How to get into customer experience – without starting from scratch

CX is one of the fastest-growing fields in business today, with companies across industries investing in better ways to understand, support and retain their customers. Not surprising when you realise design-led companies have 32% higher revenue growth, compared to their competitors.

And the best bit? Lots of CX professionals come from backgrounds like retail, admin, hospitality and customer service. So if you’ve never dabbled in CX before, don’t lose heart. You probably already have some of the necessary soft skills.

See, at its core, customer experience is all about people. It’s about empathy, problem-solving, communication and improving the journey a customer takes. From their first interaction with a brand, to purchase, to everything that happens afterwords. So if you’ve ever worked in a people-focused role, chances are you already have more transferable skills than you think.

Here’s how to step into the world of customer experience management.

Customer experience refers to how customers feel about every interaction they have with a business. Whether they’re scrolling through a website, chatting with support, using a product, or receiving a follow-up email. Every touchpoint. Every action and reaction. 

It’s not about fixing problems. Well, not just fixing problems. It’s about designing thoughtful, end-to-end experiences that keep customers happy and coming back for more.

Customer experience management is the process of improving all these touchpoints, often through journey mapping, feedback collection, digital tools and cross-team collaboration.

• Customer Experience Coordinator

• Customer Journey Analyst

• CX Designer 

• Customer Insights Specialist

• Voice of Customer (VoC) Analyst

• Customer Success Manager (especially in tech/SaaS)

If you’re just starting your CX journey, it’s worth scoping out some of these roles online first. See what they pay. Take notes of the relevant skills and experience. Find out who’s hiring. The more information you can bring to the table, the better equipped you’ll be to make the switch. 

CX is a role that definitely benefits from experience, but not in the way you might think. If you’ve already worked in retail, admin, hospitality or a call centre, you already know how to deal with customers. You’ve probably resolved complaints, explained policies, juggled priorities and kept your cool under pressure. Believe it or not, these are core CX skills. 

Many people working in customer experience today started out on the front lines, and this experience actually gives you an edge over white-collar career shifters. CX is all about making the customer happy – and you know exactly what that entails. 

• Empathy – Understanding and anticipating customer needs

• Communication – Writing clearly and speaking with confidence

• Problem-solving – Figuring out how to fix or improve a process

• Organisation – Managing tasks, systems or stakeholder expectations 

• Feedback handling – Listening, interpreting and acting on customer input

• Team collaboration – Working well with others across departments 

CX roles sometimes feel like the glue between marketing, support, tech and product. They’re the unifying thread that holds everything together. So if you’ve been the “go-between” person in your past jobs, that experience will probably serve you well. (And you should definitely bring it up in an interview!)

One of the best ways to build confidence in a career switch is to supplement your existing skills with targeted learning. And by that we mean online shortcourses. You don’t need a degree in UX or business, either. Heaps of CX pros grow into their roles through short courses, certifications or on-the-job training. In fact, some employers prefer it that way, since you’ll likely pick up a bag of soft skills while working at the coalface. 

If you’re just dipping your toe in, try and find beginner-friendly CX learning options that cover:

• Customer journey mapping – Understanding the steps a customer takes

• CX strategy and metrics – How to measure and improve experience

• Customer feedback systems – Tools like surveys, NPS and CSAT

• Digital experience basics – Websites, apps and service touchpoints 

• Service design thinking – Mapping out better experiences across systems

Courses in customer experience management can give you a structured understanding of how companies think about CX today, and (importantly) how to speak that language in interviews.

Customer experience jobs vary depending on the company and industry, so it’s hard to say exactly what you’ll be doing day-to-day. Having said that, most roles include some mix of the following:

• Mapping and improving customer journeys 
  You might analyse how people navigate a website, sign up for a service, or request help. 

• Collecting and analysing feedback 
  You could be reviewing survey data, conducting interviews or running a Net Promoter Score (NPS) program to track customer satisfaction.

• Collaborating with other teams 
  CX professionals tend to work closely with marketing, design, support and product teams, so you’ll need some great interpersonal skills. 

• Creating internal processes or training 
  In some roles, you might help develop CX guidelines or train frontline staff in best-practice interactions. Depends on how senior the role is.

If you’re feeling unsure about making the switch into CX (totally understandable, by the way), here are a few practical steps to get started:

1. Start with what you know 
   Think about your past experiences dealing with customers, fixing inefficient processes, or improving systems. These are all what we’d call ‘CX moments’.

1. Update your resume using CX language 
   Instead of “responded to customer emails,” try something like “identified pain points and improved response process.” Show that you understand the concept of the customer journey.

1. Shadow or speak to someone in CX 
   Always a good place to start. Reach out on LinkedIn or ask around in your network. CX professionals are usually happy to share how they got started.

1. Build confidence through short learning bursts 
   Even a few hours a week on an online course can help you understand the bigger picture of CX. It also shows initiative to prospective employers.

1. Apply to entry-level or hybrid roles 
   Start small, then build your way up. Roles like Customer Experience Assistant, CX Coordinator, or Service Designer’s Assistant are all great stepping stones – especially in companies that value development.

Try to think of it this way: you’re not starting from scratch, you’re building on your strengths. That’s kind of true of all mid-career pivots, but it’s particularly relevant for CX. Customer Experience is still a nascent field. We’re still learning the best ways to craft a customer journey. And when it comes to figuring that out, your on-the-ground experience is just as valuable as anyone else’s. Maybe more so! So don’t doubt yourself; enrol in a CX shortcourse today.