Focus on Customer Service Skills

The skills section is where you build the foundation of your customer service resume. When you're reading job postings and job descriptions looking for keywords, think about ways you've applied the important skills listed. Choose four to six main keywords to include in your skills section. Then, tie each skill to a related action that you've performed in previous jobs.

Personalize your resume with skills that apply to the job to which you're applying. This helps to ensure you get the chance to show how well your skills fit a specific position.

Job postings on company websites and job descriptions from sites like the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are useful places to look for information about what skills you need to include in your resume. Job boards that are focused on retail positions are also helpful for finding customer service-related keywords.

Look for repeated roles or responsibilities in the job posting — these frequent words are keywords and indicate crucial customer service skills that the employer is specifically looking for. Be sure to include those keywords in your resume if you have the necessary skills and requirements. Prioritize those keywords in your summary statement and scatter them throughout your work history and previous training sections.

Some customer service keywords and phrases that are commonly requested by hiring managers include:

General Skills

Handle complaints

Describe products and services

Consultative selling skills

Process orders

Computer skills

Account management (process payments/create invoices)

Voice over internet protocol (VoIP)

Soft Skills

Listening : Customers want to speak with someone who can not only solve their problems and questions but also cares. This skill will lead to higher customer satisfaction, fewer mistakes and improved brand reputation.

: Customers want to speak with someone who can not only solve their problems and questions but also cares. This skill will lead to higher customer satisfaction, fewer mistakes and improved brand reputation. Communication : The ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important skills in a customer service arsenal. Miscommunication can result in poor customer satisfaction or conflict.

: The ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important skills in a customer service arsenal. Miscommunication can result in poor customer satisfaction or conflict. Calmness : A great customer service representative needs to stay calm, even when a situation with the customer gets heated. To be the best candidate, you need to be patient and let customers know you’re working hard to solve the problem.

: A great customer service representative needs to stay calm, even when a situation with the customer gets heated. To be the best candidate, you need to be patient and let customers know you’re working hard to solve the problem. Reliability : When you make a promise to a customer, you have to follow through. Don’t make assumptions and never over-promise. This customer service skill shows customers and employers they can rely on you.

: When you make a promise to a customer, you have to follow through. Don’t make assumptions and never over-promise. This customer service skill shows customers and employers they can rely on you. Ability to read customers' body language : A good customer service representative should be able to read the customer’s current emotional state. This is important in order to avoid misunderstanding and conflict.

: A good customer service representative should be able to read the customer’s current emotional state. This is important in order to avoid misunderstanding and conflict. Willingness to learn : You should aim to be an expert at what you do. This will increase your confidence when working with customers and make you more credible. Always work on developing your customer service skills.

: You should aim to be an expert at what you do. This will increase your confidence when working with customers and make you more credible. Always work on developing your customer service skills. Great time-management : While you should spend time establishing a rapport with customers, you should also work to get them what they need as quickly and efficiently as possible.

: While you should spend time establishing a rapport with customers, you should also work to get them what they need as quickly and efficiently as possible. Goal-oriented : Your goals could be “reply to every customer within an hour” or “improve customer service satisfaction ratings by 15 percent by the end of the year.” Setting realistic goals and achieving them is a good way to grow your customer service skills.

: Your goals could be “reply to every customer within an hour” or “improve customer service satisfaction ratings by 15 percent by the end of the year.” Setting realistic goals and achieving them is a good way to grow your customer service skills. Goes above and beyond : Try to consistently deliver beyond your customer’s expectations.

: Try to consistently deliver beyond your customer’s expectations. Ability to close deals: Closing the deal doesn’t only mean making a sale. It also means you should end every conversation with the customer feeling that everything has been taken care of.

If you meet more than six of the keywords you identified, fold the remaining skills into your summary statement and work history sections. Naturally, adding keywords increase the chance of an applicant tracking system (ATS) pulling your resume for further review. However, adding keywords where they don't make sense, or including them in nonsensical sentences might cause your resume to get flagged as spam by an ATS.

While customer service jobs may vary widely regarding the skills and training required for a particular position, there are some qualifications that are universal in customer service. These include things like friendly service, prompt attention to client needs and accurately recording orders. Look to the required keywords and prepare every resume to match the ad you're answering.