When you go for a Job Interview as a Telemarketer, before you even get to the interview questions and answers, the person interviewing you will already be very clear on the skills they want and what type of person they need to fill the job.
Why don’t we first look at the skills of a Great Telemarketer….
Click here and take our skills assessment.
The skills assessment is great to check your own skills against, but it also gives you a great idea of what employers are looking for when they hire Telemarketers. You will feel much more comfortable with interview questions and answers when you know what employers are looking for.
Below I have listed interview questions and answers that I usually ask.
Don’t forget that at this stage, you should have already spoken to your interviewer over the phone whan you called to apply for the job. They may have asked you a few questions then. This next face to face interview will normally not be a very long one (usually 15 – 30 minutes).
When I invite someone in for an interview, I do so because I was impressed with the way they presented themselves over the phone.
So at this stage I am looking for anything I may have missed over the phone, I want a really good feel for the applicants confidence levels and I am looking for the general energy I get from the applicant. You know what I mean….when you meet someone in person, you usually get a feel for them, a gut instinct for whether they are right for your business.
Cathy’s Top Interview Tips
These are just a few tips for you. Just as important as Interview questions and answers, is everything that happens prior to the first question being asked.
Some of these tips may seem obvious, however I mention them because they are the things that come up over and over again when I interview.
- Arrive 5 minutes early…..15 minutes early is just too early, often the poor receptionist has to entertain over eager applicants who come to interviews prior to their alloted time. If I book someone in for 11am, arriving at 10.55am is perfect. If people need you to arrive any earlier than that, they will tell you. I have had people arrive up to 2 hours early!
- If you will be late, call and let the person interviewing you know. To do this you must have a genuine reason for being late. Calling to say you slept in won’t make a great impression. Excuses don’t go down well at an interview.
- Go to the interview alone. Arriving with your Mum or your boyfriend tells your potential employer that you need your hand held.
To be a Telemarketer, you need to be confident, self assured and able to work unsupervised if need be. I have had people show up with their friend or even their wife and kids!! This is just not the professional look you are going for.
- Arrive looking and smelling fresh. if you are smoker, avoid having a cigarette right before going into your interview. If you have had to rush to arrive on time, make sure you are not lathered in sweat when you meet the interviewer.
Remember, you need to create a great first impression. If you don’t it is very hard for the interviewer to forget that bad impression, even if you interview very well.
- Greet everyone in the business with strong eye contact, a smile and a handshake if it is offered.
The point of interview questions and answers is that the interviewer gets to establish if you have the right personality, experience and skill set to do the job they are trying to fill.
Often it is not the interview questions and answers that create the right impression, but a mixture of every aspect of you, from your look, your confidence, your eye contact right through to your voice speed and tone.
So, here are some sample interview questions and answers…..
Interview Questions and Answers
- Would you give me a 30 second rundown of your past experience?
Some interviewers will be happy to spend a lot of time letting you run them through the work you have done previously that relates to this job being offered. Often though, the person interviewing will have to interview many people a day, so they may fast track this face to face interview.
Either way, you need to be prepared to adapt. So be ready to provide a quick overview of the RELEVANT work you have done before. Be clear and concise.
- Why did you leave your last role?
I will ask this question if the last role was a telemarketing role, or if I notice from your resume that you have had a lot of jobs for a short period of time. Answer honestly without too much detail. The interviewer doesn’t want to hear about the office ploitics at your last job or about how unfairly you were treated….this question is not an excuse to complain! Answer professionally.
- What interests you about this position?
Again, answer honestly…but remember that your interviewer is looking for people who will enjoy working for them and who will represent their usiness in an enthusiastic way. So, if it is just that the hours suit you, or that it is close to home, try to add some aspects of the job that will impress your interviewer. For instance,” I really enjoy speaking to people” or “I have done sales and/or Telemarketing before and I really enjoy the challenging nature of the work”. The one answer we never want to hear is “I don’t know.”
- Are you available for all of the hours advertised?
Again answer honestly. If you are only looking for a job for the next 2 months, tell the employer. There really is no point taking a job that doesn’t suit you. there are plenty of Telemarketing jobs out there, so neither you or the employer should have to settle.
- How would you rate your phone skills (out of 10)?
I ask this because I want to see how well the applicant knows their own skills and how confident they are. But here’s a tip…never say 10! there is always room for improvement!
- What makes you a (number out of 10)?
If someone rates themselves an 8 out of 10, I want to know why. In other words, I want the applicant to articulate what their best phone skills are. I also love to listen to the applicant talk. Remember, this is a phone job you are applying for, so your voice means a lot!
- What are your main strengths and weaknesses?
Try to go to an interview prepared to answer this type of question. Most interviewers ask it in some way or another. Here, we are trying to get more insight into you as a person.
- When would you be available to start?
If you should give notice at your current job, let the interviewer know. I personally respect that. Sometimes people say things like, “I should give 1 weeks notice, but I can start now if you need me to”. This may seem like the right thing to say, but how you treat your past employer is how you will treat this employer. So show the interviewer that you are an upstanding person, who does the right thing by the people you work for.
