Hardest Customer Support Representative Interview Preparation Guide

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If you are fresher and you don’t have experience, then you can mention something that can relate you with a call center. Example, I have worked in desktop support, or I am holding a certificate for mass communication, etc. If you are experienced, narrate the same.

For one, the interview question: “give us reasons to hire you”, “why should we employ you” or “what can you bring to our company” is something that differentiates the best candidates from the other good candidates.

What they're looking for: A candidate who knows how to please customers.

How to answer: Be prepared to share a customer story of your past experience. Outline your story so you can hit on the key points quickly while walking the interviewer through the situation.

What they're looking for: A candidate who genuinely finds happiness in being of service to others.

How to answer: Be prepared to share what truly excites you about customer service. If you struggle to find a reason why customer service helps bring you happiness, perhaps you should refocus your job search.

This is the common question, you might face in any interview. So, prior to interview do your homework and jot down your strengths like subject knowledge, computer skills, communication etc. Also, how you can relate your strength to your current job. For example, you have a good hold on some language, or you have some good marketing skill or having ability to convince other.

I know that you provide financial services, consumer credit cards, home lending and dealer services which happen to be the best in town.

Although this would seem like a simple question, it can easily become tricky. You shouldn’t mention salary being a factor at this point. If you’re currently employed, your response can focus on developing and expanding your career and even yourself. If you’re current employer is downsizing, remain positive and brief. If your employer fired you, prepare a solid reason. Under no circumstance should you discuss any drama or negativity, always remain positive.

This question means how many words you can type in a minute. If you know the number, you can mention it but if you don’t know then just tell that you are good in typing skills.

This question is asked by interviewer to know your awareness to the job profile. So based on your answer they will decide what role or position they will assign to you. For instance, if you say that call center is about dealing with customer problems they will put assign you customer associate Role. On the contrary, if your answer is that a call center is a new business zone, where youngsters are employed in numbers and get an opportunity to develop their career, they might put you in a HR department.

What they're looking for: A candidate who fits within the organization's current scheduling.

How to answer: Know beforehand what your schedule looks like, and how a job plays into the schedule. Know your flexibilities. By communicating your schedule, the employer knows how they can incorporate you into their shifts.

What they're looking for: A candidate who is knowledgeable and can recall information about the products or services they supported.

How to answer: Be prepared to give a brief description of the products or services you've worked with. Practice a 15-second pitch of the product or service to help the interviewer immediately understand the product, and to show your salesmanship.

If you have an experience of handling multiple calls, then narrate the same. In case you don’t have experience mention that once training is provided, I could handle multiple calls with ease.

This can be a tricky question to respond to, if you suggest you have no weaknesses you’re going to appear as a lair or egotistical. You should respond realistically by mentioning small work related weaknesses. Although many try to answer using a positive skill in disguise as a weakness, like “I expect co-workers to have the same commitment” or “I am a perfectionist”. However, it is recommended that there is some honesty and the weaknesses are true, and then emphasize on how you have overcome it or working to improve it. The purpose of this question is to see how you view and evaluate yourself.

As I am an extrovert person and I like to interact with people, call center job is a perfect for me. I like to resolve customer’s queries and face the challenges positively. Also, the pace of work in call center and team members friendliness always motivates me to work for call centers.

This question allows you to brag on yourself, but keep in mind that the interviewer wants strengths relative to the position. For example, being a problem solver, a motivator, and being able to perform under pressure, positive attitude and loyal. You will also need examples that back your answers up for illustration of the skill.

I am a friendly and sociable person and I believe listening to others is equally important as speaking to them is. Whenever I interact, I ensure that the communication is two way and the interaction involves respect for the other person.

Yes, I am well versed in MS office suit, internet, outlook, social media, maintaining and accessing customer database operations and tracking customer requests to trace service/complaint status on the electronic system.

What they're looking for: Confirmation.

How to answer: The interviewer has done their research on you. Now, they need confirmation that what they're imagining (that you're a good fit!) is actually true. Be sure to highlight how you fit into the organization - not just the generic "I'm a team player" type of answer. Visualize how you would be a good fit at the organization, and communicate your vision.

The types of call center are

☛ Inbound Call Center
☛ Outbound Call Center

Inbound Call Center: In an inbound call center, customer associate will receive the calls regarding the customer’s queries or demands. Eg: Customer is calling a Telecom Company to know the current tariff on internet service they provide.

Outbound Call Center: In an outbound call center, customer associate will make calls to their customer, regarding business or sales related. Eg: When you receive a call from a bank offering a personal loan.

This is a question often asked for call center jobs, there are many multi-national companies that outsource their work to other countries. Such companies demand for night shifts as their working hours might be our sleeping hours. So based on your preference you can reply to this question.

The first thing that I will do is to stay calm and listen to the customers problem, and try to figure out what made him/her annoyed. The next thing I will do is ask politely to the customer to calm down. Then I will assure him/her to solve their problem. The last thing that I will do is to identify the root-cause that creates problem to the customer, fix it and ensure it never happens again.

This question is like a loaded gun, tricky and dangerous if you’re not sure what you are doing. It’s not uncommon for people to end up talking salary before really selling their skills, but knowledge is power as this is a negotiation after all. Again, this is an area where doing your research will be helpful as you will have an understanding of average salary.

One approach is asking the interviewer about the salary range, but to avoid the question entirely, you can respond that money isn’t a key factor and you’re goal is to advance in your career. However, if you have a minimum figure in mind and you believe you’re able to get it, you may find it worth trying.

What they're looking for: A candidate who knows how to solve problems.

How to answer: Be prepared to share a scenario of a time when you didn't know the answer to a question, and what you did to find a solution for the customer. Keep your story short and sweet and demonstrate that while you may not know all the answers, you know how to solve a problem.

I have had plenty of instances to handle irate customers effectively. The tact is – never loose your temper and listen them patiently. Once you know what is wrong, you can make amends for it and help them out appropriately.

What they're looking for: A candidate who isn't afraid to speak up and looks at their job as more than just "service" - they view their job as a way to do product development.

How to answer: Know how you would handle a situation where there is a flaw in the product. What would you immediately do with the customer, and what would you do once you hang up the phone? Then, what would you do to follow up with the customer?