Tips on how how to get hired in a call center.

To start off, you need to make sure that any qualifications that you have will match the call center you are looking for. It will surely help if you scan call center listings as well as go to forums that would indicate what type of accounts call centers have. Company websites won't tell you what are the exact accounts that are open for applicants and would instead just give you a hint (i.e. technical support representative but would not say if you are required to sell, customer service associates but would not tell you if its for companies like AT&T or Bluecross, etc.). Once you found out that the right company for you, it's time now to prepare for the interview. Though some call centers will make you wait for days before you get to know the results, some just process your application in a day so you will know right away if you made it or not.

Make sure that you are well prepared for this day. In the event that you fail the recruitment process, it will take at least a month for you to reapply again (depending on the company).

Be at your best look when you apply. It is important that you give emphasis to your grooming. There are some applicants who would apply wearing jeans and when its all said and done, they would go home rejected. Bear in mind that call centers have a dress code policy. What would they think of you when you are just an applicant and you're already in your weekend clothing? The ideal attire would be Business Casual (slacks and a polo). 

Try to formulate some interview questions of your own. If it may appear that you have lost your mind and that you are talking to yourself or your reflection at the mirror, let it. By this way, you will be able to gauge yourself on how you will deliver your lines and know what to answer to a particular question. It would help if you research the internet and look for common questions that are asked in interviews. These may include details on your resume, your employment background, why did you left your former company, etc. Some will even ask you to tell them something about yourself that is not in your resume. Take note that they will listen to your diction, how you will pronounce and enunciate the words and your accent. Just be confident and be conversational at the same time.

Be also prepared for the exams. The tests are mostly composed of psychological, reasoning, logic and grammar. A tip to pass psychological exams is to make sure that you are consistent with your answers. Be aware that some questions have the same answers presented differently. The grammar and other tests won't be that hard as long you were not daydreaming during your time in school.

Now for the Final Interview. Make sure that you give the impression to the interviewer that they are hiring the correct person for the job. They will also present to you the salary that they will offer you. Don't be contented with it. If you feel there is a need to negotiate, do so (especially if you already have call center experience). It is likely that they will try their best to meet your request.

And lastly, the job offer. Do not sign that contract until you have read it thoroughly. And never leave without having a copy of your own. You will also be informed when your training will start as well as the venue.

How is it like applying at ACS-MOA

For those who don't know, this is NOT that other call center we all know as Advanced Contact Solutions. This is the call center that you will find at the 7th floor of One E-com center right beside Mall of Asia in Pasay City. Now, just to make it clear, if you're thinking that you'll be hired in a day here, think again. This is NOT a one day hiring process company. But think about what you're gonna get once you affixed your signature in their contract. If you're the techie type of agent that has a 1 year experience in a technical account, you stand a very good chance of getting 27,000 pesos per month as a tier 1 technical account agent! So how's that for the long wait?

I haven't had the chance to apply at ACS yet but based on the stories of some friends who work there, I will tell you how it's like. Aside from online applications, ACS also accepts walk in applicants. So if you want to go there directly, you can do so. Just bring in your resume and be at your best appearance.

Be prepared for a long wait. If you're a smoker, expect your craving to shoot up high here. First, give your resume to the receptionist. A member of the hr staff will then call your name after 30 minutes and you will be given a written examination. Don't worry, it's not that hard. It's just a bunch of questions that will test your grammar skills as well as your reading comprehension skills. If you pass, you will then be given a typing test with the hr lady directly looking at how fast you type.

Now, due to the high influx of applicants, it is most likely that you will be scheduled to come back for another day (that is in the event that you pass the typing test). The next time you come back, you will be given an english assesment exam. If you pass this, you will then be endorsed for the initial interview. I've been told that it usually takes hours in between for this to happen and is most likely to happen in just a single day so don't expect to have a job offer at the end of the day.

The next phase will be the final interview. Expect an American Executive to talk to you. If you pass this, there is still no guarantee that you will sign a contract. Some I heard have to come back a day or two for the job offer. and they weren't even scheduled. They just waited for the call or text of the hr people.

All I can say is it their hiring process may be long, but the wait is definitely worth it (that is if you get hired in a technical account). Customer Service Accounts are said to be much lower in terms of pay here, though.

Get hired in a day at Teleperformance.

If you're the type who would want to go home with a contract at the very day of your application, then go to Teleperformance Mall of Asia. A lot of people know that this rather huge site is used to be own by Dell until TP bought it recently.

I went there as early as 8:00 am and as usual, I told the guard that I am a walk in applicant. She then gave me a form to fill out which consisted of around four pages. I swear that hurt my hand. I was asked about my employment history as well as some essays. I had a feeling I will be placed in a technical sales account if I ever do get hired because some questions are about upselling.

So after filling out the form, I was instructed to wait for the receptionist and it took about two hours (10:00 am to be exact) for me to finally take the initial exam. Now, if you're good in English grammar and has a basic knowledge in computers, you will pass this exam (which I expectedly did). We were then instructed to wait for the lobby and wait for the results. TP is very much like Convergys in giving out results as you would only get to read it in a piece of paper. If you pass, you will have your initial interview. If you don't, you will be told to reapply after a month.

Then the initial interview came. The lady asked me something that I don't have in my resume. She then read some 5 short stories and asked questions about it. This is where they will test your active listening skills. Then she showed some pictures and you will be asked to describe what you see.

I was again given the folded slip of paper which bears the results and was told to go back after an hour for the second and final interview. The guy who interviewed me was very nice and very cordial. He just asked about my employment history and why do I want to work for them.

After going through the final interview, I along with some other applicants, were assigned some phone stations to test again our listening skills. This is not Berlitz. You will be listening to some recorded words and sentences and repeat what you will hear. It took me about 10 minutes or more to finish the whole thing.

It was near 6:00pm when we were offered our contract. Most of the guys who were with me were offered AT&T contracts. I was given a Dell Contract. After a couple of months later, I left. I couldn't stand troubleshooting an issue and performing hard selling at the same time.

How I landed a job at Teletech Bacoor.

After staying for two weeks at Eperformax, I then moved on to Teletech Bacoor. Yes, it's that call center that occupied the whole 4th floor of SM Bacoor in my home town of Cavite. This was actually my first experience of getting hired in more than a week.

So how did it go? Before proceeding here, I did not filled out any online form. What I did was I walked in as early as 10:00 am (actually, this is the first time I did this) and submitted my resume to the reception guard and logged myself in. After nearly an hour's wait, my name was finally called. It was then when I took the online assessment exams. The first thing that you will do there is to enter vital information about yourself. Then the next part comprises of questions which will gauge how customer oriented you are and your listening skills. It wouldn't be too hard for anyone who has call center experience.

As expected, I passed. So the next thing that happened was the initial interview. The questions were rather typical (such as my background, if I have any criminal record, hehe) so it was a breeze for me. Then the interviewer told me to go back at least after an hour for the final exam. This was a brain buster. The questions consisted mostly of computer related questions. If you don't have basic knowledge of pc's or laptops, you're dead. It was this time where only a few of us were left. So after taking the nearly hour and a half exam, they then endorsed me for the final interview.

About an hour later came the final interview. The HCD lady asked me questions regarding my employment background, why do I want to work with them, how far is my place from their site, what is the difference between system restore and os reinstallation, as well as other pc stuff. I had a feeling I'll be assigned to a technical account. Then when the interview was over, she told me to go back at 10:00 pm (yep, it was that late and the mall will be closed by that time) for this phone assessment called Berlitz.

Now what is exactly is Berlitz? This is where you will be talking to a live person in the United States and he will grade you for your conversational skills. This was supposed to be a requirement for their AT&T account. In my case, it was a guy named John. It was nerve wracking at first but my nervousness eventually faded when I was talking to the guy. He was very nice and asked some basic stuff about me. It took about 15 minutes for us to finish. Then I was told to wait for the result until the following week. But since I wasn't the type who will wait at home for a phone call, I went to Teletech Bacoor four days after my application and personally inquired about the result. It was then that I found out that I passed the Berlitz (or so they said).

The job offer came at least four days after I was informed of the Berlitz result. That was a saturday night. What I couldn't understand that time was why I was offered an hp contract instead of their AT&T isp account. I had a feeling I didn't pass it so that's why I was offered a contract for another account. I eventually signed the contract and had myself starting ACE Training two days later.

The "hiring" process of Eperformax.

Of all the call centers I applied at, this has to be the most fastest and easiest to get in. It will only take you at least two hours to pass the whole thing. But there's a catch here. And I'll discuss it to you later.

If you apply to them online (they also welcome walk-in applicants), you can expect a call from them within the next 1 or 2 days. The lady who called will ask you to pronounce some words and numbers. If you pass the phone screening, you will then be asked to go their office at the BPI Center in Buendia, Makati. And that's exactly what I did. I arrived there as early 9:00am. The guy at the reception gave me a sheet of paper which turned out to be a mini grammar quiz (consisted mostly of subject-verb agreements) that has around 15 to 20 items. The test was rather easy. And as expected, I passed.

The second stage. You, along with other applicants, will then be instructed by a member of their HR staff to proceed to a room with her. She will then tell you to give a 2 minute extemporaneous speech about yourself (your employment background, work experience, where you graduated or anything else that is in your resume). Then you will be given a piece of paper that contains some spiels. If you pronounce them right (or at least nearly), you will pass.

You will then be told to go back to the lobby (they call it the career cafe) where you will wait for the results. It usually takes about less than two minutes. In my case, I was the only one left out of the six people who were with me in that room. And now here comes the examination phase.

The exam consisted of grammar tests as well as reading comprehension. Quite easy. Then there are some questions that are actual interviews. So I had a feeling I would not be interviewed anymore. And I was right. The next thing I knew, they were asking me to sign a paper wherein I would agree to attend their so-called Diction, Intonation and Enunciation Training (or D.I.E.T) class. Now, don't get me wrong. This is NOT a formal Job Offer yet. The real contract will be offered to you once you've passed that DIET class.

It was there where I realized how strict they are in your English Pronunciation. Some who are really good took only two weeks to pass it and were instantly given a certification bonus of 5,000. Some, like me, decided to leave right after failing to go through the 2nd week as I could no longer continue that kind of training with a meager 150 peso a day meal and transportation allowance. And if you don't get to pass on the 3rd week, you may last in training until the 8th week without you getting paid your salary yet. That doesn't sound good.

Bottomline. Eperformax hiring process just gauges you if you qualify for their DIET class. And the class (which could take up to 2months) is just a part of their recruitment process.

The hiring process of Convergys Makati.

I have been a mediaman for 12 years until I got tired of what I was doing. So at my age (30ish), I thought it would never be too late for me to try my luck in the Call Center Industry. So a week after posting my profile on Jobstreet, Convergys gave me a call. The guy I spoke to told me to be at their g5 office the following day. So I went there at around 8:30am. The first thing that I did was I went straight to the receptionist and gave the woman there my resume. So after a couple of hours (yes, it took quite that long), I had my initial interview. There were about 5 of us who were interviewed by a guy named Von. He only asked us to give a brief background of ourselves. Interview lasted for about 15 minutes. Then he told us to wait outside for 10 minutes for the results. Then after that, he gave us slips of paper that contains the initial interview results. And lo and behold, I passed. The four other people were, sad to say, eliminated.

2nd phase. It was already 12 noon when I was told to go back after an hour for the exam. So I spent the whole hour walking around glorietta and smoking at least 3 sticks of Marlboro red knowing that it would take quite a long time again before I ever get to smoke (I didn't know there was a "lung center" within the building). It was around 1:30pm when I was sent to the examination room. The test (or online assessment) wasn't so hard. It was composed of grammar as well as some customer-related questions. It took about half an hour for me to finish it. And then I was told to wait again for the results. Another couple of hours beckons. And so we move on now to the...

3rd phase. It was around 4:00 pm when I found out that I passed the exam. Then the hr lady told me to wait for my final interview. It was at 5:30pm when I was called (and I have to tell you, by that time, only a few applicants remained). The final interview consisted of questions about why I left my previous company (which was IBC 13), why do I want to work in a call center, what can I contribute to convergys, how do I see myself 3 years from now, yadda... yadda... And when it was all said and done, she shook my hand, congratulated me, and gave me the details of the account she was gonna put me in. I landed in outbound collections. Then after an hour, the HR guy named Patrick discussed to me (and the others who made it) the requirements.

4th phase. Two days later, I was back at Convergys-g5. It was around 1 in the afternoon when I finally signed my contract. Then I left the company after 4 months. I couldn't stand going after people who couldn't pay their credit card bills.

Patience is a virtue that every cvg applicant must have. The long wait in between phases could really test your patience. Also, don't expect a job offer that very same day. You'll be scheduled for it. Overall, I can say that my experience with convergys was good. I just didn't like the account.