Telephone Operators Go Back to List Provide information by accessing alphabetical, geographical, or other directories. Assist customers with special billing requests, such as charges to a third party and credits or refunds for incorrectly dialed numbers or bad connections. May handle emergency calls and assist children or people with physical disabilities to make telephone calls.

Technology used in this occupation:
	Helpdesk or call center software

Tasks
	Listen to customer requests, referring to alphabetical or geographical directories to answer questions and provide telephone information.
	Suggest and check alternate spellings, locations, or listing formats to customers lacking details or complete information.
	Offer special assistance to persons such as those who are unable to dial or who are in emergency situations.
	Observe signal lights on switchboards, and dial or press buttons to make connections.
	Operate telephone switchboards and systems to advance and complete connections, including those for local, long distance, pay telephone, mobile, person-to-person, and emergency calls.
	Provide assistance for customers with special billing requests.
	Calculate and quote charges for services such as long-distance connections.
	Monitor automated systems for placing collect calls and intervene for a callers needing assistance.
	Perform clerical duties such as typing, proofreading, and sorting mail.
	Consult charts to determine charges for pay-telephone calls, requesting coin deposits for calls as necessary.

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.
	Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
	Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
	Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
	Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
	Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
	Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
	Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
	Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.

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.
	Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
	Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
	Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
	Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
	Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
	Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
	Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
	Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

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Education & Training   Education:   These occupations usually require a high school diploma.   Related Experience:   Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

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Wage Information
	Region Average Entry Level  Mid-Range  Annual  Hourly  Statewide $43,440.00 $20.89  $17.97  $18.11 - $22.65  Hartford $43,501.00 $20.92  $18.23  $18.98 - $21.14

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	Some of the occupational information on this page is formulated from O*NETTM v17.0 data. O*NETTM is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.