Do you ever find yourself having a hard time answering a question?
Here’s a trick that I use.
You just need a pen and some paper.
It’ll take five minutes or less.
Step 1: Define the question.
What is the question?
Step 2: Write down 10 possible answers.
You can also include elements of your answer.
Don’t think about it too much and just write it.
You’ll edit later.
You can add more.
The idea is to just get ideas on paper so you can decide better what to include.
Step 3: Study your answer.
Review it carefully.
What do you like?
What do you think works?
What can you remove?
What’s the best way to say it?
Step 4: Select 2-3 items
from your list that you consider to be the best and use that for your answer.
How to Answer Common Interview Questions
Here’s how you can answer the four most common call center questions.
Tell Me Something About Yourself
I start by writing what information comes to mind. Elements about myself include.
My name is Kevin Olega.
I live in Paranñque.
I worked in sales.
I enjoy blogging.
I enjoy traveling.
I got out of a really long relationship and am trying to recover.
I enjoy taking my bike around the city or out of town.
I recently learned how to cook from Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal , and Tim Ferriss
I’m a CrossFit guy.
I’m a LifeHacker
I’m a Martial Artist
Here’s how I introduce myself.
“My name is Kevin. I live in Parañaque. I work in sales. I spend my free time blogging, traveling, riding my bike and participating in CrossFit activities.”
Note: I don’t tell them too much. If I’m in the interview I wait for them to ask what they are interested in so I can elaborate on it.
Why Do You Want To Work In A Call Center?
Why Do You Want To Work In A Call Center?
I enjoy talking on the phone.
I don’t mind working at night. In fact, working at night is to my advantage.
I know that call center jobs pay higher than regular companies.
I know that reputable companies provide good benefits, even to entry-level employees.
I know that well-known call center companies pay on time.
I know that call center work is not for everyone and a lot of people quit the job, that means a higher chance of career advancement and opportunities.
I speak English well. “Laway lang ang puhunan.” It’s a talking job.
I enjoy solving problems.
I like the fact that although everyone can get hired potentially in a call center not everyone will stay in the company long term. I know myself very well and I’m the type of person who sticks around when things get tough.
The job requires creativity, confidence and determination. If you don’t have all three you’re out. Fortunately, after many failures and difficulties, I have developed all three traits and I’m 100% that I can give you great value for your investment.
Note: Some of my answers are negative. Some of my answers are positive. I start with what I get from working in a call center because that’s the truth. We all work for money. Call centers pay well. They know it and we know it. Giving answers like to make a contribution to the organization comes off as phony or plastic. Here’s how I talk about why I want to work in a Call Center:
“I want to work in a call center because I know that good call center companies have a reputation to pay well, the benefits are good, they pay on time and there are opportunities for advancement.”
What are your strengths?
Also asked as “Why should we hire you?” or “What can you contribute to our company?” or “What makes you an asset to this organization”
I speak English well.
I enjoy reading.
I enjoy solving problems
I enjoy learning new skills.
I am self-motivated. I direct myself to do what needs to be done. I do not need instructions to get me started to doing what is good for me.
I have a can-do attitude. I’m positive that every problem has a solution.
I continuously improve. Every skill I’m good at is a skill that I’m previously bad at.
I’m a master of copying. Every skill I have is learned from someone who is excellent at what they do.
I spend my time with the right people. I make an effort to be where I’ll learn from people are better and smarter than me and I learn from them.
I have a good understanding of my strengths and my weaknesses. I study myself. I write lists of things that I can do. I write lists of things I can’t do and add it into a list of “Things I’d like to do and/or study.”
I understand customer service.
I have sales skills. I can ask people about their needs and problems, communicate the possibility of my product or service assisting them and encouraging them to take action.
I know how to cook. I know that if you follow a recipe’s steps and use the right ingredients you can copy a specific dish or result. This doesn’t apply in cooking. The same process applies in real life.
I know martial arts. I know that learning skills involve imitating what works and practicing it regularly will give me good results over time.
I’m a gamer. I know that everyone starts at lower levels and as I keep playing, I get better and so does my abilities. Eventually, I’ll play in the higher levels.
I’m know how to draw. I know that copying best practices and lots of practice is the key to getting better.
I’m a writer. I know that learning to do things requires you to test a lot of things
I’m a Lifehacker. I use tools and techniques from smart people to get things done.
I’m a minimalist. I know how to focus on the important and ignore the unimportant. If none of these are your strengths, I encourage you to make it your life goal to make these strengths part of your list. You can’t go through life with such a disability.
How I answer this question:
“People tell me I’m good at talking to clients and making them open up. I approach my work like a gamer. I study the rules. I learn what I need to learn and I just get to work.”
I’m a shy person by nature. I don’t like to brag about my strengths. Instead what I do is I talk about what nice things other people tell me.
What are your Weakness?
Also asked as “Why shouldn’t we hire you?”
All of my current strengths are often last year’s weakness.
I was usually late until I decided to give myself a large allowance of time for my appointments. I don’t over commit so I don’t overextend.
I was a hoarder until I realized that the more I had the less I can use because my time and attention is limited. I’m now a minimalist.
I didn’t know how to draw until I spent more time with people who can draw well.
I was unfit until I decided to spend my time with people who are healthy and had the bodies that I envy.
I didn’t know how to cook or anything about food until I spent my time with people with high standards.
I didn’t have good English before. My English scores were barely passing. Then I began watching English cartoons and TV shows. I loved some of them so much I began to imitate how they talked.
I was bad in sales. But I learned from people who can sell well. I just studied the parts of what they did and just imitated the steps.
I’m bad at a lot of things but after I study it I can do it too.
I didn’t have people skills. It was so terrible, I failed call center interviews despite speaking English perfectly. It’s that bad. Then I spent time with people who had it.
I’m not good at anything. I’m just good at copying.
How I answer this question in an interview:
“I have a hard time answering this question. Everything I’m currently good at right now is often something I’m terrible at in the past couple of years. The Kevin Olega you see right now is way different from last year’s Kevin Olega and next year’s Kevin Olega will be different too.”
Note: Sometimes you can just copy an element, from the list. In some situations, you can take what it means. Summarize it and just use the elements as examples._ Here’s a breakdown of how I answer the most common questions. Did I miss anything? Find an error? Let me know.
Thank you for reading this far and thanks for your attention.
