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Date: 08/24/2025

Telephone Operators

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.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Perform clerical duties such as typing, proofreading, and sorting mail.
    • Provide relay service for users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
    • 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.
    • Listen to customer requests, referring to alphabetical or geographical directories to answer questions and provide telephone information.
    • Update directory information.
    • Listen to customer requests, referring to alphabetical or geographical directories to answer questions and provide telephone information.
    • Interrupt busy lines if an emergency warrants.
    • Promote company products, services, and savings plans when appropriate.
    • Provide assistance for customers with special billing requests.
    • Operate paging systems or other systems of bells or buzzers to notify recipients of incoming calls.
    • Monitor automated systems for placing collect calls and intervene for a callers needing assistance.
    • Perform clerical duties such as typing, proofreading, and sorting mail.
    • Suggest and check alternate spellings, locations, or listing formats to customers lacking details or complete information.
    • Keep records of calls placed and received, and of related toll charges.

    Skills

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    3
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    Knowledge

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • 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.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • 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.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • 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.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • 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.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • 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.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • 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.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 38110/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 18.32/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 130
    • Yearly Projected Openings 20

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Cooperation
    • Self Control

    Tools

    • Alarm systems
    • Desktop calculator
    • Digital telephones
    • Laser fax machine
    • Laser printers
    • Paging controllers
    • Personal computers
    • Phone headsets
    • Photocopiers
    • Premise branch exchange PBX systems
    • Special purpose telephones
    • Two way radios
    • Typewriters

    Technology

    • Electronic mail software
    • Helpdesk or call center software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video conferencing software
    • Word processing software
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