Below is a complete job post for a customer service agent. Copy it, replace everything in square brackets, and delete any line that does not fit your job. Notes on each part follow the template.
The template
[Job title, e.g. Customer Service Agent (Chat), Remote]
About us
[Your business] is a [kind of business, e.g. dental office, online store,
software company, home-services company] based in [city, country].
Our customers are [who they are]. They usually contact us about
[the two or three most common reasons].
What the job is
You will answer our customers by [chat / phone / email / a mix].
Most days you will:
- [Main task, e.g. answer questions about orders and deliveries]
- [Second task, e.g. book and move appointments]
- [Third task, e.g. pass technical problems to our product team]
[Chat jobs only:] You will handle up to [number] chats at a time.
What you will not do
- [A limit, e.g. promise refunds without a manager's approval]
- [Another limit, e.g. give medical advice]
Hours and time zone
[Days], [start time] to [end time], [your time zone].
That is [the same hours in the applicant's time zone, e.g. Philippine time].
[Full-time / part-time], about [number] hours a week.
[Weekends, holidays or overtime, if any.]
Pay
[Amount or range] per [hour / month], in [currency].
Paid [weekly / twice a month / monthly] by [payment method].
[Paid time off, bonuses or other benefits, if any.]
Tools
You will use [help desk, chat tool, phone system, scheduling or order system].
[We will train you on all of them. / Experience with (tool name) is a plus.]
What you need
- Clear written English[, and clear spoken English for phone work].
- A computer and a stable internet connection.
- [Phone jobs: a headset and a quiet room.]
- [Experience you truly need. If you will train, write
"No experience needed. We will train you."]
How we hire
1. A short application form.
2. A skills check and a practice customer chat based on our work.
3. A written interview.
4. A video call with [name or role] for the people we pick.
We will reply to everyone who finishes by [date].
How to apply
[Link or one clear instruction.]
If you use HireFlow, Ava, its job builder, builds the job and its tests from a few short questions about your business. These notes still work as a check on the result.
Notes on each part
Title
Use the words people search for: "customer service agent", "chat support agent", "phone support agent". Add the channel and whether the job is remote.
Skip clever titles like "Customer Happiness Hero". People will not find it, and the ones who do will not know what the job is.
About us
Two or three sentences are enough. Say what you do, who your customers are and why they contact you. This tells applicants what their conversations will be about.
What the job is
Be concrete. "Answer questions about orders, refunds and deliveries by chat" tells people far more than "deliver world-class support."
If it is a chat job, say how many chats at once. Someone who has only handled one chat at a time should know before they apply.
Keep the "What you will not do" lines. They set limits from day one, and they show applicants you have thought about the job. Typical limits are refunds, discounts, medical or legal advice, and changes to accounts.
Hours and time zone
Write the hours in your time zone and in the applicant's. "9 to 5" with no time zone leads to confusion, missed shifts, or people applying for hours they cannot work.
Be honest about nights, weekends and holidays. If the shift is overnight for the applicant, say so plainly.
Pay
Put a number or a range. Without one, you spend time on people who would never accept your offer, and they spend time on you.
Say the currency, how often you pay and how. Remote applicants need to know whether they will be paid by bank transfer or another method, and who covers any fees.
If there is a trial period, say how long it is and that it is paid.
Tools
Name your tools if you can, and say whether you will train people on them. Otherwise good people may rule themselves out because they have not used your exact help desk.
What you need
List only what you truly need. Every extra line turns away some people who could do the job well.
For remote work, the computer and internet connection matter, and so does a quiet room for phone jobs. Say so plainly, and check them before the interview.
How we hire
Tell people the steps up front. It shows you are organized, and it tells people what to prepare for.
Expect the steps to narrow the list. When the people behind HireFlow hired a support team lead for their own business, 153 people applied in the first four days, 71 finished the written interview, and 3 were worth a call. They hired from those three.
For ideas on what to put in the skills check, see five chat tests to give before you hire a support agent. If the job is on the phone, add written questions about calls and a short practice call; phone agent vs. chat agent explains how.
What not to ask
Ask only for what helps you judge the work. A photo, religion or family plans tell you nothing about how someone writes to a customer.
Two things need special care when your applicants are in the Philippines.
Never ask for an exact age or birth date (HireFlow's form asks only "Are you 18 or older?"). Republic Act No. 10911, the Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act, makes it unlawful in Section 5(a) for an employer to "require the declaration of age or birth date during the application process." The same section covers job notices that suggest an age preference or limit, so leave out age ranges and words like "young." Section 6 allows an age limit only in narrow cases, such as when age is a bona fide occupational qualification. Section 7 sets a fine of ₱50,000 to ₱500,000, or 3 months to 2 years in prison, or both. You can read the full text of RA 10911.
Do not ask for marital status. The Data Privacy Act (Republic Act No. 10173) lists age and marital status among "sensitive personal information." That kind of information may be processed only in the cases the law allows, consent being the usual one. You do not need either to hire a good agent. The Data Privacy Act is online in full.
If you need an exact birth date for paperwork after you hire, ask a lawyer how and when to collect it.
There is more on this in what you can't ask Filipino applicants.
This section is general information, not legal advice. Check with a lawyer for your own case.
How to apply
Give one clear step: a link, or one email address. Keep it to that.
Before you post
- The title names the job, the channel, and remote or on-site.
- The hours are in your time zone and the applicant's.
- Pay is a number or a range, with the currency.
- The tests are named under "How we hire."
- Nothing asks for an exact age, a birth date or marital status, or hints at an age preference.
- Every square bracket is replaced, and lines that do not fit are deleted.