Applying in customer service: find jobs, prepare your documents

Customer service in Switzerland: roles and qualifications

Customer service is a wide field. Similar job titles hide very different tasks: taking calls, handling orders and complaints, closing contracts, solving technical problems or calling customers yourself. So read the job ad carefully to see which role is meant, and use the same term in your letter.

There is dedicated basic training for the job, but many positions are also open to people from other fields, such as office work (KV), retail, hospitality or tourism. The most important levels:

• Customer dialogue specialist EFZ (Fachfrau or Fachmann Kundendialog EFZ, Swiss federal VET diploma): a three-year apprenticeship. Graduates advise customers in two national languages and English across different channels.
• Customer adviser, customer service agent, customer service employee: common job titles, often open to career changers with experience in customer contact.
• Technical support (first and second level): customer service focusing on devices, software or connections.
• Inbound and outbound: inbound means you take enquiries; outbound means you make the calls yourself, for example for surveys, booking appointments or sales.
• Customer service team leader BP (Teamleiterin or Teamleiter Kundenservice BP): a professional examination for the step into leading a team.

Languages, channels and shift work

In customer service, languages are often the decisive criterion, especially in multilingual Switzerland. In your CV, state the level for each language according to the Common European Framework of Reference (A1 to C2), not just “good knowledge”. If you have a language diploma, mention it. But more important than the paper is whether you can handle a complaint calmly and clearly in that language on the phone. Do not overestimate yourself: the language is often tested directly in the interview.

Also name the channels you have already worked on. The phone requires quick reactions and a friendly voice, chat means handling several conversations at once, email calls for careful wording without mistakes. If you know all three, you can be deployed flexibly.

Many customer services are available at off-peak hours, in the evening, on Saturdays or around the clock. Readiness for irregular working hours is one of the typical requirements. State clearly which hours are possible for you and which workload you are looking for. That helps with shift planning and makes you easy to plan with.

Where customer service jobs are advertised

Customer service departments exist at banks and insurance companies, telecoms providers, energy and transport companies, health insurers, online retailers and department stores, public services and specialised contact centre companies that run customer service for other businesses. If you work for such a company, you often look after the customers of one client and get to know its products thoroughly.

You find the job ads on the big job portals, in the Job-Room of arbeit.swiss, on cantonal job boards and on company career pages. Temp agencies often place people in customer service, especially for seasonal peaks or projects. Search terms that pay off: “Kundenberater”, “Kundendienst”, “Customer Service”, “Contact Center”, “Kundensupport” and “Hotline”, each combined with your languages, such as “Kundendienst Deutsch Französisch”.

What belongs in your application file in customer service

In customer service, a clean file without mistakes is already a work sample in itself. If you are going to communicate with customers in writing, you will be judged by your cover letter.

• Cover letter, one page, tailored to the job and the languages required.
• CV with language levels, channels (phone, chat, email) and the systems you know.
• Arbeitszeugnis (Swiss reference letter), especially those that describe customer contact, resilience and friendliness.
• Language diplomas, if you have them.
• Final certificate of your basic training; for career changers, also courses in conversation skills or sales.
• Knowledge of CRM and ticketing systems: name the system if you know it, and add what you did in it, such as logging cases, scheduling callbacks or adjusting contracts.

The cover letter in customer service: four points that count

Many letters in customer service start with the sentence that you are communicative and enjoy working with people. The reader believes you straight away, but it does not set you apart. Better to show it with proof:

• Your languages with level in the first paragraph, especially the ones in the job ad.
• The channels and the types of enquiries you know: orders, billing questions, complaints, technical faults.
• A situation you handled well, for example an angry customer who was satisfied by the end of the call, and what you did to get there.
• Your availability: workload, evening and Saturday shifts, shift work.

Phone interview, role play and trial day

In customer service, the selection process often starts with a short call. That is no coincidence: the company hears how you sound on the phone before inviting you. Take the call in a quiet place, speak clearly and have the job ad in front of you. Expect part of the conversation to be held in another language if the job ad asks for it.

The interview is often followed by a role play: you take a complaint or explain an invoice to a customer. Listen first, sum up the request in your own words, and then offer a solution or a clear next step. Some companies invite you to a trial day where you listen in with experienced colleagues. Ask there about the induction, the systems and how shifts are planned.