How to hire a Customer Service Advocate

How to hire a customer service advocate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step customer service advocate hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a customer service advocate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new customer service advocate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a Customer Service Advocate do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the customer service advocate you need to hire. Certain customer service advocate roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A customer service advocate's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, customer service advocates from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents customer service advocate salaries for various positions.

   Type Of Customer Service Advocate	Description	Hourly Rate
   Customer Service Advocate	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$12-18
   Bilingual Customer Service	In bilingual customer service, a representative specializes in responding to calls using English or another foreign language that the customer prefers. Among their primary responsibilities include assisting customers and addressing any inquiries, concerns, or issues that they may raise... Show More	$12-18
   Customer Service Professional	A customer service professional is responsible for providing the highest customer service by responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns, resolving complaints, and updating the customers of goods and services for generating revenues and profitability to the company. Customer service professionals process order transactions, administering payment plans and adjusting service features in meeting customers' needs... Show More	$12-40

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Strong Customer Service
   • Social Work
   • Appointment Scheduling
   • Compassion
   • Phone Calls
   • Health Insurance
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Medical Terminology
   • Health Plan Benefits
   • Customer Service Inquires
   • Outbound Calls
   • Medical Claims
   • Customer Complaints
   • Customer Accounts

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and motivate VAS teams to achieve KPI, s assign by management.
   • Continue to manage a high volume of customer calls relate to HMO, PPO and POS concerns.
   • Manage all customer inquiries through phone calls and emails and ensure appropriate assistance in compliance with company policies and procedures.
   • Help create and edit HTML coding to fit customer requests.
   • Conduct wine and food tastings on-site to boost brand knowledge while consistentlyexceeding sales goals.
   • Assist customer's with editing their business websites and coaching the basics in HTML.

   More Customer Service Advocate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the customer service advocate job description is a good way to get more applicants. A customer service advocate salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a customer service advocate in Mississippi may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level customer service advocate. Additionally, a customer service advocate with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average customer service advocate salary

   $15.87hourly

   $33,000 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level customer service advocate salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated March 28, 2025

   Average customer service advocate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	Massachusetts	$41,293	$20
   2	Washington	$39,391	$19
   3	Minnesota	$38,280	$18
   4	New York	$36,516	$18
   5	Connecticut	$36,242	$17
   6	California	$36,213	$17
   7	Nebraska	$35,943	$17
   8	Texas	$33,732	$16
   9	Ohio	$33,350	$16
   10	Colorado	$33,329	$16
   11	New Mexico	$33,322	$16
   12	Arizona	$33,153	$16
   13	Pennsylvania	$33,120	$16
   14	Missouri	$32,749	$16
   15	Michigan	$32,572	$16
   16	Tennessee	$32,559	$16
   17	Indiana	$32,195	$15
   18	North Carolina	$32,112	$15
   19	Utah	$31,965	$15
   20	Nevada	$31,857	$15

   Average customer service advocate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Committee for Public Counsel Services	$45,059	$21.66	2
   2	Baker Hughes	$39,949	$19.21
   3	Bassett Furniture Industries	$38,209	$18.37	2
   4	Catholic Community Services of Utah	$38,132	$18.33
   5	New York Life Insurance	$37,959	$18.25	3
   6	PerkinElmer	$37,942	$18.24	2
   7	Bausch + Lomb	$37,048	$17.81	10
   8	ADA-ES	$36,435	$17.52
   9	Volunteers of America, Utah	$36,432	$17.52	4
   10	Johnson Controls	$36,203	$17.41	39
   11	Global Payments	$36,110	$17.36	8
   12	Nelnet	$36,074	$17.34	11
   13	TechLink Services	$35,952	$17.28
   14	Catholic Community Services of Lane County	$35,720	$17.17
   15	Safelite AutoGlass	$35,600	$17.12	263
   16	UMiami Health System	$35,342	$16.99
   17	Uline	$35,265	$16.95	37
   18	AAA Life Insurance	$35,144	$16.90	1
   19	Aetna	$35,091	$16.87	4
   20	Marietta Drapery	$35,006	$16.83

4. Writing a Customer Service Advocate Job Description

   A customer service advocate job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a customer service advocate job description:

   Customer Service Advocate job description example

   The Account Service Advocate is responsible for successfully coordinating and installing the Computer Vehicle Registration (CVR) products into new and existing clients in our Southeastern Massachusetts Territory preferably Norfolk, Bristol, or Plymouth County. Additionally responsible for providing training and ongoing support to increase transaction volume, driving CVR revenue through customer process and product satisfaction, seeking out untapped revenue potential with existing customers, and conveying CVR value to our customers' management.
   
   Demonstrate, and apply on a daily basis, a solid knowledge of coordinating a successful pre-install meeting, scheduling and conducting installs, independently and in a timely manner with complete client satisfaction.
   
   Exhibit ability to clearly and tactfully articulate CVR value and opportunity for existing and potential customers. Integrate work and communications with CVR Territory Managers to ensure all opportunities can be seized to enhance CVR revenue.
   Provide initial user training and retraining as requested by client.
   Demonstrate the ability to interface directly with the State DMV
   Provide on-going customer support by visiting each client on a regular basis, to be defined by management.
   Consistently demonstrate ability to analyze client volume, seek out untapped CVR revenue opportunity, present CVR value to key customer stakeholders, and overcome objections to increasing EVR volume.
   Maintain frequent communication with Territory Manager (Sales) to maximize utilization by paying attention to individual client needs and/or the reason they contracted CVR for business.
   Initiate, foster and grow relationships with key client representatives through frequent proactive contact.
   Ensure revenue-generating opportunities are acted upon with urgency, being resourceful to find and implement best practices.
   Display professional, enthusiastic, and ethical attitude when dealing with client, associates and management.
   Complete required reports in a timely and accurate manner as required by the Regional Director of Operations.
   Prepare for, participate in, or lead both internal and customer-facing meetings and training sessions as required. These may be with General Managers and/or Dealer Principal, or other executives of CVR customers or State agencies.
   Maintain and grow industry network of key contacts to mine competitive accounts for handoff to Sales team.
   PC hardware and software proficiency is required, including Microsoft Office proficiency, Windows operating systems, and light networking
   Expertise of CVR's integration products, including but not limited to, Dealer Management System extract data-mapping, CVR Journal Express accounting Interface installation/configuration/operation, and the initial installation/configuration of CVR's integration products on the Dealer Management System screens is a plus.
   Be well organized and ensure all CVR/CDK accounts and internet-logons are maintained daily.
   
   Required Skills/Abilities:
   
   PC hardware and software proficiency is required, including Microsoft Office proficiency, Windows operating systems, and light networking
   Demonstrate salesmanship and the ability to influence and overcome objections while increasing client confidence.
   Be well organized and ensure all CVR/CDK accounts and internet-logons are maintained daily.
   1-3 years of Industry/Dealership knowledge highly desirable
   Communicates effectively (both oral and written), clearly, concisely and timely to enhance training experience of users
   Time management; efficient utilization of time and ability to prioritize
   Ability to communicate at all levels of an Automobile Dealership
   Takes responsibility for the outcome of assigned duties and installs.
   75% travel to meet with customers and business partners Provide on-going customer support by visiting each client on a regular basis, to be defined by management. At CDK, we believe inclusion and diversity are essential in inspiring meaningful connections to our people, customers and communities. We are open, curious and encourage different views, so that everyone can be their best selves and make an impact. CDK is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating an inclusive workforce where everyone is valued. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, creed or religion, age, disability (including pregnancy), results of genetic testing, service in the military, veteran status or any other category protected by law. Applicants for employment in the US must be authorized to work in the US. CDK may offer employer visa sponsorship to applicants.

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find customer service advocates for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your customer service advocate job on Zippia to find and recruit customer service advocate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting customer service advocates requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new customer service advocate

   Once you have selected a candidate for the customer service advocate position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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