Careers in Customer Service

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Looking for an entry level job or internship in customer service? This is an overview of how to approach the search and a list of companies that might have relevant entry level and internship opportunities.

Don’t you hate when a big game is coming on TV, but you can’t get service? This is a tale about a time when a Duke vs. UNC basketball game was slated to begin in 30 minutes, and my cable was not cooperating. After fiddling with the wires for awhile, I called my cable provider in a state of panic. I was immediately connected with a Customer Support Representative, who walked me through diagnosing the problem, as well as the steps to take to fix it. What a savior! Customer service employees assist customers before, during, and after they make a purchase and build a life-long relationship between them and the company.

Customer Service Careers

Photo Credit: Flickr user adria.richards

Customer Service Career Guide Overview

  1. What a Customer Service Employee Does
  2. A Typical Day for a Customer Service Employee
  3. Salary and Career Progression in Customer Service
  4. Best Locations for Customer Service Employees
  5. Pros and Cons of Being a Customer Service Employee
  6. What You Need to Know for a Career in Customer Service
  7. Customer Service Resources
  8. Careers Related to Customer Service
  9. Companies with Jobs and Internships in Customer Service

What a Customer Service Employee Does

Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction. In most cases now it’s a new way of marketing a company. This means you’re responsible for providing quick, friendly customer service through accurate processing of orders, communication (answering general inquiries like pricing, products, scheduling), and coordinating with other departments to resolve inquires answering customers questions. The main goal is to build and maintain a business relationship with clients so as to promote customer loyalty.

A Typical Day for a Customer Service Employee

The typical day for a customer service employee varies depending upon what field they’re in. Generally they work 8-5 and spend most of their time discussing with customers via e-mail, online chat, or phone: answering questions, or guiding them through the purchase process. You might also get together with other departments to talk about implementing changes due to the feedback they’re getting from customers. Another task you could encounter is updating the company’s FAQs. In addition you might spend some time logging your interactions.

Salary and Career Progression in Customer Service

On average, customer support representatives make between $22,000-$39,365 in their first year. Beyond that you can go on to become an Administrative Assistant ($21,000-$43,000), a Senior Customer Service Representative ($24,000-$53,000), or a Customer Service Supervisor ($21,000-$57,000).

Best Locations for Customer Service Employees

Here are some hot spots for customer service employees:

  • Irvine, California
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Torrance, California
  • Madison, Wisconsin
  • New York, New York
  • Seattle, Washington
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Atlanta, Georgia
  • Baltimore, Maryland
  • Houston, Texas
  • Baltimore, Maryland

Pros and Cons of Being a Customer Service Employee

Pros
  • Each day brings new experiences or challenges
  • Directly helping people
  • Can work across a number of industries
Cons
  • Unpredictable work flow
  • Need patience, as you might answer the same question multiple times
  • Relatively low pay

What You Need to Know for a Career in Customer Service

To be in customer service you generally need a high school diploma. Beyond that it’s important you have great listening and communication skills.

Customer Service Resources

If customer service still sounds like your cup of tea, here are a few things you should do to get started.

Required Reading

Blogs and Websites

Networking Opportunities

Careers Related to Customer Service

Displaying 1-10 of 8,982 results.
Data Entry Clerk Work From Home - Part-Time Focus Group Participants ($750/Week)
Apex Focus Group Ashburn, VA
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Amazon Customer Service - Work From Home $16-$35/hr
Amazon Herndon, VA
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Be your Own Boss - Shop and Deliver
Instacart Ashburn, VA
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Amazon Customer Service - United States - Work From Home
Amazon Herndon, VA
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Be your Own Boss - Shop and Deliver
Instacart Ashburn, VA
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Patient Service Representative
Patient First Sterling, VA
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Full-Time Store Associate
ALDI Sterling, VA
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Data Entry Clerk Work From Home - Part Time Focus Group Panelists - Est. $19.00-$29.00/hr
Apex Focus Group Washington, DC
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Nanny Needed For My Children
Care.com Ashburn, VA
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Nanny Needed For My Children
Care.com Ashburn, VA
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Companies with Entry Level Jobs and Internships in Customer Service

Utilidata Logo

Utilidata - Utilidata is a Providence, RI based company that helps electric utilities be more efficient "through the use of new data extraction and digital processing techniques."

See the complete Utilidata profile


Sprout Social Logo

Sprout Social - Sprout Social is a Chicago, IL based company that offers “a management and egnagement platform for social business.”

See the complete Sprout Social profile


ListenLogic Logo

ListenLogic - ListenLogic is a Conshohocken, PA based company that extracts “insights from unstructured big data to drive business outcomes.”

See the complete ListenLogic profile


Chute Logo

Chute - Chute is based in SF and has developed a “visual content engine for brands” that makes “it easy to keep pace with your customers and create compelling, fresh content."

See the complete Chute profile


GuideSpark Logo

GuideSpark - GuideSpark is a Menlo Park, CA based company that offers a “robust employee communications platform” to make HR's job easier.

See the complete GuideSpark profile


AptDeco Logo

AptDeco - AptDeco is a New York, NY based startup that allows you “to buy or sell furniture without the scams, hassle, or creepy people going into your apartment.”

See the complete AptDeco profile


Huckberry Logo

Huckberry - Huckberry is a San Francisco, CA based company that “is like your favorite store, your grandpa’s favorite store, and your favorite magazine all rolled into one.”

See the complete Huckberry profile


Kanjoya Logo

Kanjoya - Kanjoya is a San Francisco, CA based company that transforms “emotional insights into remarkable customer experiences” by analyzing unstructured data in real time.

See the complete Kanjoya profile


eponym Logo

eponym - eponym is a company based in Brooklyn, NY that helps "the world’s most exciting brands create and distribute their own eyewear.”

See the complete eponym profile


Kitchensurfing Logo

Kitchensurfing - Kitchensurfing is an NYC based company that matches “up chefs and people who need a cook at high and low price points and for a variety of types of engagements."

See the complete Kitchensurfing profile


RelayRides Logo

RelayRides - RelayRides is a San Francisco, CA based company that connects “vehicle owners whose cars would otherwise be idle with people who need a car.”

See the complete RelayRides profile


Disruptor Beam Logo

Disruptor Beam - Disruptor Beam is a Framingham, MA based company that is aiming “to create the most fan-centric game company in the world.”

See the complete Disruptor Beam profile


ZenPayroll Logo

ZenPayroll - ZenPayroll is a San Francisco, CA based company that has created “the easiest way to pay your employees.”

See the complete ZenPayroll profile


UpOut Logo

UpOut - UpOut is a San Francisco, CA based company that “is changing how locals discover unique events in their city.”

See the complete UpOut profile


Course Hero Logo

Course Hero - Course Hero is a Redwood City, CA based company that “provides a suite of digital educational resources that help you learn as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

See the complete Course Hero profile


MOO Logo

MOO - MOO is an East Providence, RI based company that loves to print. They’ve even invented a word to describe what they do: “printfinity.”

See the complete MOO profile


TiqIQ Logo

TiqIQ - TiqIQ is based in New York, NY, and they aim “to make buying event tickets more transparent, efficient, and simpler.”

See the complete TiqIQ profile


Blinds.com Logo

Blinds.com - Blinds.com is a Houston, TX based company that is “the world’s largest online window covering store.”

See the complete Blinds.com profile


Xamarin Logo

Xamarin - Xamarin is a San Francisco, CA based company allows developers to write “apps entirely in C#, sharing the same code on iOS, Android, Windows and Mac.”

See the complete Xamarin profile


Hayneedle Logo

Hayneedle - Hayneedle is based in Omaha, NE and “has become one of the nation’s largest online retailers, offering more than 3,000 brands and nearly 2 million products for the home.”

See the complete Hayneedle profile


Tradesy Logo

Tradesy - Tradesy is a Santa Monica, CA based marketplace for new and gently used fashion that can “turn your closet into cash.”

See the complete Tradesy profile


RevTrax Logo

RevTrax - RevTrax is a New York, NY based company that is taking a more modern approach to using coupons to track customer behavior.

See the complete RevTrax profile


RealMassive Logo

RealMassive - RealMassive is an Austin, TX based startup that has developed the “first-ever source of real-time commercial real estate information.”

See the complete RealMassive profile


Emmi Solutions Logo

Emmi Solutions - Emmi Solutions is a Chicago based healthcare communications company that has developed “interactive solutions to achieve meaningful business and clinical outcomes.”

See the complete Emmi Solutions profile


Liferay Logo

Liferay - Liferay is a Diamond Bar, CA based company that helps clients “build modern websites and portals to engage customers, partners, and employees.”

See the complete Liferay profile


K2M Logo

K2M - K2M is based in Leesburg, VA and develops “technological innovations which enable surgeons to more effectively treat the world’s most complex spinal disorders.”

See the complete K2M profile


Clever Logo

Clever - Clever is a San Francisco, CA whose software syncs "with your school’s student information system to provide an amazing experience for teachers and students.”

See the complete Clever profile


Rover Logo

Rover - Rover is a Seattle, WA based company that has built a “community for dog lovers to connect owners with sitters for home dog stays.”

See the complete Rover profile


REVOLVE Logo

REVOLVE - REVOLVE is based in Cerritos, CA and is the “virtual home for an unrivaled collection of the world’s most coveted brands.”

See the complete REVOLVE profile


Shapeways Logo

Shapeways - Shapeways is a New York, NY based company that has built “the world’s leading 3D Printing marketplace and community.”

See the complete Shapeways profile


General Assembly Logo

General Assembly - General Assembly is based in NYC and is “offering full-time immersive programs, long-form courses, and classes and workshops on the most relevant skills of the 21st century.”

See the complete General Assembly profile


Limeade Logo

Limeade - Limeade is a Bellevue, WA based company that is aiming to “measurably improve well-being in the world through happy, healthy, high-performing workforces.”

See the complete Limeade profile


Kids II Logo

Kids II - Kids II is based in Atlanta, GA and has “been inventing and reinventing baby toys and gear for over 40 years.”

See the complete Kids II profile


Vitamix Logo

Vitamix - Vitamix is an Olmsted, OH company that is “improving the vitality of people’s lives and liberating the world from conventional food and beverage preparation boundaries.”

See the complete Vitamix profile


Relias Learning Logo

Relias Learning - Relias Learning is based in Cary, NC and offers “online training to senior care, health and human services, corrections, and intellectual and developmental disabilities organizations.”

See the complete Relias Learning profile


Hanley Wood Logo

Hanley Wood - Washington, DC based Hanley Wood is “the premier media, event, information and strategic marketing services company serving the residential and commercial design and construction industries.”

See the complete Hanley Wood profile


Gumroad Logo

Gumroad - Gumroad is a San Francisco, CA, and they “help millions of creators earn their livings in an interesting, authentic way.”

See the complete Gumroad profile


Invoca Logo

Invoca - Invoca is a Santa Barbara, CA based company whose "marketing tools empower you to generate better leads, higher conversions, smarter spends and greater revenue.”

See the complete Invoca profile


MINDBODY Logo

MINDBODY - MINDBODY is a San Luis Obispo, CA based company that believes that “small business owners deserve the time to do what they love.”

See the complete MINDBODY profile


GuideStar Logo

GuideStar - GuideStar is a Williamsburg, VA based organization that aims to “revolutionize philanthropy by providing information that advances transparency."

See the complete GuideStar profile


Arc'teryx Logo

Arc’teryx - Arc'teryx is a Vancouver, BC based company that merges “unrivaled designs with the best quality, highest performing materials" to keep you warm.

See the complete Arc’teryx profile


Lyft Logo

Lyft - Lyft is a San Francisco, CA based company that offers “on-demand ridesharing” in nearly 20 cities across the country.

See the complete Lyft profile


Munchery Logo

Munchery - Munchery is a San Francisco, CA based company that offers wholesome dinners prepared by top chefs delivered to your door for a reasonable price.

See the complete Munchery profile


ShopHQ Logo

ShopHQ - ShopHQ, based in Eden Prairie, MN, creates “the ultimate interactive shopping experience by uniting live TV, online and mobile shopping opportunities with social media engagement."

See the complete ShopHQ profile


Homejoy Logo

Homejoy - Homejoy is a San Francisco, CA based company that makes “cleaning services available to a broad audience, rather than a luxury for the rich.”

See the complete Homejoy profile


Causes Logo

Causes - Causes is an SF based company that wants to be the place that people go to when they want to “discover, support and organize campaigns, fundraisers, and petitions."

See the complete Causes profile


Instacart Logo

Instacart - Instacart is a San Francisco, CA based startup that offers personal grocery shopping/delivery in a growing number of markets (Chicago and the Bay Area now).

See the complete Instacart profile


GiveGab Logo

GiveGab - GiveGab is an Ithaca, NY based company that has built a “social network for volunteers and volunteer managers.”

See the complete GiveGab profile


Oscar Logo

Oscar - Oscar is a New York, NY based startup that dubs itself “a new kind of health insurance company that is using technology to make insurance simple, intuitive, and human.”

See the complete Oscar profile


Lilly Pulitzer Logo

Lilly Pulitzer - Lilly Pulitzer is a King of Prussia, PA based fashion brand and retailer that is known for its over the top, colorful prints.

See the complete Lilly Pulitzer profile


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