Customer Service Advisor CV example and ATS keywords

Keywords employers screen customer service advisor CVs for

Most employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) that look for the words in their job advert. Use the ones that are true for you, in your skills section and in your experience. Always check the advert itself too, because each employer words things slightly differently.

Skills

• Inbound calls
• Outbound calls
• Live chat
• Email support
• Complaint handling
• De-escalation
• First contact resolution
• CSAT
• Average handle time
• CRM
• Salesforce
• Zendesk
• Upselling

Qualifications and checks

• Level 2 or 3 Customer Service
• GDPR awareness
• Typing speed (wpm)

Personal qualities

• Empathetic
• Patient
• Resilient
• Clear communicator
• Problem solver

Example customer service advisor personal statement

Your personal statement (or profile) sits at the top of your CV. Keep it to 3 or 4 sentences: who you are, your experience, your strongest skills and what you're looking for. Make it your own: these examples show the shape, not words to copy.

Example experience bullet points

Start each bullet with an action verb and add a number wherever you can. Recruiters remember results, not duties.

• Handled 60+ inbound calls and live chats a day, consistently meeting average handle time targets.
• Achieved a 92% CSAT score over 12 months, above the team average of 85%.
• Resolved 80% of queries on first contact by learning billing and account processes in depth.
• De-escalated complaints and logged them in Salesforce, reducing escalations to team leaders by 20%.
• Mentored 4 new advisors through their first month on the phones.

Mistakes that get customer service advisor CVs rejected

• No metrics. Contact centres love numbers: calls a day, CSAT, NPS, first contact resolution, handle time.
• Not naming channels: phone, live chat, email, social media.
• Forgetting the systems you used (Salesforce, Zendesk, Genesys and so on).

How to lay out your customer service advisor CV

1. Contact details: name, phone, email, town and (optionally) LinkedIn. No photo or date of birth needed in the UK.
2. Personal statement: 3 or 4 sentences, like the examples above.
3. Key skills: 6 to 10 skills from the keyword lists that are true for you.
4. Experience: most recent job first, with 3 to 5 bullet points each.
5. Education and training: qualifications, certificates and checks.

Use one column, standard headings and no tables, text boxes or graphics, so applicant tracking systems can read every word. Save it as a Word file unless the advert asks for a PDF.