Overview
All Call, Contact Centre & Customer Service Managers
-
$1,756 Weekly Pay
-
Decline Future Growth
-
30,000 workers Employment Size
-
High skill Skill level rating
-
90% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
44 hours Average full-time
-
41 years Average age
-
44% female Gender Share
Call or Contact Centre and Customer Service Managers organise and control the operations of call or contact centres, review customer services, and maintain sound customer relations.
You usually need call centre or customer service experience to work as a Call, Contact Centre or Customer Service Manager. Formal qualifications might be useful but aren't essential. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Tasks
- developing and reviewing policies, programs and procedures concerning customer relations and goods and services provided
- ensuring operational efficiency within a call centre
- providing direction and feedback to team members and assisting with recruitment
- managing, motivating and developing staff providing customer services
- planning and implementing after-sales services to follow up customer satisfaction, ensure performance of goods purchased, and modify and improve services provided
- liaising with other organisational units, service agents and customers to identify and respond to customer expectations
- may work in a call centre
Prospects
The number of people working as Call, Contact Centre & Customer Service Managers (in their main job) fell over 5 years:
from 31,600 in 2014 to 30,000 in 2019.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a large occupation.
- Location: Call, Contact Centre & Customer Service Managers work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: They work in many industries such as Retail Trade; Financial and Insurance Services; and Other Services.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $1,756 per week (very high compared to the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (90%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 44 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 41 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 44% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Caution: The 2019 employment projections do not take account of any impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore no longer reflective of current labour market conditions. As such, they should be used, and interpreted, with extreme caution. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, National Skills Commission trend data to May 2019 and projections to 2024.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Pathways
You usually need call centre or customer service experience to work as a Call, Contact Centre or Customer Service Manager. Formal qualifications might be useful but aren't essential. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
- ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Retail Services VET training pathways.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for Call, Contact Centre & Customer Service Managers who provide good customer service, can communicate clearly and have strong people skills.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Geography
Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.
-
Foreign language
Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Systems analysis
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
-
Systems evaluation
Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Far vision
See details that are far away.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Mathematics
Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.
-
Memorization
Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Communicating with the public
Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Working with the public
Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.
-
Coaching and developing others
Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Providing office support
Doing day-to-day office work such as filing and processing paperwork.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-4051.00 - Customer Service Representatives.
Work Environment
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Electronic mail
Use electronic mail.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Letters and memos
Write letters and memos.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Angry or unpleasant people
Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Competition
Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-4051.00 - Customer Service Representatives.
All Call, Contact Centre & Customer Service Managers
-
$1,756 Weekly Pay
-
Decline Future Growth
-
30,000 workers Employment Size
-
High skill Skill level rating
-
90% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
44 hours Average full-time
-
41 years Average age
-
44% female Gender Share
Call or Contact Centre and Customer Service Managers organise and control the operations of call or contact centres, review customer services, and maintain sound customer relations.
You usually need call centre or customer service experience to work as a Call, Contact Centre or Customer Service Manager. Formal qualifications might be useful but aren't essential. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Tasks
- developing and reviewing policies, programs and procedures concerning customer relations and goods and services provided
- ensuring operational efficiency within a call centre
- providing direction and feedback to team members and assisting with recruitment
- managing, motivating and developing staff providing customer services
- planning and implementing after-sales services to follow up customer satisfaction, ensure performance of goods purchased, and modify and improve services provided
- liaising with other organisational units, service agents and customers to identify and respond to customer expectations
- may work in a call centre
The number of people working as Call, Contact Centre & Customer Service Managers (in their main job) fell over 5 years:
from 31,600 in 2014 to 30,000 in 2019.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a large occupation.
- Location: Call, Contact Centre & Customer Service Managers work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: They work in many industries such as Retail Trade; Financial and Insurance Services; and Other Services.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $1,756 per week (very high compared to the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (90%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 44 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 41 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 44% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Caution: The 2019 employment projections do not take account of any impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore no longer reflective of current labour market conditions. As such, they should be used, and interpreted, with extreme caution. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, National Skills Commission trend data to May 2019 and projections to 2024.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
You usually need call centre or customer service experience to work as a Call, Contact Centre or Customer Service Manager. Formal qualifications might be useful but aren't essential. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
- ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Retail Services VET training pathways.
Employers look for Call, Contact Centre & Customer Service Managers who provide good customer service, can communicate clearly and have strong people skills.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Geography
Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.
-
Foreign language
Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Systems analysis
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
-
Systems evaluation
Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Far vision
See details that are far away.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Mathematics
Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.
-
Memorization
Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Communicating with the public
Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Working with the public
Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.
-
Coaching and developing others
Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Providing office support
Doing day-to-day office work such as filing and processing paperwork.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-4051.00 - Customer Service Representatives.
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Electronic mail
Use electronic mail.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Letters and memos
Write letters and memos.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Angry or unpleasant people
Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Competition
Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
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Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
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Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
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Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
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Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
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Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
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Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
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Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
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Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
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Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
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Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
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Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-4051.00 - Customer Service Representatives.