Careers > Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

$34.67K Median Salary 4.5K Job Openings (Annual Projection) -22.7% Job Growth

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About This Career

Operate telephone business systems equipment or switchboards to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls. May supply information to callers and record messages.

Reported Job Titles

CBX Operator (Computerized Branch Exchange Operator), Central Communications Specialist, Communications Operator, Communications Specialist, Information Specialist, PBX Operator (Private Branch Exchange Operator), Switchboard Operator (SB Operator), Switchboard Receptionist (SB Receptionist), Telecommunications Clerk, Telecommunications Operator

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Skills You'll Need

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Abilities

Oral Comprehension

Oral Expression

Speech Clarity

Speech Recognition

Near Vision

Selective Attention

Deductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning

Information Ordering

Written Comprehension

Written Expression

Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service

English Language

Administrative

Computers and Electronics

Telecommunications

Skills

Active Listening

Speaking

Social Perceptiveness

Service Orientation

Coordination

Reading Comprehension

Technology Skills

Electronic mail software

Presentation software

Spreadsheet software

Enterprise resource planning ERP software

Facilities management software

Office suite software

Operating system software

Word processing software

Data base user interface and query software

Tools

Premise branch exchange PBX systems

Photocopiers

Paging controllers

Video monitors

Inkjet printers

Alarm systems

Public address systems

Intercom systems

Special purpose telephones

Laser fax machine

Phone headsets

Personal computers

Two way radios

Abilities

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administrative: Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Computers and Electronics: Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Telecommunications: Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Skills

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Technology Skills

Electronic mail software: IBM Notes; Microsoft Exchange; Microsoft Outlook
Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint
Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel
Enterprise resource planning ERP software: Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne; Oracle PeopleSoft; Oracle PeopleSoft Financials; SAP software
Facilities management software: Maintenance management software
Office suite software: Microsoft Office software
Operating system software: Microsoft Windows
Word processing software: 3M Post-it App; Evernote; Google Docs; Microsoft Word
Data base user interface and query software: Blackboard software; Database software; Microsoft Access; Yardi software