The BPO industry in the Philippines has this simple yet effective way of sourcing out applicants. They just ask the applicant’s full name and contact number and the applicant would get an invite for an assessment and interview. Believe it or not, the assessment is actually the easiest part of the whole process. It’s the interview that you have to prepare for. Most companies give utmost importance on scrutinizing the applicant’s personality and communication skill since most of the other attributes are acquired knowledge. Remember - product information and customer responses can be taught and scripted but how you deliver it is you and yours alone. I’m not saying you have to disregard the assessment. The bulk of it anyway is just Basic English and Computer know-how which I’m sure was taught to you way back in high school. So if you were listening then, I’m pretty sure you won’t fail it. You do have to prepare for your interview - this is something that you have to keep in mind so I have listed some essential things to do before you even go through the whole process.
The first thing you need is to have a good understanding of the position you are applying for. There is nothing worse than giving your interviewers the impression that you just applied for the post and you don't even understand what it is. Lucky for you, we have a whole section - Call Center 101 dedicated for you to understand what a Call Center Agent is all about. You may Click here to visit that section. Once you are scheduled for a job interview, take time to review the job descriptions. Pay close attention especially to the tasks and responsibilities involved. Visit the company or the organization's website if it has one. Read its Mission/Vision as well as core values. Try to have a sense of what it’s like to work in that environment. Present yourself as someone already working there but never try to put on a persona, just be yourself, knowledge is everything in this industry so try to equip yourself with one.
Another thing to remember is to anticipate the interview questions and prepare an answer for them. Always remember though that most of the questions will mostly come from your Resume so spend some time to read through it, think of the possible questions that the interviewer might ask and it’s best that you have an answer for all of them. There might come a time where an interviewer would throw an oddball / trick question that’s out of context, just keep in mind that these questions are designed to gauge your communication skills and how you react to unexpected things, it doesn’t have a right or wrong answer - just answer the question with confidence and you should do good. Always diversify your answers and never forget to give out examples as it would be your proof that you’re not making up stories. What I suggest to do is write down all your positive attributes, traits, characteristics, abilities and give out 3 examples for each of them. When worst comes to worst, since you have probably listed a lot, it’s easy to pull one up even if you forget the other ones. You may also Click here to view the Sample Question and Answers that may be asked when you go through an interview. Don’t get caught off guard – shield yourself with confidence through preparation.
The last thing to consider is to plan how to be on time for the interview. You already know how important a good first impression is. You can be certain that you will not make a good first impression if you are late for your job interview. To avoid being late, double check the address and the time, make sure you know very well how long it will take you to get there. If it’s possible, take a trip to the area where the interview will take place ahead of time. That way, the timeframe is more accurate. On top of all that, on the day or time of the set interview, plan to arrive about 15 minutes earlier. This will provide you some time to get relaxed – Click here for a tip on how to do that and maybe briefly meet and have a casual chat with someone before the interview.
The success of your job application hinges on a lot of things. It’s best that you prepare for all the scenarios that may come up during this time. Going to war without any preparation is the worst thing a soldier can do, so arm yourself, plan ahead, set your goals and land that job.
