer is upset or behaving immaturely, it’s up to you to defuse the situation, if possible, and do what you can to represent your brand in a positive light.” - Brittany Hodak, Public speaker.
Being Proactive
Being a good customer service person requires you to anticipate your customer’s needs. Recruiters are interested in candidates who can work with or without supervision. Never forget to include this skill in your CV.
Attentive
When attending to customers, you need to talk less and listen more. It is very embarrassing for a customer to explain to you an issue and you end up solving a totally different one. Customers have no time to lose, the more attentive you are to their needs, the better you can serve them.
These skills will not only help you in writing your CV but are also vital during interviews. Now that you have highlighted them in your Customer service CV, it is time to show the recruiters that you actually possess them. Remember, you can highlight your skills better when you can explain them using real-life examples.
Read more on how to avoid burnout as a customer service rep, it really gets intense sometimes. Remember, the customer is king. Let your CV show the recruiter that you can really serve their kings.
