What a customer service role involves
New Zealand's careers service says customer service representatives respond to enquiries and deal with complaints. They also explain products and services, take orders and process returns. The UK's National Careers Service profile adds tasks such as:
- answering questions by phone, email, webchat, social media or in person
- explaining products, services and policies
- processing payments and arranging deliveries or returns
- handling feedback and complaints
- updating customer details on a computer system
The US profile for customer service representatives also lists keeping records of each contact. It includes passing problems you can't solve to the right team.
Skills employers look for
The National Careers Service lists skills that an interview can test:
- customer service skills and active listening
- sensitivity and understanding
- being thorough and paying attention to detail
- working well with others
- accepting criticism and working well under pressure
- using a computer and the main software competently
New Zealand's profile says you need to solve problems, communicate well and work well under pressure. O*NET lists empathy, self-control and dependability among the work styles.
The interviews you may face
Each employer runs its own process. You may face some of these:
- A phone call to hear how you sound and how you listen. Read our phone screen tips.
- A role play, where the interviewer plays a customer with a problem or a complaint.
- A short test of typing, spelling or using a system.
- A behavioural interview about past jobs, study or volunteering.
US federal hiring guidance describes work tests that mirror real tasks. One example is finding answers for upset customers.
Questions that test each skill
These are themes, with sample wording. Real questions vary by employer.
- Complaints: "Tell me about a time you dealt with an angry customer."
- Listening: "How do you make sure you understand what a customer needs?"
- Saying no: "A customer asks for something against policy. What do you do?"
- Pressure: "The queue is long and the system is slow. How do you cope?"
- Accuracy: "Tell me about a time a small mistake mattered."
- Selling: "How would you suggest an extra product without being pushy?"
Answer "tell me about a time" questions with STAR: the situation, your task, the actions you took and the result. Our free STAR answer planner helps you shape each one.
What to prepare
- Read the job ad. Note the channels, such as phone, chat or in person.
- Learn the employer's main products or services and its public policies.
- Prepare five or six STAR stories: a complaint, a busy shift, a mistake and helping someone well.
- Practise a role play with a friend, who plays an upset customer.
- Have a short, true answer ready for why you want this job.
No paid experience? Use stories from school, volunteering, sport or family. The skills are the same.
An example answer about an unhappy customer
Here is a made-up answer for a made-up person. Use it to see the shape of a strong answer, then tell your own true story.
Made-up example
Jordan, a contact centre worker applying to a bank
Question
Situation
Task
Action
- I let her explain without interrupting, then repeated the problem back so she knew I'd heard it.
- I said sorry for the wait and told her exactly what I would do next.
- I ran a line test while she was on the call and found a fault outside her home.
- I booked the earliest repair visit and set up free mobile data so she could get online until then.
- I called her back the next day to check the fix had worked.
Result
Jordan listens first, then acts and follows up. Every action is his own, and the result has numbers.
Questions
What if I have no customer service experience?
Use examples from school, volunteering, sport or any time you helped people. The skills are the same: listening, staying calm and solving problems.
How do I do well in a role play?
Listen first, say the problem back, apologise where it fits and offer a clear next step. Stay calm, even if the customer gets louder.
What does a customer service representative earn?
In the US, O*NET lists a 2025 median wage of $44,770 a year for customer service representatives. Pay varies by country and employer, so check your own country's official figures.
Sources
Written by Seal the Offer from these pages, last checked on . Rules change, so check the employer's own page and the job ad before you apply.