Call Center Interview Preparation
There are several different jobs within a call center. In general, such work can be divided into outbound and inbound calls, while some positions deal with both. Outbound calling means you call clients or prospects for sales, donations, to solicit orders or appointments. Inbound calling means you are taking calls from clients to answer questions, troubleshoot and provide information. Interviewing for either position requires many of the same skills and responses to similar questions.
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Resume
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Prepare for your call center interview by being sure your resume is in order, detailing relevant experience and skills. The employer will be looking for you to be able to type generally more than 30 words per minute, have basic computer knowledge, strong communication skills and experience in customer service or sales. Be ready to answer any inconsistencies on your resume such as if you have gaps in your employment history. Answers should be brief and to the point.
Outbound Call Expectations
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By reading the job description or researching what the company does, you should be able to get a good idea of what your job would entail and the concerns of the employer. If it is a company that does telemarketing sales of printer supplies, the employer would want to know about your past telemarketing experience at other call centers. She would ask you questions such as how many calls you made per day, what your average close rate was and how you compared to your peers.
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Inbound Call Expectations
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For a company that takes inbound service calls, the employer would ask you questions about previous software and customer databases you worked with, how you handled complaints, how long it took you to resolve client issues and about your familiarity with the services the company provides.
Cite Examples
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Before the interview, try to recall specific examples in which you demonstrated skills in resolving incoming calls and/or calling prospects and getting appointments or sales. Be sure to remember numbers and facts. For example, if you first started a new inbound call position and earned Employee of the Month for resolving an average of 20 calls per day, you should be able to cite this as an example if you are asked any type of questions about your ability to learn new skills, your capability in quickly solving clients' needs and how you compared to other workers at the call center.
Gather Information
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Ask any friends or former co-workers about interviews they went through at a similar call center. Try to get any details such as the length of the interview, specific questions that were asked, if there were skills tests or simply a sit-down interview.
Use Imagination
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Put yourself in the employer's place and try to think of a few questions you would want to ask a person you were about to hire. Write down these questions on a stack of index cards. When you finish the questions, go through one by one and write a clear, concise answer on the back. Go through the stack of questions a few times, asking yourself the questions and trying to give an answer without looking at the backside. After you have answered, read your written answer to be sure you covered the main points you needed to.
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References
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