Telemarketers
What Telemarketers Do
Solicit donations or orders for goods or services over the telephone.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 0.6%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 2 of 5Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Job training
- Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Sales and Marketingimportance 4.3/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.0/5
- English Languageimportance 3.8/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.1/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.1/5
- Communications and Mediaimportance 3.1/5
- Administrativeimportance 2.7/5
- Law and Governmentimportance 2.5/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Telephone Conversations4.9/5
- Contact With Others4.9/5
- Spend Time Sitting4.8/5
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.6/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.5/5
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.5/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers96% skill match
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products95% skill match
- Concierges94% skill match
- Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants94% skill match
- Retail Salespersons93% skill match
- Travel Agents93% skill match
- Models92% skill match
- New Accounts Clerks92% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Persuasionimportance 4.1/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.5/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.3/5
- Negotiationimportance 3.0/5
- Coordinationimportance 2.5/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.4/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.4/5
- Time Managementimportance 2.4/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- Acarda Sales Technologies Acarda Outbound
- Automatic call distribution software
- Database Systems Corp Telemation
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Remote access call center software
- Softphone software
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Social Orientation
- Optimism
- Perseverance
- Self-Control
- Achievement Orientation
- Stress Tolerance
- Dependability
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- EnterprisingHigh
- ConventionalHigh
- SocialMedium
- RealisticLow
- ArtisticLow
- InvestigativeLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where telemarketers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Sebring, FL9.87× national avg
- 2Springfield, MO8.99× national avg
- 3Cleveland, TN6.48× national avg
- 4Canton-Massillon, OH4.49× national avg
- 5El Paso, TX4.42× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Customer Service RepresentativesCareer Change
- Retail SalespersonsLateral Move
- New Accounts ClerksCareer Change
- Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related WorkersLateral Move