Bill and Account Collector resume example

A resume for a Bill and Account Collector needs to show the work itself: locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visit to solicit payment. Day to day that means work like this: record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts; locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Collector
  • Debt Collector
  • Patient Access Specialist
  • Patient Account Representative
  • Account Representative
  • Accounts Receivable Specialist
  • AR Specialist
  • Collection Agent
  • Collection Specialist
  • Telephone Collector
  • Account Receivable Associate
  • Account Service Representative
  • Accounts Collector
  • Bad Credit Collector
  • Bill Collector
  • Billing Representative
  • Car Repossessor
  • Chaser

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts.
  • Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment.
  • Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems.
  • Arrange for debt repayment or establish repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations.
  • Advise customers of necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment.
  • Answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts.
  • Persuade customers to pay amounts due on credit accounts, damage claims, or nonpayable checks, or to return merchandise.
  • Confer with customers by telephone or in person to determine reasons for overdue payments and to review the terms of sales, service, or credit contracts.
  • Receive payments and post amounts paid to customer accounts.
  • Trace delinquent customers to new addresses by inquiring at post offices, telephone companies, credit bureaus, or through the questioning of neighbors.
  • Notify credit departments, order merchandise repossession or service disconnection, and turn over account records to attorneys when customers fail to respond to collection attempts.
  • Sort and file correspondence and perform miscellaneous clerical duties, such as answering correspondence and writing reports.

15 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Arrange for debt repayment or establish repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • ADP Drive DMS for Accounting
  • ADS Advantage
  • Adtec Agency Manager
  • Austin Logistics CallSelect
  • Collection Data Systems CollectOne-Tiger
  • Columbia Ultimate Archive
  • Columbia Ultimate Remit
  • Columbia Ultimate RPCS
  • CU Connect processing software
  • Data-Tel Ceasar
  • Debt account management and collection software
  • Diagnostic and procedural coding software
  • Document management system software
  • Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS

43 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Amplified telephones
  • Autodialers
  • Laptop computers
  • Personal digital assistants PDA
  • Predictive dialers
  • Scanners

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • sort mail

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Active Listening
  2. 02Speaking
  3. 03Persuasion
  4. 04Social Perceptiveness
  5. 05Writing
  6. 06Critical Thinking
  7. 07Reading Comprehension
  8. 08Monitoring
  9. 09Negotiation
  10. 10Service Orientation

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • English Language
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Mathematics
  • Economics and Accounting
  • Law and Government
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Administration and Management
  • Administrative

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 48%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 27%Some College Courses
  • 21%Bachelor's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Bill and Account Collector do?
Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visit to solicit payment. Day to day that includes work like record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts and Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment.
What skills should a Bill and Account Collector put on a resume?
O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Persuasion, Social Perceptiveness, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Bill and Account Collector list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes ADP Drive DMS for Accounting, ADS Advantage, Adtec Agency Manager, Austin Logistics CallSelect, and Collection Data Systems CollectOne-Tiger. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Bill and Account Collector work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Collector, Debt Collector, Patient Access Specialist, and Patient Account Representative. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Bill and Account Collector need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 48% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Bill and Account Collector role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.