Customer service calling

If you like helping people, solving problems, working at a fast pace and multitasking, then you may find that customer service is the right career for you.

Major employers of customer service representatives include banks, insurance companies and call centers, according to iseek.org, the state's online career, education and job resources. Typical job titles include account manager, account service representative, claims service representative and member services representative.

Customer service representative ranks among the 50 careers expected to add the most jobs by 2019, according to projections from the state Department of Employment and Economic Development. Employers are projected to hire some 1,800 customer service representatives a year between 2009 and 2019. Roughly 39,000 such jobs are on Minnesota employers' payrolls today.

Customer service representative jobs typically are entry-level positions, which may or may not require a college degree, according to iseek. Employers look for candidates with good communication skills, both verbal and written, and may also prefer applicants with good computer skills and the ability to learn applications quickly.

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At Wells Fargo, Michelle Olsen, Minneapolis-based district recruiting manager for retail banking, said previous customer service experience is important for applicants in banker and teller positions. The bank took on 56,000 retail hires - mostly bankers and tellers - last year nationally. With training and in some cases additional education, customer service representatives have opportunities to gain promotions within the company.

"We're looking for folks who have worked in food service, hospitality or retail stores, because they have that experience of working with customers day to day," Olsen said. "We look for folks who love to do that, working with customers in all the various situations they may encounter."

Customer service is an element of every job at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a not-for-profit financial services organization in Minneapolis. Thrivent, which offers products such as life insurance and mutual funds, has 300 dedicated customer service representatives working at a call center in Appleton, Wis., handling inquiries both from field staff and from members or customers.

In most cases, a college degree and prior financial services or customer service experience is preferred, said Nancy Rietveld, director of Thrivent's member interaction center. Some positions require securities licenses at the time of hire or the ability to get a license within a certain time. Applicants typically visit the call center to speak to working representatives, to see what their day is like and what kinds of calls they take.