Sales and Related · Holland code ECS
Telemarketers
Solicit donations or orders for goods or services over the telephone.
Also called: Telemarketer, Telephone Sales Representative (TSR), Telephone Service Representative (TSR), Telesales Representative (Telesales Rep), Call Agent, Inside Sales Representative (Inside Sales Rep), Telemarketing Sales Representative (Telemarketing Sales Rep), Telesales Specialist.
O*NET 41-9041.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $35,450
- Middle half earn $29,640 to $40,230. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 39% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Contact businesses or private individuals by telephone to solicit sales for goods or services, or to request donations for charitable causes.
- Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers.
- Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers.
- Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted.
- Maintain records of contacts, accounts, and orders.
- Adjust sales scripts to better target the needs and interests of specific individuals.
- Answer telephone calls from potential customers who have been solicited through advertisements.
- Deliver prepared sales talks, reading from scripts that describe products or services, to persuade potential customers to purchase a product or service or to make a donation.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Speaking4.1 / 5
- Active Listening4.0 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.3 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.0 / 5
- Writing2.5 / 5
- Monitoring2.3 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Sales and Marketing4.3 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service4.0 / 5
- English Language3.8 / 5
- Administration and Management3.1 / 5
- Computers and Electronics3.1 / 5
- Communications and Media3.1 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic15
- Investigative2
- Artistic4
- Social44
- Enterprising73
- Conventional68
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- fundraising manager · DE Fundraiser/Fundraiserin · FR collecteur de fonds/collectrice de fonds
- call centre supervisor · DE Call-Center-Trainer/Call-Center-Trainerin · FR superviseur de centre d’appels/superviseuse de centre d’appels
- fundraising assistant · DE Mitarbeiter im Bereich Fundraising/Mitarbeiterin im Bereich Fundraising · FR assistant collecteur de fonds/assistante collectrice de fonds
- customer contact centre information clerk · DE Kundeninformationsfachkraft · FR agent d’information de centre de contact clients/agente d’information de centre de contact clients
- live chat operator · DE Online-Kundenberater/Online-Kundenberaterin · FR conseiller en ligne/conseillère en ligne
- telephone switchboard operator · DE Telefonist Telefonzentrale/Telefonistin Telefonzentrale · FR standardiste
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Human resource managers and directors (1136)229,100 employed
- Customer service managers (4143)106,200 employed
- Customer service supervisors (7220)40,100 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €96,629 |
| Italy | €96,052 |
| Germany | €90,192 |
| Austria | €82,936 |
| Netherlands | €69,857 |
| Sweden | €60,369 |
| France | €58,740 |
| Ireland | €55,854 |
| Spain | €54,121 |
| Portugal | €39,189 |
| Poland | €19,596 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.12. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (41-9041).
Related careers
Is it a fit for you?
Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.
Take the career interests test