Do you have excellent communication and people skills? If yes, then you can work from home as a customer service agent and make a lot of money. Below is a detailed guide to help you get started. Due to the global economic recession, most businesses are adopting various strategies to reduce their expenses. One of such strategies is hiring remotely located customer service agents in place of in-house support staff.
This help companies save the cost of extra office space and creates opportunities for individuals willing to work from their homes. If you love helping people solve their problems and have been looking for a good work from home opportunity, then working from home as a customer service agent might be the best option for you. Many businesses than you can ever imagine have their customer support staff working from remote locations.
And these companies would be willing to hire you, provided that you meet their employment or contract requirements. While employment requirements may vary between employers, there are some basic requirements you must meet and steps you must take to work as a work-from-home customer service agent. First, let’s discuss the requirements.
6 Requirements You Need to Work from Home as a Customer Service Agent
1. A high school certificate
Though some employers may require advanced academic qualifications, the typical educational requirement for customer service agents is a high school diploma or GED. This varies from country to country, though.
2. Effective communication skills
Because their job is to communicate with customers in order to answer their questions and solve their problems, customer service agents must be able to communicate clearly and professionally through various media such as phone, email, and in-person. If you are not a fluent speaker, you may have problems breaking into this career path.
3. Experience
Although most employers would train you briefly on the job, having some prior experience working in a similar capacity would prepare you for work as a work-from-home customer service agent. If you have worked in a retail position that requires meeting the needs of customers, processing sales, and dealing with customer complaints and problems, you would be a very good candidate that any employer would want to hire.
Similarly, if you have worked as a waiter or in a related position, you would have learned how to listen to customers and give them what they want. If you have no prior work experience in a position that requires correspondence with customers, you may not be able to perform your roles well as a customer service agent. And for this reason, most employers won’t hire you. A good way to scale this hurdle is to take up a job that involves customer relations for few months.
4. Marketing skills
Even though marketing may not be your primary role as a customer service agent, you must have some marketing skills. Sometimes, you will be required to help customers make well-informed decisions regarding products and services offered by your employer. And you will also need to make helpful recommendations to them.
5. Conflict resolution skills
To work as a customer service agent, you will need to be a patient problem-solver. You will need to be a very good listener as well, because you need to understand the customer’s problem before you can proffer lasting solutions.
So it is important that you learn and practice how to interact with everyone in a calm and friendly manner, regardless of the situation. Many times, you will talk with angry, rude, and irrational customers. Irrespective of their conduct, you must remain professional and diplomatic.
6. Equipment
You will need a personal computer, a reliable internet connection, and an active phone line. If you live in a country where electric power supply is erratic, you will need an alternate source of power such as a solar powered inverter. If you have all these requirements, then you are good to go. Now, let’s discuss the steps to take in order to get a job as a customer service agent.
How to Work from Home as a Customer Service Agent
1. Write your resume
Craft a compelling resume that reflects your skills and experience. You should include any positions that you have worked in that required you to deal with customers, answer their questions, and solve their problems.
You should keep your resume concise but impressive. Remove all unnecessary details that are not relevant to the position of a customer service agent. And include every piece of information suggesting that you’d be an asset to the employer.
2. Search for job vacancies
There are many ways to find job vacancies. Some of them are listed below:
- Visit job websites such as CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com, Simplyhired.com or any other website that lists job vacancies around you.
- Visit companies located around you and ask if there are vacant positions for work-from-home customer service agents.
- Visit forums and online communities and network with people who may know of job opportunities.