Fresh Debt Collector Interview Preparation Guide

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You’re right. Data collection is definitely hard work. But since I enjoy the challenge so much, I can easily overlook the hard part.

I believe that collecting data is no big deal. It is what one has to do to sort information and verify its accuracy and integrity where the challenge is most evident.

The most important thing to remember here is to stay positive. You don’t want to gripe and complain about your past boss, even if she was a devil. You want to be very brief in describing the challenge and then expand on that by focusing on what you did to overcome the challenge. If the end result was a positive one, then be sure to highlight that, emphasizing the part you played in coming to that end.

I have been involved since 1999 in debt collection. My husband was a credit manager and saw the business opportunities in this industry. We then became involved as a team.

Every company has different data collection requirements. From collecting information for census purposes to performing data collection activities in a meter reading capacity, everything falls under the broader category of data collection.

You should think through this question before you go to an interview and come up with a truly honest answer that rings true for you. Then you should tailor this answer to be appropriate to the interview. If your goal is to enter an entirely different field, you need to explain clearly why this job is the perfect stepping stone to that goal. For bonus points, identify a well-known mentor in your field, and explain the assets and aspects of their career that are touchstones for your own career goals.

Here you want to demonstrate your knowledge of the different roles within a team and show that you have a strength but can still be versatile. For example, you might say that you think it’s great that each team has a communicator, a leader, a note taker, etc. and that you tend to take on the leadership role but are also able to be a communicator or a note taker, as needed. Provide a brief example from a past experience at work.

The entire work of a debt collector is challenging. What I find most irksome is when debtors go into hiding, making the process longer than expected.

Employers are fully aware of the fact that it’s tough to find a job right now so they’re not looking for an excuse about the employment gap . What they want to know is how you’ve been filling your time while you’ve been unemployed. Provide a thorough answer that explains what you’ve done and why it would benefit the employer. For example, if you took time off of work to stay at home with the kids, then focus on the fact that the skills required to manage a household will translate nicely to managing employees in your new position.

Threatening and intoxicated debtors. Or, even worse, a serious domestic dispute when either the wife or the husband was completely unaware of the fact that the other party made the debt in the first place.

There is a subtle balance to be achieved when answering this question. You want to show that you can indeed be a great team member, collaborating with others and working together to produce a great end result. However, you also want to emphasize that you value the opportunity to share your own input and also that you have the ability to take instruction and run with it without having your hand held.

In order to achieve this subtle balance, you should answer that you do enjoy working as part of a team, but also that you aren’t afraid of taking on individual tasks, either. You should then provide two examples from your past; one that shows true collaboration and one that shows an ability to work independently in a manner that is an asset to the company.

The work is fascinating as it offers so many challenges. There is very little boredom, as every day is always a new one!

There are several different things that an employer may be trying to get at when asking this question. Address them all in your answer, and you’ll have a successful interview. Those things include:

☛ What do you actually know about our company?
☛ What skills do you bring to the company?
☛ Why are you even looking for a job in the first place?
☛ Why are you looking at getting a job that is below the status / pay of a previous job you’ve held?

Answer this common interview question by doing your research about the company and position before the interview and choosing a fact about the company that really interests you. Highlight this fact in the interview as a reason you want to work with the company, and then explain concisely how your skills dovetail with this.

There is no question about it. We see this all the time.

In the commercial services industry, your experience with clients may be widespread. Talk to the interviewer about any particular industry to which you may have more exposure. If you have a specialty - now is the time to discuss your expertise. Whether you have experience in the same industry as Pristav Debt Collection Agency, or not, be sure to appear confident in your capabilities.

My work as a data collector does not end at simply collecting and filing information. I have to make sure that the data which I have collected stays updated, which is why I follow all the procedures for updating it constantly and ensuring that its essence remains intact.

The interviewer wants to know that you are well aware of the services offered at our Debt Collection Agency. Have you used them previously? Discuss with the interviewer any exposure you have had to the company. Keep your response positive and lighthearted.

Most people are very negative when you arrive, but we are actually there to help. We take a look at income and expenditure and usually the debtor can make an arrangement for the payment of a lower installment – obviously within reason. You also find those people who make it very clear from the word go that they are not at all prepared to negotiate, and who are then sent a summons by the attorney.

I have always felt that my follow-up skills are excellent. This coupled with an inherent interest to do something challenging on a daily basis is what made me pick up this work, and make a career out of it!

☛ What do you like about this job?
☛ How do you feel about working with targets?
☛ What collection methods do you know?
☛ How familiar are you with FDCPA/HIPAA/etc. dictations?
☛ Name three things a debt collector should avoid when speaking to a debtor
☛ How do you ensure you keep track of all outstanding payments?

☛ A debtor has missed 6 months of payments. When you call them, they start talking about their difficulties and get emotional. How do you handle it?
☛ How do you ensure that you get the necessary information from someone who’s eager to hang up on you?
☛ How would you perform skip tracing? How do you ensure the procedure’s legality?
☛ How would you decide whether legal action were the only solution?
☛ What would be your response to a customer who’s using obscene or offensive language towards you?
☛ Can you think of a few common excuses that debtors may make? How would you respond to each of them?

☛ Tell me about a time you dealt with an angry customer. What did you do?
☛ Describe a time you felt good about your job as a debt collector
☛ Recall a time you had difficulties in negotiating with a debtor/customer. How did you manage?
☛ Tell me about a time you were very stressed in your job. How did you handle it?

We suspect they are true. But we have never been contacted by any illegal lenders. We have heard many stories though of people whose property has been confiscated illegally, but we don’t have any knowledge of physical violence being used.

Yes, definitely. Most of the work we get is to try and recover short-term loans on which people have defaulted. It would appear to be caused partly by the ever-rising cost of living.

The interviewer would like to know if you are an engaged employee; offering suggestions and providing more profound thought when it comes to processing improvement in the workplace. Give an example of a time when you suggested an improvement in the workplace. It can be big or small! Did anything significant come out of your suggestion?