General Interview Questions
Regardless of the industry or job title, all job seekers will likely encounter the
following interview questions:
1. Tell me about yourself.
This question is usually the opening ice-breaker. Take this time to highlight your
accomplishments, strengths and previous job experience, while also mapping them
to some of the specific desired qualifications outlined in the job description.
Be professional, but also show some personality. Beyond your experience and skills,
interviewers are also trying to determine if you’ll be a good cultural fit. Your answer
should be something like:
I was born and raised in Mankato, Minn., and graduated this May from Minnesota
State University, Mankato with a major in communications. Interacting with people
and solving their problems is what motivates me. I’m always trying to fix things for
family and friends, much to their chagrin. That’s ultimately what drove me to my
past part-time positions in retail.
2. Why did you leave your last job?
Honesty is definitely the best policy here, but avoid disparaging your former
employer. Some great responses could be:
Click to see the answer.
I wanted a new opportunity where I could learn new things and grow my career, but
also where I could work more directly with people.
I wanted to find something more challenging where I could perfect and develop new
skills.
3. Why do you want to work for our company?
Interviewers want to understand your career intentions, as well as know if you’ve
done your company research. Share something you’ve learned about the company’s
mission, values or reputation, and tell interviewers why it’s important to you. Your
response could sound something like this:
Click to see the answer.
During my research, I discovered that your company really values training and
ongoing learning for your employees, and as someone who loves to learn new things
and be challenged, this is important to me.
4. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Once again, match your strengths to the preferred skills and qualifications in the job
description to reinforce that you’re a strong candidate. When it comes to weaknesses,
look for ways to turn them into strengths. For example, you might say:
Click to see the answer.
One of my greatest strengths is my ability to learn fast on the job and teach myself
different skillsets. And while I don’t have much experience in customer service, I
think my ability to learn will help me overcome that obstacle quickly.
For more ideas on the skills you should highlight, check out the seven skills we
believe every call center agent should have.
5. What questions do you have for us?
This question not only gives you the opportunity to learn more about the position
and the company, but also the ability to promote your skills and desire to become a
part of the team.
Compile a few questions while doing your company research. Some questions you
may want to ask, as well as some potential follow up responses, are:
Click to see the answer.
What would a typical day look like for me?
Response: I’ve been exposed to both structured and unstructured work
environments, so I feel like I can easily adapt to this kind of work day.
How many people would be on my team?
Response: I’ve been a part of both small and large teams, so this seems like
something that is right up my alley.
What does your timeline for hiring someone look like?
Response: That sounds great. I’m available to start in two weeks.
For more general interview questions and tips, Read 14 Commonly Asked Job
Interview Questions & How to Answer Them.
For Call Center Agent Job Seekers
Whether this would be your first or next position as a call center agent, you can
expect many of the following questions:
6. What’s your idea of a call center?
If you have no previous call center experience, interviewers will use this question to
gauge your familiarity with the call center environment. Use this opportunity to not
only highlight the actual function of a call center, but also the role call center agents
play in providing quality customer service.
You should also pay special attention to what kind of call center you are applying
for. Inbound call centers field the customer calls placed towards a business and your
time will be spent addressing customer questions and concerns. Whereas in
outbound call centers, you will be responsible for dialing customers and prospects
to collect survey responses, schedule sales demonstrations, perform telemarketing,
and more.
For example, if you’re applying for a customer service call center position, your
answer might be:
Click to see the answer.
To me, a customer service call center is the frontline of all customer interactions.
It’s the job of call center agents to listen and understand customer concerns while
also providing helpful information. At the end of the day, customer service call
centers need to create satisfied customers with every call.
7. Why do you want to work in a call center?
Illustrate your knowledge of a call center’s atmosphere and the unique demands
you’ll face in the position. For example, you could say:
Click to see the answer.
I’m excited to work in a fast-paced environment that will challenge me to use all of
my skills to solve problems and improve the customer experience. I love flexing my
communication skills and interacting with customers.
To learn a bit more about what it’s like to work at a call center, read our answers to
the six most common questions job seekers have about working in a call center.
8. What is your idea of quality customer service?
Interviewers want to know what you think quality customer service is and how you
would deliver it. Your response could sound something like this:
Click to see the answer.
My idea of quality customer service is being able to provide customers with friendly,
professional service that not only solves their problems or answers their questions,
but also leaves them feeling satisfied with the service they received.
9. How would you handle a call from an angry customer?
Angry customer calls are a reality for any call center. Tell interviewers the steps you
would take to de-escalate the situation and solve the problem. Be detailed in your
response and emphasize that staying calm and empathetic during the call will be key
to coming up with a solution the customer will be happy with. For example, you
might answer:
Click to see the answer.
I think the first step is to stay calm and express to the customer that you understand
them. I think it’s also important to remember that it isn’t personal, and the best way
to de-escalate the situation is to work towards a solution.
10. Are you able to work with multiple phone lines?
If you have previous call center experience, answering yes to this question should
be easy. In addition, tell interviewers how many calls you handled during a typical
day. For those without previous experience, highlight other positions that required
multi-tasking skills. A response might be:
Click to see the answer.
While I haven’t worked in a call center previously, I have juggled customer service
while I was working in retail. Handling multiple customer returns each day involved
a lot of multitasking with our inventory system, communicating with the customer,
and accessing our POS system.
Questions For Call Center Supervisor or Manager Job Seekers
11. How many people have you managed in the past?
Whether you’ve managed just a few employees or an entire team, expand on the
management techniques you’ve used and the skills you’ve honed through your
experience.
Click to see the answer.
I managed a team of five in my last position, and I loved being able to offer advice
and train them into better employees. To help motivate my team I frequently placed
goals in front of them that they were incentivized to reach. I found this increased
their motivation and their performance.
12. Tell us about a time when a customer call was escalated to your attention. How
did you handle it? What was the outcome?
Share a story that shows how you were able to solve the problem and improve the
customer experience. In addition, tell interviewers how you used that experience as
a teachable moment for the entire team.
Click to see the answer.
We had a customer call in that was very upset, and the agent brought it to my
attention. The key to solving the situation was in listening to the customer and
offering to refund her order. I then explained to the team that even if you have more
calls to get through, it is more important to take the time to listen and understand the
customer. And if you still aren’t able to reach a solution, forwarding the call to me
is the right thing to do.
13. Tell us about your experience in onboarding and training new employees. What
does your process look like?
Interviewers want to know how you will efficiently and effectively set new
employees up for success. As you walk them through the process, some good items
to touch on are:
Setting expectations
Delivering hands-on training
Evaluating new employee progress
Ongoing training
For example, you could answer with something like:
Click to see the answer.
My training style is very hands on and visual. I like to do the step for the employee
the first time, allowing them to observe the task. And once they have my example to
follow, they can complete the task with my supervision and advice. I also like to
provide ongoing training by periodically checking in and having refresher training.
14. How would you address performance issues with your employees?
Be detailed in the steps you would take to have the conversation with employees,
and the solutions you would offer to help them make improvements. Share an
example of how you’ve handled a similar situation in the past to show interviewers
you’re up for the task. Your answer could be something like:
Click to see the answer.
When I have an employee that is struggling, I will first schedule a one-on-one with
the employee to see where the issue may be stemming from. Once I have a better
idea of what’s causing the performance issue, I will give the employee a detailed
plan for them to get back on track. We will then work on the plan together to ensure
that they have a better understanding of the performance expectations and execution.