Customer service representative to after-sales service technician
A customer service representative already meets 44% of what the after-sales service technician role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.4/ 100
1 How much of what an after-sales service technician is expected to do is already part of a customer service representative’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the after-sales service technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An after-sales service technician role treats 7 of its required skills as things a customer service representative already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate with customers
- contact customers
- create solutions to problems
- customer service
- guarantee customer satisfaction
- implement customer follow-up
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An after-sales service technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a customer service representative background worth leading with.
- already held provide information assisting and caring
- already held implement customer follow-up communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held contact customers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held consumer protection services
- already held keep records of customer interaction information skills
- already held sales activities business, administration and law
All 13 carried skills, including the 7 the after-sales service technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn advise on merchandise features required
- still to learn execute after sales activities required
- still to learn implement sales strategies required
- optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
- optional, not held address problems critically optional
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- still to learn characteristics of services required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- still to learn customer relationship management required
- optional, not held sales strategies optional
- still to learn characteristics of products required
- still to learn maintenance operations required
- optional, not held electronic and telecommunication equipment optional
- still to learn ensure compliance with legal requirements required
- optional, not held monitor after sales records optional
- optional, not held solve technical problems optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an after-sales service technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on merchandise features practise this
- 02 characteristics of products study this
- 03 characteristics of services study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 13 skills that carry over
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held contact customers skill
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held customer service knowledge
- already held guarantee customer satisfaction skill
- already held implement customer follow-up skill
- already held provide customer follow-up services skill
- already held consumer protection knowledge
- already held keep records of customer interaction skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held manage schedule of tasks skill
- already held provide information skill
- already held sales activities knowledge
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held electronic and telecommunication equipment optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
- optional, not held monitor after sales records optional
- optional, not held sales strategies optional
- optional, not held address problems critically optional
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- optional, not held solve technical problems optional
26 held skills the after-sales service technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role carry out active selling skill
- not needed by the target role control of expenses skill
- not needed by the target role data mining methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role determine charges for customer services skill
- not needed by the target role e-commerce systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure client orientation skill
- not needed by the target role facilitate official agreement skill
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role identify customer's needs skill
- not needed by the target role knowledge base knowledge
- not needed by the target role measure customer feedback skill
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform escalation procedure skill
- not needed by the target role perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
- not needed by the target role process customer orders skill
- not needed by the target role process data skill
- not needed by the target role process order forms with customer's information skill
- not needed by the target role process refunds skill
- not needed by the target role relationship marketing knowledge
- not needed by the target role show diplomacy skill
- not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
- not needed by the target role upsell products skill
- not needed by the target role use customer relationship management software skill
- not needed by the target role use e-services skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn characteristics of products required
- still to learn characteristics of services required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- still to learn customer relationship management required
- still to learn maintenance operations required
- optional, not held electronic and telecommunication equipment optional
- optional, not held sales strategies optional
Other moves recorded from customer service representative
- sales processor 45% covered · substantial
- call centre agent 44% covered · substantial
- ICT help desk agent 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in office machinery and equipment 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in chemical products 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in agricultural machinery and equipment 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in mining and construction machinery 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in hardware, plumbing and heating equipment 35% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a customer service representative become an after-sales service technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A customer service representative already covers 44% of what an after-sales service technician is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 7 of which the after-sales service technician role treats as required.
What skills does a customer service representative need to become an after-sales service technician?
9 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is advise on merchandise features.
How hard is the move from customer service representative to after-sales service technician?
Its learning distance is 56.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.