Melvin 
Contact Representative

Contact Representative is the first individual who the American Taxpayer usually makes
contact with via the telephone when they call the IRS 1-800 number or if they write
into the IRS, if they received a notice or if they received a bill or they have questions
regarding their tax account. 

There is a large variety in work, particular if tax laws change, that changes how we do
our job. Each day when you are helping an individual, everyone has a specific issue or
question or concern, so it’s never boring, you get something new and fresh every day.

I came to the Internal Revenue Service as a college intern. The IRS was holding a career
fair on campus and I was picking up some information and saw the booths where the Internal
Revenue Service people were. I put my information in and filled out an application at the
time and a couple of weeks later I got called in for an interview.

The minimum qualification is a four year college degree or a high school diploma with at
least one year of customer service experience.

The ten week training program that outlines what we do as Customer Service Reps, so I tend
to think of it as Customer Service Basic Training 101.

The service, they have a real good growth and development program for individuals that want
to make the IRS a career – there are opportunities available for an individual to pick up
necessary skills through on the job training, online courses that they can take.

If individuals have a bilingual skill, the IRS is willing to work with them to bring them on
board. They have to get tested in that skill to make sure that they’re fluent.


If you are willing to help and have an attitude that you want to help, then the agency will
do all that it can to help you be successful – and once again, I always tell individuals that
I meet “how do you like your job?” – And I tell them “Well I’ve got a better job for you.
Come work for the Internal Revenue Service.”