SNAPSHOT:

CUSTOMER

SERVICE U.S. Job Candidates

Brought to you by Monster Intelligence

October 2011

CUSTOMER SERVICE FOOTPRINT:

More than 1.1 million job seekers have

public resumes for employers to view

on Monster

EVERY MONTH in the U.S.:

Candidates viewed Customer Service

jobs 2.9 million times on Monster.com

Candidates responded to Customer

Service jobs nearly 576,400 times on

Monster.com

37,100 new Customer Service

resumes are added to Monster.com

Customer Service | Market Conditions

Customer Service Employment Trends

MONSTER EMPLOYMENT INDEX

Copyright © 2011 by Monster, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of

Monster, Inc.

2

Top Keywords/Titles Searched*

Top Skills and Certificates

Customer Service Employment Forecasts (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook

Handbook, 2010-2011)

There are 2.3 million customer service

representatives in the U.S.; they are

forecasted to grow a strong 18% and add

nearly 400,000 roles in the 2008-18 decade.

This makes customer service representatives

the third fastest growing U.S. occupation in

terms of the number of new jobs.

The strong growth in customer service

representatives is partly due to the increased

emphasis on building strong customer

relationships, as well as the typically high

percentage of turnovers.

Bilingual candidates should find excellent

opportunities in this occupation.

Representatives are especially concentrated in

the finance and insurance industry.

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

90

95

100

105

110

115

S-1

0

O-1

0

N-1

0

D-1

0

J-1

1

F-1

1

M-1

1

A-1

1

M-1

1

J-1

1

J-1

1

A-1

1

S-1

1

Index YoY Change

The Office and Administrative MEI, which tracks

U.S. online recruitment activity for administrative

occupations including customer service reps, had

a weak start to 2011 but recovered in March and

has since been positive.

(Source: Monster Employment Index (MEI):

http://www.about-monster.com/employment/index/15)

(Source: Monster Internal Data, 12-month average,

Oct ‘10 – Sep ‘11)

29%

20%

19%

10%

22%

Call Center

Retail

Finance/Banking

Technical

Other CS Related

1. CS

2. CS Representative

3. Call Center

4. CS Manager

5. Customer Support

6. Customer Relations

7. CS Operations

8. Healthcare CS

9. CS Management

10. CS Operations

1. Microsoft Products

2. Customer Service

3. Typing

4. Data Entry

5. Lotus Notes

6. Bilingual – Spanish

7. Bilingual

8. 10-Key

9. Word Perfect

10. Management

*The following words were abbreviated from Customer Service

to CS

Customer Service | Seeker Demographics

Post Grad 3% 4 Year

Degree 17%

2 Year Degree/ Some

College 44%

Cert/Voc Training

7%

High School

29%

3

Education Level Career Level

Exec 1%

Manager 26%

Mid-Career

46%

Entry-Level 14%

Student 13%

16%

14%

12%

17%

25%

10%

6%

15+ Years

10+ to 15 Years

7+ to 10 Years

5+ to 7 Years

2+ to 5 Years

1+ to 2 Years

Less than 1 year

Experience Level

• 44% have a two-year

degree or some college

experience

• 46% are Mid-Career

• Only 30% have 10 or

more years of experience

• Expect to earn a median

of $45,000 per year

Copyright © 2011 by Monster, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of

Monster, Inc.

Monster’s Customer Service

Candidates…

Customer Service | Geography

4

The highest volume of Customer Service resumes are found in California, Texas and

Florida. Reviewing the available talent on Monster per workforce volumes shows the

states with the most active Customer Service resumes; these states included California,

Ohio, New Jersey, Washington, Nevada and Maryland. Opportunities to obtain Customer

Service candidates may be less competitive in these areas.

Highest Volume of Available Customer Service Resumes

7%

7%

5%

4%

4%

3%

3%

2%

2%

2%

Los Angeles

New York

Dallas

Atlanta

Chicago

Philadelphia

Houston

Boston

Tampa

San Francisco

Top 10 US Markets

Copyright © 2011 by Monster, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of

Monster, Inc.

13%

11%

8%

5%

5%

5%

4%

4%

3%

3%

California

Texas

Florida

New York

Ohio

Georgia

Illinois

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

North Carolina

Top 10 US States

5

Customer Service | Best Practices

In a recent Monster survey of more than 210 Customer Service professionals, respondents

were asked several questions about how they evaluate a potential job opportunity.

The responses reveal the importance of writing a concise and accurate job description. A

well-written job posting will ideally lead to a more relevant pool of candidates.

Respondents were asked about facets

most important to job satisfaction.

Customer Service professionals noted the

essential features included:

1. Job Security

2. Salary

3. Benefits

4. Feeling Safe

5. Teamwork

Include criteria which are viewed as

essential to job seekers within a job

posting in order to attract the most

preferred candidates.

Customer Service professionals were asked

about their biggest frustrations, if any, with

advertised Customer Service jobs. The

greatest frustrations included:

1. Lack of response from employers

2. Vague job descriptions

3. Omission of key criteria

Create and maintain communication

channels to help foster a positive image

and attract more applicants in the future.

Eliminate potential recruiting barriers

that job seekers/candidates’ indicate are

their biggest frustrations.

Respondents evaluated the structure of

online job postings in order of importance:

1. Job Description/About the Job

2. Responsibilities

3. Qualifications

4. Compensation

5. Company Description

6. Benefit Summary

7. Job Title

8. Company Name/Logo

To make the highest impact, establish

consistent procedures to include content

most important to job seekers.

Customer Service respondents assessed

factors most important for success in today’s

workforce. Qualifications most important

included:

1. Adaptability

2. Enthusiasm

3. Skills and Expertise

4. Work Experience

5. Career Development

Include information and attributes that

job seekers deem important so that they

can fairly evaluate opportunities.

Copyright © 2011 by Monster, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of

Monster, Inc.

Customer Service | Want to Learn More?

The information included in this snapshot is a fraction of the information

Monster collects. Monster partners with thousands of companies around

the globe that use Monster Intelligence data and insights to help with

strategic HR decision-making from Talent Availability to Site Selection.

Please see our Job Conditions Reports for a more in-depth look at:

> Market Conditions:

An analysis of the industry, recruiting trends, and hiring conditions

> Hiring Talent:

A look at talent, including their desired occupations; skills, career, education and

experience level; national concentration; and current job search conditions

> Supply and Demand Analysis:

A comparison of talent supply and talent demand across numerous elements,

helping recruiters to identify opportunity and challenge areas; analysis includes

occupations, job/resume requirements, qualifications, and compensation

To access a full line of research visit the Monster Resource Center at: http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/market-intelligence.aspx

6

To find out more about

Monster Intelligence, contact your

Monster Representative at

1-800-MONSTER ext. 6333 or

email: intelligence@monster.com

Monster is the primary source of information for this report;

it should only be interpreted as a definitive activity report on

Monster and its subsidiaries.

Monster Intelligence offers a number of free reports and webinars that

provide relevant insights into the vital issues organizations face today

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