My sister wanted to share anothet article. This time it is about her knowledge in how the BPO industry works.
Check out my amazing sponsorsI've been asked a lot on how to pass a call center interview. As someone whose been working in the BPO industry for 5 years, I can confidently say that passing a call center interview is not that hard. Though it will only differ by training and in which account you will be profiled to. Jargon? No worries, it will be discussed later on. I decided to share my call center journey here as a newbie, just so those aspiring individuals will get an idea on how the BPO set up works.
As a fresh graduate way back 2016, I pursued to get a job in line with my course. But competition at that time is very high and I badly needed a job that will pay me a reasonable salary; we are indebted just for me to graduate. I couldn't wait for other companies to schedule me for an interview, that's why I kept on submitting my resume. Luckily, I was reffered by my friend's brother to apply in Sykes Asia Inc. What I'm going to share happened before the pandemic.
INTERVIEW
Some BPO only have 2 interviews, the initial and final. Some have online assessment and some don't. I was interviewed in WCC Branch. Usual questions asked in a Call Center interview are as follows:
• Can you tell me something about yourself that is not in your resume? You have to be very careful on this one. Follow up questions will depend upon your answers. Keep it short and simple. I usually introduced myself with my hobbies and now that Covid happened, I added how I spent my lockdown days.
• Why Call Canter? What do you know about the BPO industry? Interviewers commonly asked this for newbies. They want to know if you have researched well about the industry and check your drive to be part of the company. Your answer should not only focus about how you can benefit from the company but you also need to built up yourself here. Tell them how they can benefit from you. You can simply say, "BPO industry is one of the fastest growing industry in the Philippines and your company is listed as one of the best employer. I am hardworking and likes to take challenges. Who would not want to be part of the industry that will not only provide a good compensation but also helps me enhance my skills and ability".
• Out of the box questions. Be ready for questions like this. Some scenarios that the interviewer will give you are; describe the sky to a blind person, sell a ballpen to handicapped man or sell ice to North Pole. Just answer it confidently. There's no right or wrong answer to that anyways.
My tips while being interviewed; first, you need to be confident. Do not stutter and avoid fillers like "uhm". Posture is a must but don't be a robot. You can move your hands a little which also makes an impression that you are confident. Smile while talking and make eye contact to you interviewer.
POST INTERVIEW
After the interview they will make you wait at the lobby for the result. Once you have the result, other applicants will know if you pass or not. If you pass, you will leave the company with J.O and if not, you will leave empty handed. And that's ok. Failing is part of looking for a job. Even I at first until now, received a "no" from my applications.
The good old days, where interview process only took less than a day. Nowadays, you will have to wait for you to be schedule and some will ghost you (not get back to you for an update if you pass or fail). If you are a newbie, the interviewer will decide which account you will be profiled. And if you are a tenured applicant you can ask what account you want to be assigned, but it will still depend on the availability of the account.
Now, speaking of accounts, in BPO that's the term used to refer on which department you will be assigned. Some example accounts in BPO are Customer Service, Sales, Technical, Financial, etc. You might also encounter the words Inbound and Outbound account. Inbound account is the type of account where the customer will call you for assistance while Outbound account is when you are the one will call the customer to offer a service.
Now that you are hired, your employment is still at risk. During training, you will need to pass exams and mock calls to be called a true call center agent. At first, you will be discourage because some excels and you are left out. But believe me, once you get a hold of how the account works; which will only takes at least three weeks to a month, you can already received calls with your eyes closed.
There's no easy work/job. You just have to love what you're doing. Appreciate what you have and always remember the reason why you're working. As long as you don't degrade others, you can keep doing what you're doing.
My experience
My sister actually helped me a lot during my first interview for a BPO company. I also worked at where she had her first job.
I asked to be assigned in a chat support account which I believe is easier than taking calls. However, some veterans there think that being reassigned in our account is a downgrade especially since most of them started in calls.
For me, it was okay. The job was repetitive. I encounter some problems that even the veteran have yet to encounter and I learned a lot in how to handle those types of situations.
I left because as much as I find the salary good, I could not see myself doing it for a long time. I do not like what I was doing even if it was manageable. Maybe I am not cut out for it.
The experience taught me to appreciate the struggles of call center agents. There are some negative views attached to the job as if it is not a decent source of income. However, I believe that working in call center deserves recognition as much as other jobs.
It is not where one goes to when they could not finish their course. It is not a job below someone who finished a degree. It is a decent paying job that requires employees to have the necessary skills as well.
Thank you for reading this article!
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My sister is a call center agent and I'm a fresh man college I kept on telling her that I wanna work part time job as a call center but she doesn't let me telling how exhausting this work is. Though she teach me some techniques on applying to an interview and what you write is almost exactly as she said. She doesn't want me yet to apply for a job