How hard is it to become a representative?

Becoming a representative is difficult as it involves meeting eligibility requirements, gaining relevant experience and knowledge, and winning an election. There are several steps involved to becoming a representative. First, you must meet the eligibility requirements laid out in the U.S. Constitution. This includes being at least 25 years old, having been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and living in the state you wish to represent at the time of election.

How long does it take to become a Representative?

It takes 3 years of professional experience to become a representative. That is the time it takes to learn specific representative skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.

How much does a representative make a year?

A representative makes an average of $59,930 a year. The range in pay can start as low as $42,070 a year to as high as $85,730 a year. Factors such as years of experience working as a representative and location can impact earning potential.

What is a representative and how to become one

Updated April 25, 2024

6 min read

A representative is a person who serves as a designated person to speak or act on behalf of a group, organization, or individual. Representatives may work in various industries, such as politics, business, or law. They communicate with stakeholders, attend meetings, negotiate deals, and make decisions that align with their constituents' goals. A successful representative should have excellent communication skills, critical thinking abilities, and strong leadership qualities to ensure that they effectively represent their constituents' interests.

How long does it takes to become a representative?

It typically takes 1-2 years to become a representative:

Year 1: Completing on-site training, such as product knowledge or sales techniques.
Year 2: Accumulating the necessary work experience in customer service, sales, or product demonstrations.

Salary$36,023
Growth Rate-4%
Jobs Number252,761
Job Satisfaction
Most Common SkillCleanliness
Most Common DegreeBachelor's degree
Best StatePennsylvania

Representative pros and cons

Pros

Chance to work in a variety of industries
Potential for high earnings
Flexibility in work schedule and location
Possibility for travel and networking
Potential for job security, as sales roles are always in demand

Cons

High pressure environment with demanding sales targets
Can be challenging to balance multiple accounts
Can require significant time away from home, if travel is involved
Can be competitive, with coworkers vying for the same clients or deals
Requires constant adaptation to changing market conditions and client needs

Representative career paths

As a representative, you have a variety of career paths to choose from. You could work as a specialist, team leader, or assistant manager. You could also pursue a career in sales, becoming an account manager or district sales manager. If you’re interested in project management, you could become a project manager or product manager. In sales-related positions, you could also work as an account executive or director of sales. Customer service positions are also an option, such as a service representative or business development manager.

Key steps to become a representative

Explore representative education requirements

The educational requirements for a representative typically include a high school diploma, with about 54.76% of representatives holding this level of education. However, some representatives may also have an associate degree (31.03%) or a bachelor's degree (14.22% According to Director Dave Payne M.S., Associate Professor of Practice/Sales at the University of Akron, "Skills are king... creating a new system for sales practice, AI feedback and repetition will be the game changer. Advancing skills to make a 21-year-old sales graduate to exhibit the skills and talent to appear ten years more experienced will be very attractive to hiring companies."

Most common representative degrees

Bachelor's

52.5 %

Associate

16.3 %

High School Diploma

15.8 %

Start to develop specific representative skills

A representative needs to be adept at customer service, data entry, and communication. They should also be able to resolve issues independently and efficiently while maintaining accurate records. Additionally, they should have the ability to work under general supervision and be able to perform routine maintenance tasks. They also need to have knowledge of medical records, insurance billing, and be able to process medicare part b and dme appeals.

Skills	Percentages
Cleanliness	19.69%
Patients	11.46%
Customer Issues	9.86%
Customer Service	9.61%
Data Entry	5.73%

Complete relevant representative training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New representatives learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a representative based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real representative resumes.

Research representative duties and responsibilities

They handle customer support, administrative duties, and resolve issues related to payments and insurance. They provide customer service, including product support, and collaborate with other departments to produce quality results. They perform maintenance tasks, process appeals, and facilitate the receipt and delivery of customer information. They adapt their communication to the needs of their clients, while adhering to HIPAA guidelines. They review medical records, conduct training, manage multiple customer portfolios, and navigate computer databases to research responses to customer inquiries.

Manage fitting rooms and recover the department, while providing exceptional customer service and offering rewards and POS options.
Manage physical portfolio with necessary derivatives to mitigate risk within company guidelines.
Conduct telephone sales and interviews, compile and enter information into database, manage documents and insure customer satisfaction.
Review EOB denials, appeals and/or rebilling as appropriate.

Prepare your representative resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your representative resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a representative resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Representative Resume templates

Build a professional Representative resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Representative resume.

Apply for representative jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a representative job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do representatives rate their job?

5/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Representative reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2024

Pros

remote job, more schedule flexibility

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2022

Pros

Getting to know the people and the you work.with

Cons

Being required to answer a minimum number of calls a day. This pushes the idea that the caller is a number and as such, it is more difficult to personalize the call the the person calling in

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Pros

Communicating and helping my clients.

Cons

The travel was extensive. Sometimes. It took more than month to close a deaĺ.

What is a representative and how to become one

How long does it takes to become a representative?

Representative pros and cons

Representative career paths

Key steps to become a representative

Explore representative education requirements

Most common representative degrees

Start to develop specific representative skills

Complete relevant representative training and internships

Research representative duties and responsibilities

Prepare your representative resume

Choose From 10+ Customizable Representative Resume templates

Apply for representative jobs

Average representative salary

How do representatives rate their job?

Representative reviews

Representative FAQs

How hard is it to become a representative?

How long does it take to become a Representative?

How much does a representative make a year?

Search for representative jobs

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