Tips on Passing a Call Center Initial Interview

How to Pass a Call Center Initial Interview

Outsourcing is the trend among large companies nowadays that's why more and more call centers have been emerging like mushrooms in Asia particularly in the Philippines. If you are a fresh graduate you might be thinking of applying at one of these BPO companies. As a call center employee for about 8 years now, I humbly share a few tips on passing the Call Center Application Screening process.

Here are my tips on to how to successfully pass the Initial Interview.

An initial interview can be done over the phone or in person. Usually, you will be asked by the interviewer some 3-5 questions about you.

The dreaded and most common question during the initial interview:

Funniest Call Center Bloopers

It is said that "Laughter is the best medicine." We've heard that saying or expression since first grade. I believe it is true in a sense that laughter can help relieve stress and can cheer you up from being in despair. For that reason, I'd like to share this collection of telephone conversation or commonly called call center bloopers that I got from the call center industry. I hope you'd enjoy reading the following phone conversations below.

A Few Tips on Passing the Call Center Screening Process

Attention fresh graduates, out-of-work youths and all other job seekers out there! ^_^


The call center industry in our country has continue to grow each year. Are you looking for  a job that pays well? Are you willing to work in shifting schedules? Do you have above average spoken English Skills? Then, maybe working in a call center is the job for you. Being one of the call center agents for about 3 years now, allow me give to you a few tips on how to successfully pass the Call Center Screening Process.

Disclaimer: You might encounter a few grammatical errors below or anywhere in my blog, please don't be hard on me. You see, I am not perfect 'cuz nobody is. I am just trying to help. ^_^ 

A call center screening process has typically 3 stages:

First Stage: Initial Interview
Second Stage: Examination or Assessment
Third Stage: Final Interview with the HR Manager or Account Manager



Initial Interview

It can be conducted either in person or over the phone. If you're applying online, most likely, you will receive a phone call for an initial interview over the phone. Usually, the interviewer asks a series of questions (like 3-5 questions) about you.

Most Common Question on a job interview:

“Tell Me about Yourself”

At this point, the interviewer is looking at your resume, thus, there’s no need to repeat everything you wrote on your resume.

Tip: Give answers that would say more about your character as a person like…

Basically, I’m the kind of person who enjoys working with different kinds of individual. I think the thought of working with different kinds of people of different characters and how one would adapt or adjust with each other is very challenging and I like/love challenges. I enjoy variations and can appreciate individuality.

Common Mistakes: Beginning the answer with “I am and I live in . In other words, please stop telling what’s obviously written in your resume.

Continue reading more tips about Passing the Initial Interview through this link.

Please click here to read about Tips on Passing the Stage 2 of the Screening Process: Examination.

Please click here to read on how I answered the Final Interview: Interview with the Account Manager

I'd be glad to help as much as I can. Feel free to contact me:
Yahoo ID: monzavenue 
Skype ID: monzavenue 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Working in a Call Center Company

Evidently, the industry of call centers as well as the rest of the Business Process Outsourcing has become a blast for many Filipinos. Since the start of the rise of this industry, the unemployment rate has drastically lowered significantly. Being in the call center industry have its own advantages and disadvantages that you have to consider especially if you are regarding it to be a resort on having a job that can fend you your daily needs.

Continue reading...

- Guest Writer:LemonWriter
- Posted on Monz Avenue

Tips on Successfully Getting a Job at a Call Center

Business Process Outsourcing has become a trend in the business world nowadays. More and more call centers have been sprouting rapidly in Asia particularly here in the Philippines. If you are a fresh graduate, you might be thinking of trying your luck at one of these BPO companies. Being one of the call center agents for 3 years now, let me give you a few tips on how to successfully pass the Job Interview.


A call center screening process has typically 3 stages:

First Stage: Initial Interview
Second Stage: Examination or Assessment
Third Stage: Final Interview with the HR Manager or Account Manager


Initial Interview

It can be conducted either in person or over the phone. If you're applying online, most likely, you will receive a phone call for an initial interview over the phone. Usually, the interviewer asks a series of questions (like 3-5 questions) about you.



Most Common Question on a job interview:

“Tell Me about Yourself”

At this point, the interviewer is looking at your resume, thus, there’s no need to repeat everything you wrote on your resume.

Tip: Give answers that would say more about your character as a person like…

Basically, I’m the kind of person who enjoys working with different kinds of individual. I think the thought of working with different kinds of people of different characters and how one would adapt or adjust with each other is very challenging and I like/love challenges. I enjoy variations and can appreciate individuality.

Common Mistakes: Beginning the answer with “I am and I live in . In other words, please stop telling what’s obviously written in your resume.

Continue reading more tips about Passing the Initial Interview through this link.

Please click here to read on how I answered the Final Interview: Interview with the Account Manager

Callboys, Spongebob Briefs/Boxers and Blue Whales

Naisipan kong ilagay dito ang screenshots ng mga keywords na ginamit ng mga napadpad sa blog ko. Natatawa ako habang binabasa ko yung ibang keywords. Pakibasa po at sana mapangiti ko din kayo. ^_^

Sa mga naghahanap ng mga callboys sorry peru hindi po ako totoong callboy. Haha! Malamang dito kayo napadpad sa pinaka-una kong public blog post: I Am a Callboy. Sa mga first-timers sa blog ko, kung meron man, hayaan nyo po akong magpaliwanag sa presinto. Hindi ako bayaran. Hindi ako lalaking pokpok. Ako po ay isang call center boy/agent. Naging isang common jargon na po sa call center industry na gamitin ang mga terminong call boys at call girls. Kaya chill lang kayo. Wag ma-excite yung mga naghahanap at wag tumaas ang kilay yung mga konserbatibo. :)



Para naman sa nagtatanong kung mahal ba sya ng gf nya, aba'y sorry di ko alam. Di ko naman kilala gf mo at wag mo na pag-isipang ipakilala sya sa'kin dahil malamang ako na mamahalin nun. yay! biro lang. haha. may magcocomment na naman. baka sabihin pelingero ako. LOL

"You believe God, you believe brain." haha. Teka, bad na'ko pinagtawanan ko search keywords mo. Sorry. ayusin mo kasi. Dapat ganto yun, "If you don't believe that God exists just because we can't see him, then might as well don't believe that you have a brain." Opps. Sorry na naman sa mga ateyistang napadpad. Basta paki-basa na lang tong entry na to "Do You Believe That God Exist?"

"i'm sorry i'm lied" => ano daw? parang medyo green pagkaka-intindi ko dito ah. haha. ayusin mo kasi keywords mo. Sige again, take 2:

"poem am sorry i lied" => wow medyo okay na tu ah. at kelangan may nakalagay talagang poem. Specific ka na ngayon ah! O sige na nga. eto yata hinahanap mo eh: "I'm Sorry, I Lied"
"Spongebob briefs" / "Spongebob boxers" / "Spongebob.com"
==> haha.. parang pinopromote ko na ng husto si Spongebob ah. Sana man lang bigyan ako kahit konti ng Nickoledeon. Ang totoo iisa lang yung Spongebob boxers / briefs ko. At dito paki-basa ang istorya nyan. Spongebob Boxers / Briefs

By the way please click on the Blue Whale T-shirt (in the sidebar) to vote again. Vote counts were reset back to zero on Aug 10. for the final 10. If you voted previously, it is easier this time around. You just need to sign in and vote. We need your support dear reader and friends. Thank you very much.

Wishful Thinking

I wanna get to know you,
Get to see more than eyes can do.
Be drowned by your stares and smiles,
Get close to you despite the miles.
***

I know I suck at poetry. I don't have the talent. I can't even add another stanza to that "poem" above. Maybe I can but it will take another one whole week to do that. Or maybe just an hour if I get to see her smile again. Wanna know who she is? Scroll-down to the bottom.

PS:
Susunod na ang entry ko for Rhona's Pa-contest! Stay tuned! hehe

By the way, I wanna take this chance to say thank you to Jason, Ax, Eli, Dencios, Rhona at iba pang pabalik-balik sa blog ko para umabot ng 100+ yung comments ng LLM Entry ko sa pa-contest ni Otep. LOL

***

Just another Random Thought

Haha. Araw-araw may nagagawi sa blog ko nanaghahanap ng callboy! LOL

Eto oh!






Eto nga pala yung inspirasyon ko kaya nagawa ko ang napaka-ikling tula sa itaas. :)

*
*
*
*
*
*
*

LLM Entry: Dreaming is Absolutely Free!

Who doesn’t have dreams?

We all dream each night. And I love it. I love it when I remember the last dream I had - sweet and pleasant dreams in particular. I could still remember the very first time I dreamed of kissing my crush on the lips. And she was just no ordinary girl. She was like the hottest girl in the campus! LOL. I knew, it was like a shot to the moon. I was in first year high-school at that time. It felt so real and surreal at the same time.

Each one of us has a dream. Be it realistic or a fantasy. I dream at daytime even when I am awake. As a matter of fact daydreaming is one of my favorite past time. Or you might wanna call it wishful thinking. And it is not wrong. It is just normal to dream of things that you don’t have.

That is why I enjoy solitary moments as that’s the time when dreams come running over my head like restless codes.

"The very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.” William Shakespeare

Dreams or ambitions are normal among normal people. It is said that abnormal individuals or those who are mentally-troubled do not have ambitions in life. How about you? Do you have ambitions in life, dear reader? I bet you have. So dream on! It’s absolutely free! Libre lang mangarap ika nga.

I was taught that daydreaming is useless if we do not set goals to make our dreams come true. I was also taught that goals can be classified into two, the short-term goals and the long term goals.

Short-term goals are goals that are achievable in the near future, let’s say, in a week, in a month, or in a year.

Long-term goals are goals that need excessive effort in order for it to be achieved. These goals have longer-lasting effects to one’s life.

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson, America 3^rd US President

Having said that, I hereby list down my short-term goals and long term goals:

Short-term Goals slash Small Wishes

Wishlist:
• Nikon D-40 digital SLR – I have always loved photography as an art. I love taking photos and capturing different kinds of emotions – joyful group at the park, solitary moment of a stranger by the beach, etc.

• New phone : at least Nokia N95, the latest Blackberry or a Palm Pre Phone will do. Haha! Joke lang! Nasira kasi yung phone ko kaya kahit simpleng phone lang ayos na.

Long-Term Goals:

• Mansion: It was year 2002 when the typhoon totally shattered our house into pieces. So from that time on, we’ve been renting houses to live in. We have been going around Talisay City for more than 5 years already. And that’s not easy! That is why one of my long-term goal is to buy or build a decent house for my mom and my future family.

• I want to get a car! Gusto ko yung at least 6 ang seating capacity. hehe

• Surgery for my scoliosis: The last time I had my back x-rayed was three weeks ago and the result said my scoliosis has progressed badly and now it’s in 31 degrees. Maybe it’s the kind of job that I currently have that’s aggravating my condition. Mahirap kasi maghanap ng ibang job at medyo nakasanayan ko na ang pagiging callboy este call center agent boy! By the way, speaking off, akalain mong marami pa ring nag-sesearch ng “call boys in cebu” na napadpad sa blog ko dahil jan sa first entry kong “I Am A Callboy!” Nalaman ko to through sitemeter.com that’s embedded here on my blogsite. LOL! At marahil dahil half-naked ako jan sa picture ko, (tingin sa itaas, About me section), at dahil naka-display ang e-mail add ko, may mangilan-ngilan ding “mababait na nilalang” nag-i-email sakin at nakikipagkaibigan. Haha. Well, I like getting new friends, it’s not a problem to me. Basta ba malinis ang hangarin mo sa’kin at walang bahid ng pagnanasa ang mga “hi and hellos” mo. LOL. Haha. Thank you. Well, going back to my scoliosis, my physical therapist suggested that if my scoliosis reaches to 35 degrees, I might as well have my back operated. Yes, I’ll have to undergo surgery and that costs a lot. He said it costs around a hundred thousand! God, where on earth will I get that huge amount??! As I mentioned on my previous post, I was not born with silver or a golden spoon in my mouth.
  

PS: This is my entry to Pareng Otep’s Pa-kontest. His site is entitled “Libre Lang Mangarap!” True enough, dreaming is free! So dream on guys! And please leave a comment as many as you can dahil paramihan daw to ng comments! LOL... Thanks guys! I love you. ^_^

And if you care for me and you wanna help me achieve my dreams slash goals. Feel free to…

Biro lang guys, peru pwede din seryosohin. LOL

I Am a Call Boy!

"I am a call boy." That's what I tell everyone who asks me about what I do for a living. And then, as a response, they'd look at me from head to toe and then they're like "Really? You look too decent to be one!" And then I would say, "Yeah I know! That's why I'm getting paid more than what an average call boy gets. Haha!"


Actually, I'm working at a call center. I started wayback in November 2007 at one of the pioneer call centers in Cebu. So how is it like being a call center boy for more than 2 years already? Well, I can't find a single adjective that would perfectly describe my call center life so far. So let me say it's been stressful yet fun enough to get you going. At first, it wasn't an easy thing. I had challenges with the shifting of schedules and not to mention, speaking with Obama err Americans from different states. Imagine changing your biological clock so you could stay awake the whole night and sleep the whole day. Imagine taking a cup of coffee almost every hour to stay awake. Before I joined the BPO industry, I was never a coffee fan.

Luckily, after one whole year of taking calls, I was transferred to the e-mail team. The same support, the same products but cooler way of providing customer service. I was very glad, at least I didn't have to listen to the rants and complaints of customers.


But despite of the challenges of being a call center agent, generally, I think working at a call center is still way better than other rank and file jobs. Why? Because stress is in every job. It is part of every job. Well, at least call center managements provide fun and recreations to somehow help their agents cope up with stress such as Team Socials once a month and Team Buildings… and of course, not to mention, higher compensation and benefits and a lot more! Ask me, I’ll tell you more.