What do you think are the most important skills required when working in a customer-facing position?
If you have ever worked in a role that required you to interact directly with customers, think about the skills that helped you to be successful in that aspect of the role. Next, read the job description for the role you're interviewing for and note any additional customer service skills mentioned as requirements or nice to haves.
If you do not have experience working with customers, take some time to research essential customer service skills. There are many helpful articles and videos you can use to quickly come up to speed on the skills required. Also, be sure to check out our a href"https://www.mockquestions.com/interview/Communication/"Communication Mock Interview/a if you want to better prepare for communication-focused questions.
Let your interviewer know which skills you feel are essential to have in a customer-facing role. You should note at least three, but going a bit further will help convince your interviewer you are knowledgeable in this area. End your response by highlighting your customer-facing experience and any skills you are especially great at.
"I believe that the most important skills are active listening, empathy, patience, problem solving, flexibility, and communication. My active listening skills ensure that I properly understand the needs and requirements of the customers I work with. Empathy helps me to have insight into their emotions so that I can show respect and care for their feelings. Patience helps me to stay calm during difficult situations and strong problem-solving skills paired with flexibility help me to offer solutions for their needs. Finally, my ability to communicate effectively helps me to keep my customers informed with proper updates.
I have over seven years of experience working in customer-facing roles. I enjoy working with customers and I feel confident I will be able to meet and even exceed the expectations of my customers here at XYZ University if hired."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
People skills. Listening skills. Good communication skills. Planning and organization skills. Time management skills.
Rachelle's Feedback
This list of skills is a good start, but it's a bit long and monotonous. I also encourage you to include examples of these skills in action to support your response. Think about delivering an answer that shows AND tells vs. just tells. I have provided a starter for you, below.
"I believe essential customer-related skills include interpersonal skills, active listening skills, exceptional planning, and solid time-management. I display these skills by...(discuss the ways that you deploy these skills in the workplace. How will they benefit the university, should they hire you?).
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