At the core of good customer service is the ability to communicate well – something that is relevant to just about all jobs. Whether you are dealing with clients or colleagues, instilling trust & confidence is critical.

Overseas born professionals sometimes have a hard time with client-facing roles due to a combination of cultural difference and operating in an English-speaking environment. It’s one thing to secure a job in a highly technical role where the tools and skills required are pretty much the same all over the world. Selenium is Selenium for software testers. C++ is C++ for embedded software developers. AutoCAD is AutoCAD, and so on. First round interviews for such roles are often purely technical. However, client facing roles – Customer Service, Business Development, Sales & Marketing, Account Management, Pre/Post-Sales Support, Public Accounting – can be a much harder nut to crack.

In a client-facing role, you are the face (and voice) of the company. Your employer needs to have confidence in your ability to portray the right image. Whether you can clinch a deal or keep existing customers happy will depend largely on your ability to win customers over with your expertise, excellent service and charm – not so easy if you’re operating in a new culture where English is not your first language.

So what is an employer looking for in a Customer Service role? The best way to find out is to ask an overseas born professional currently working in customer service… in Australia… now.