You must have both technical know-how and excellent customer service skills.
Granted you have all these requirements, build a winning resume for your prospective company to notice your application.
This step-by-step guide will help you logically present your skills and experiences.
If you are pressed for time, browse through these customer service advisor resume examples.
Automotive service advisor's annual base salary ranges from $24,000 to $69,000. The annual total pay, including bonuses, profit sharing, and commission, can reach up to $72,000(Payscale).
An Impressive Office Service Advisor Resume
Here is an automotive service advisor resume that covers the essentials:
Find some service advisor resume examples on this page.
How to Make a Service Advisor Resume
Write a professional resume that clearly outlines all your strengths.
Set yourself apart from the multitude of applicants by following these tried and tested tips on what to include in your service advisor resume:
- Highlight your work experience, especially projects involving high profile automotive brands and companies
- Input numbers that support your stellar performance, especially those exceeding the company average
- Include your educational background, formal technical automotive training, relevant workshops, and apprenticeships
- Put a spotlight on awards and distinctions.
- Write down a comprehensive list of your technical skills and soft skills.
The Layout of the Service Advisor Resume
Recruiters will first look at your resume--take in the layout, the fonts, the margins--and decide on your organizational skills and attention to detail, two essential skills for this job.
The following layout tips will help you overtake the other players in the race:
Skillfully condense your wealth of skills and experience into one to two pages.
As a rule, pick a professional and readable font and decide on one font size. Headings may be bigger and set to bold.
Maintain consistent spacing between paragraphs, sentences, and words.
Avoid underlining or using colors on specific groups of words and phrases you would like to call attention to.
If you want to highlight important information, put them decisively at the top of a list instead.
Colors may be used, but only conservatively and when not too loud or distracting.
Outline your resume components well by using properly labeled and strategically placed headers.
This page contains some terrific service advisor resume examples for your convenience.
The Structure of the Service Advisor Resume
Increase your chances of being on the shortlist by considering the following points when deciding on your resume format:
Do you have enough experience in the field?
If you have not assumed the role before, how related are your past jobs to it?
What technical and non-technical skills do you have?
Do you have the necessary technical educational foundation to succeed in the role?
Reverse-Chronological Format
One of the best ways to highlight your wealth of experience is the reverse-chronological format.
This format immediately tells recruiters your present experience and how your career has advanced over the years.
It is advantageous to those who have been promoted several times.
Functional Format
If you want to highlight your skills, the functional format is the best way to go, especially for a job as skills-heavy as this one.
This format puts a thorough list of your best technical and soft skills front and center.
It is recommended for those with a bit of technical know-how but have little to no relevant work experience.
This format works for industry switchers and also distracts from employment gaps.
One way to maximize this format is to pair each skill with a relevant example of how you showcased them at work.
Hybrid or Combination Format
The hybrid or combination format is an integration of the reverse-chronological and functional resume formats.
The format starts with a list of your skills, followed by your detailed work experience in reverse-chronological order.
This format works best for career shifters and those with rich technical skills.
Professional Header of the Office Assistant Resume
To get recruiters curious immediately, present your header professionally despite what little information is included.
What important details should you include in a professional header?
- Full name
- Job Title
- Email address
- Contact number (preferably a mobile phone number)
- Relevant professional social media page (LinkedIn, etc.)
Your header reflects your accessibility should they need to reach you for updates.
Appreciate the value of a professional email address when it sets you apart from the average candidate.
When you include a link to your professional social media page, it tells the recruiters that you are thoughtful about your career.
Example of a Great Header in a Service Advisor Resume
A professional resume begins with a professional header:
Senior Service Manager
tayloryork@gmail.com
(123) 456 7890
LinkedIn.com/in/tayloryork
It does not necessarily have to pop, but it should exude high-level professionalism to show how serious you are about your application.
Example of a Bad Header in a Service Advisor Resume
This example is how not to write a professional header:
Senior Service Manager
taytayyorkie@gmail.com
509 Tibbs Avenue,
Kalispell, Montana
59901
(123) 456 7890
Twitter: @taylora78dlb9d7ald
Incomplete information, an unprofessional email address, spacing mistakes, and spelling errors will immediately land your resume in the bin.
Is a Photo Required in a Service Advisor Resume?
Photos aren’t traditionally included and many companies reject applications that include a photo.
It ensures that physical appearance biases do not affect a recruiter's objectivity when screening candidates.
Instead, give them a Linkedin profile
Choosing a Captivating Title
Writing a good title is one way to get the hiring manager to notice you.
Draw them in with a title that shows your creativity and makes them curious about what lies beyond.
Do without overused adjectives like “good” or “great.” Be memorable and unique.
Look at the example below to get a better idea:
How to Write Your Resume Summary or Profile
Summaries exist to save recruiters time, so it's essential to take this section seriously.
Compress your skills, experiences, and achievements into three to four statements. Choose the elements wisely, and make sure you write the most important highlights of your career.
Accentuate awards, distinctions, and tasks you were commended for.
Remind them of your desire for growth by emphasizing your most immediate career goal.
Spotlight key accomplishments, especially instances when you exceeded expectations. Use numbers for more impact.
Here is a sample comprehensive resume summary:
Customer-centric automotive service advisor with 4+ years of experience attending to customers, facilitating vehicle warranty repairs, and liaising with third-party affiliates. Comprehensive background in maintaining customer satisfaction, preparing an accurate written cost estimate, and reviewing a repair order. Spearheaded the customer loyalty program that brought client retention up to 75%. Setting my sights on a management role at Pit Crew, Inc. to boost its customer experience program and hone and showcase my leadership skills.
Excellent customer service advisor with five years of experience in greeting customers and addressing repair needs in a timely manner. Has excellent interpersonal skills and excellent written communication skills. Point of contact of warranty companies. Prepares detailed repair orders. Laid out customer payment options. Looking for career advancement.
The first summary statement speaks more about how far the candidate has come in his career. It is packed with skills and will generate more questions in the interview. It showcases accomplishments that a hiring manager will surely notice.
The second one inundates the reader with a list of responsibilities. No accomplishments highlighted, and nothing interesting.
What if you don’t have experience at all?
Fresh college or technical school graduates seeking to land their first job may write an objective instead of a summary.
The objective shows recruiters how you would like your career to take shape.
Here is a sample objective you can start with:
Adaptable and highly motivated automotive program graduate. Has excellent attention to detail, organized, and great with numbers. Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, and expert at creating spreadsheets. Looking to land a career as a Junior Service Specialist in Motorhead Repairs to contribute to its growth as I put my education and skills into action.
Here is a sample of a poorly-written objective.
An adaptable and motivated fresh graduate of an automotive course. Attentive to details and great with people. Can make computations on Excel. Looking for a job in Motorhead Repairs.
The Work Experience Section of a Service Advisor Resume
The items you include in this segment should be well-written without errors and full of impact.
Interested recruiters will comb through this section for details, including the companies you worked for, the dates you stayed with them, and what your duties and responsibilities were.
If you have an eclectic mix of job titles, make sure to spotlight the ones related to the post.
For non-relevant work experience items, just talk about them briefly. You can explain in detail if the recruiter sees fit to ask about it.
Describe your Professional Experience on your Service Advisor Resume
When describing your professional experience, which details should you include and exclude?
Try not to flood the reader with a long repetitive list of tasks.
Focus on relevance, statistics, and achievements.
Begin by writing the exact job title, then the company name, all spelled accurately.
Under these, write the company’s location and the dates you started and ended your employment with them.
Use around three to five bullet points to detail your accomplishments and your many tasks.
Use convincing statistics to sway the outcome in your favor.
Try to rephrase your tasks and duties if your work experiences are mostly of the same nature.
The keywords found in the job description section of the job listing can guide you in writing this part.
How A Work Experience Section Should Look for a Junior Service Advisor
Refer to the following example if you are a newbie:
Trackster Motor Repairs
Boston, Massachusetts
April 2020-December 2020
- One of three service professionals out of fifteen commended for excellent client retention statistics.
- Repaired automobiles in a timely fashion
- Introduced service options to customers with repair needs
- Answered incoming calls in a professional manner
- Performed basic data entry tasks for proper recording of customers' personal data, customer payment options, service history, and overall customer experience,
Fire Lane Car Dealership
Boston, Massachusetts
January 2020 to April 2020
- Tasked to address customer concerns and meet customer expectations
- Trained under an experienced car mechanic in the rudiments of vehicle repair
- Assisted the store manager reach their targeted sales goals by impressing client leads with my superior product knowledge
- Processed and managed approximately 15 to 25 customer issues per day
A Career-Boosting Work Experience Section for Senior Candidates
Below is a sample resume of an experienced candidate:
Make Way Motors, Inc.
Austin, Texas
March 2017 – October 2020
- Managed and trained a team of sixty service advisors in the last two years
- Promoted to Automotive Service Manager after only 19 months of stellar performance, much earlier than the 24-month promotion threshold
- Served as the point of contact of the automotive service department for third party affiliates
- Exceeded sales targets by 25% percent for 12 consecutive months
Milton’s Care Repair Services
Austin, Texas
May 2015 – March 2017
- Consolidated daily customer concerns in an organized fashion
- Handled customer complaints regarding repair order inconsistencies
- Trained junior technicians to service vehicle owners in line with company expectations
- Awarded Advisor of the Month for six consecutive months with an overall performance rating of 97%
Find more service advisor resume samples on this page.
What To Put In The Education Section of Your Service Advisor Resume
Companies do not require a college degree, but surely if you graduated from university with a full automotive program, that is a huge advantage.
Most car companies accept candidates from trade schools that specialize in automobile repair or something related.
That said, a high school diploma is often sufficient.
If that is the case, highlight your grades, your extracurriculars, or any evidence of experience or knowledge in automobile repairs, such as summer jobs or informal apprenticeships.
Should You Start With Work Experience or Education in a Service Advisor Resume?
Put your education section first if you just graduated and do not have any work experience, so to speak.
The recruiter will see clues about how well you might perform later on in your transcript, chosen degree program, disciplinary record, and some extracurriculars.
However, if you have enough work experience in automotive service, strategically place it first.
How to Correctly Format The Education Section of Your Resume
Your education section should have the following information:
- Degree program chosen (completed or not)
- High school, college, university, or trade school you graduated from
- Your school, college, or university's location
- How long you studied (include which specific months and years)
If you are a college undergraduate, write down when you intend to finish. List down some relevant subjects and projects.
If your GPA is lower than 3.5, hold off mentioning it.
Holders of a General Education Development certificate or home-schooled candidates should disclose their status to make up for not having attended formal education.
Education Section of a Service Advisor Resume Example
Here is a simple format for college graduates to follow:
University of Northwestern Ohio
Lima, Ohio
March 2017 - June 2021
GPA 3.7
High school graduates can sufficiently use the template below:
Lima Senior High School
Lima, Ohio
September 2016 - June 2020
Skills to Put in Your Service Advisor Resume
This job requires a specific set of technical and soft skills, so check what you have.
Go through a list of all your relevant skills and match them with the job listing description.
This process will tell you which skills you have and which skills you still need to work on.
Only mention skills you can support with examples.
The Most Common Service Advisor Skills for Your Job-Winning Resume
Getting some grease on your hands is a literal job prerequisite.
You should know about general auto repair and the back-office processes that come with it.
The hiring manager will definitely consider profiles with skills having to do with customer service, project management, and automotive technology.
Check if you have the following technical skills:
- Verbal and written communication skills ability
- Inbound and outbound calling
- Sales and marketing skills
- Familiarity with basic automotive concepts
- Advanced mathematical aptitude
- Data entry skills
- Microsoft Office Suite proficiency
- Filing and document control
- Invoice processing
- POS operation
- Automotive repair skills
- Records and database management
- Advanced mathematical aptitude
- Spreadsheets
The job requires several technical skills that you can only acquire through proper training. Review the job listing for the specifics.
If specific certifications are required before you get hired, try to enroll in a course. If the company will train you to acquire such skills, double-check with the recruiter.
Soft skills are your intrinsic qualities that cannot be acquired through workshops.
Here is a list of soft skills a customer service advisor is recommended to have:
- Customer service skills
- Attention to details
- Professionalism
- Problem-solving
- Coordination
- Organizational
- Strong listening skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Stress management
- Presentation skills
The technical and soft skills complement each other. Make sure you have a working mix of both.
- Junior Customer Service Advisor Skills
Junior hopefuls may mention these elementary skills:
Technical Skills:- Basic spreadsheets
- Knowledge of basic computer programs (Microsoft Office, Google Docs, etc.)
- Intermediate data entry
- Basic automotive knowledge
- Customer service
- Stress management
- Multi-tasking
- Adaptability
- Problem-solving
Key Skills Customer Service Advisor Seniors Should Highlight
The hiring manager will look at how far you have come, not just in terms of work experience but skills mastered.
Advanced Technical Skills:
- Extensive knowledge in auto repair and maintenance
- Call routing software mastery
- Business development understanding
- Statistical analysis
- Relevant software operation
- Advanced Microsoft Excel
- Inventory management
- Automotive diagnostics
- Superior organization skills
- Leadership skills
- Business savvy
- Adaptability
- Critical thinking
- Evidence-based problem-solving
- Keen attention to detail
Why a Resume Hook in a Resume Matters
Write a resume hook or tagline that will pique a recruiter's interest.
Make it memorable, but keep it professional. Try not to sound smart-alecky and set a limit of ten words.
- A Standout Junior Level Employee Tagline
Junior employees do not have enough hard skills to show for, so include soft skills instead:
Service Advisor Champ – VIP Customers Specialist – Thorough and Meticulous
- A Senior Level Employee Tagline That Makes a Mark
Senior-level taglines are expected to be more refined and professional.
Service Advisor Maestro – Car Advice Encyclopedia – Analytical and Comprehensive
Additional Headings for Your Service Advisor Resume
It is good to include information beyond what is generally expected in a resume. Here are some additional sections to make recruiters take notice.
Candidates are expected to have earned automotive-related skills. It is a plus if they have the certificates to brandish.
Do your research and scour the job ad for specific certifications required. Take the course and earn the certificate.
If you do not have either the time or the means, include what computer skills and certifications you already have to showcase your adaptability to technology.
More and more companies are considering personality and cultural fit before accepting a candidate into their ranks. They believe that the more alike a group is, the better they work together.
Note down what genuinely interests you and showcase your enthusiasm for it in your interview.
This industry will require you to service customers from different parts of the globe.
If you speak a foreign language and deem yourself proficient, let them know by stating your speaking and writing levels in your resume.
Do you happen to be a member of an automotive or car club where the exchange of knowledge and skills is customary? Put it down on your resume.
Summary: Key Points for Writing the Best Service Advisor Resume
Follow these simple rules when writing your automotive service advisor resume:
- Make sure that everything is readable.
- Use the best format that fits your profile.
- Highlight essential numbers that show above-average performance
- List down all relevant technical and soft skills
- Include computer and technical certifications, evidence of foreign language proficiency, and personal interests to differentiate your profile from the rest of the pile further.
This resume builder will help you in creating a memorable resume.
Attach a Winning Customer Service Advisor Cover Letter
Cover letters indicate a degree of earnestness, and it is a quick way to impress the recruiters with your excellent writing skills.
Set the tone with a professional greeting.
In your introduction, mention your role and how you found out about the job. Talk about how you feel about the opportunity.
The body should include your educational details, work experience, and relevant skills. The challenge is to pick which elements to include and condense the information into one or two paragraphs.
In the last paragraph, express your enthusiasm for going through the different steps of the hiring process. Talk about the future you envision with the company.
Lastly, express gratitude that the reader has read your letter to the end.
Frequently Asked Questions for a Service Advisor Resume
In the automotive industry, they are the liaisons between customers, service technicians, and the service department.
They are professional problem identifiers and solvers who have a vast knowledge of automotive processes.
They justify why certain services are necessary to ensure that a customer’s vehicle is healthy.
Sometimes, there is a need to deal with difficult customers, especially when additional repairs are recommended beyond what was initially agreed upon.
Not only do they need to look out for the customers, but they also have to make sure that the technicians are capable, not overwhelmed, and aptly informed.
An auto service advisor acts as a communication middleman so that operations run smoothly.
Aside from recommending services and recording repair orders, they are tasked to make accurate estimates, cross-check a vehicle’s problems with the customer’s description, and seek proper authorization for monetary transactions or before offering additional services.
On top of that, they should maintain a professional appearance at all times.
Hard skills are the real stars in the case of a job as technique-heavy as this one.
However, if the job leans towards the customer service side more, showcase the following relevant soft skills:
- Organizational skills
- Customer service skills
- Persuasion skills
- Negotiation skills
- Problem-solving
- Tension de-escalation techniques
- Stress management
- Attention to detail
Your resume should include job-relevant information.
After choosing a format that works best for your profile, fill in your work experience, educational background, training and certifications, key accomplishments, and crucial performance statistics.
To keep your profile unique, write a zinger tagline and professional header.
Furnish it with additional details such as computer skills and technical certifications, languages, and personal interests.
Lastly, attach a strong cover letter.
A customer service advisor role involves recommending the appropriate automotive service to customers.
The job requires answering basic to complex questions about repair needs and coordinating between customers, technicians, managers, and third-party business partners.
The ultimate goal is a great customer experience.
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