Switchboard Operator
What the work is
Operates telecommunication switchboards and consoles to assist callers to establish telephone connections and receive caller enquiries and fault reports.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Operates switchboards and consoles to connect, hold, transfer and disconnect telephone calls
- Responds to caller enquiries by providing information such as telephone numbers, dialling codes, call costs, time delays and service difficulties
- Investigates operating system problems and informs maintenance services
- Alerts emergency services when required
- Records details and determines charges for designated types of calls
- May monitor the efficiency of systems and maintain service sampling records
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the customer information desk and phone switchboard of a regional council. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- You send a confused caller to exactly the right person on the first try
- A visitor who arrived frustrated leaves with the answer they needed
- A quiet shift when the phones ring steadily and every call is easy
Hard days
- The phones ring all at once after a storm or a rates notice
- A caller is angry about something the council cannot change
- Not knowing the answer and having to find it while a person waits
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 551232, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.