Customer Service Resume Sample

Overqualified and expecting a call? Think again.

Dear Sam: I have read your column since I first began attending college. Finally, after six years I have completed my degree in organizational communication. I have worked since I was 15 years old and my past two positions have prepared me for an office role that would not require an 'entry level' status. However, I have applied for positions for more than 5 months and have received only one response from a potential employer. I have attached my résumé hoping you could give me some pointers on what I may be doing wrong and how to get those who are reviewing my résumé to call me versus another candidate. The problem I feel I am running into is that I am not inexperienced but also do not have 5 years of experience either.

I did not expect that finding a professional job with a decent salary would be easy, but I certainly did not expect for it to be this difficult. With my student loans becoming due in less than six months, the pressure is on to find a higher paying and upwardly mobile position where my strengths can be utilized. - Jessica

Dear Jessica: The main problem with your résumé is that you appear overqualified for any entry-level job you may apply for solely based on your content and formatting choices. Your résumé is very cluttered and difficult to read, in fact when I first opened it-and I imagine this is the reaction many others would also have-I backed away from it not knowing what to read first in the barrage of text, columns, bolding, underlining, and the overly "strong" font treatment. One would never assume you only had a few years of experience from looking at your two-page résumé so there is an immediate disconnect presented when reviewing your candidacy.

The key to résumé and job search success is to present the "right" qualifications to your target audience-all bundled in a well-written and nicely formatted package-meaning you need to communicate the type and amount of experience being sought by your target audience. As your résumé sits today you are presenting an overqualified image to potential hiring managers who are seeking someone with just a few years of professional experience.

Opening your résumé with the statement that you have 7+ years of experience-while true if you are adding your time working as a manager of a pizza shop-immediately overqualifies you for your target positions. You really have 3 years of corporate experience so I would promote that while allowing your foundational experience in the customer service arena to augment your qualifications and serve as value-added at the end of your résumé and in the interview.

Real-Resumes for Customer Service Jobs (Real-Resumes Series)

Product Description

Don’t take it for granted that customer service jobs are always easy to get. The best jobs in any field are always the object of intense competition! This book will show how to enter, advance in, or exit from the customer service field while speaking the lingo of customer service across all industries, from telecommunications to financial institutions. All resumes and cover letters in the book actually worked for real people.

And what about those who want to change fields? Maybe the goal is to change fields from the hospitality industry to the cellular industry, or from the telecommunications industry to the medical field. This book can help.

A word of advice from Editor Anne McKinney: “This great book of sample resumes and cover letters showing customer service experience will help customer service professionals show off their expertise. If you want to enter the customer service field or advance in the industry, you don’t need just any resume book. You need an industry-specific resume book! You will love this book targeted specifically to the customer service field. Every resume and cover letter we put in a Real-Resumes Series book has been tested and proven in the real job market. Don’t play games with your career. Your choice of a resume book is one of the most important career decisions you will ever make.”

Praise for books in the Real-Resumes Series: “These excellent new guides don’t just provide the usual coverage on how to write a resume. They provide industry-specific examples, industry-specific tips and cautions, and industry-specific strategies based on real-world resumes. Since many technical types aren’t writers, this comes as a special gift; select a winning format, plug in your background specs, and away you go. It’s that easy–with Real-Resumes in hand.

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