Bilingual interviewers, team leaders and supervisors—the classified ads are full of them! Call centre professionals are never out of work. Looking for a job? Do recruiters’ proposals sound good but you’re still not sure whether you should apply? Here are some good reasons for going ahead.
CALL CENTRES ARE IN HIRING MODE
Due to the large turnover rates in this field, call centres are always looking for new people. And with Canada’s more than 14,000 customer contact centres, there are many job openings.
NO NEED FOR SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS
You don’t need a PhD to work in a call centre! In general, a high school diploma is enough. In a sector where opportunities are based on merit, recruiters favour candidates’ personal qualities over their diploma. Good interpersonal, active listening and teamwork skills are the keys to success.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Okay, so you’ll be working on the phone. There’s a big difference in the daily tasks of a pollster and a telephone sales representative, however. Whether you have a talent for persuasion, the desire to help others, or the need to satisfy your curiosity, you’re sure to find something in this field to match your needs.
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES
Part time or full time, evenings or weekends, flexible schedules let you tailor your working hours to suit your needs. You either hate it or love it, but it’s very convenient when you’re involved in a variety of parallel activities. It’s not surprising that students and young mothers comprise the majority of call centre workers.
YOUNG AND ENERGETIC TEAMS
In almost all such companies, the average employee age is less than 30, and often even closer to 20. The ambiance of a call centre is very different than the “tranquility” of an accounting office. Everyone talks all day long, sometimes in several different languages, and pitch in to help others. Customer contact requires teamwork.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
It is possible to go from telephone agent to recruiting manager for a call centre at the age of 23. Most centres have implemented internal promotion policies. To fill qualified positions, recruiters first check in-house. The “typical” career path for an agent is to become team leader, then supervisor, and perhaps eventually centre manager.
SKILLS LEARNED
Although you can have a career in the call centre industry, there’s also life after the phone. A successful experience in this sector allows you to develop skills sought after by all employers. Working in a fast-paced environment on several projects at once, meeting specific targets without sacrificing the quality of service and working on a team are all assets to point out in your next job interview.