Talking about yourself should be easy, right? Who knows you better than you?

However, in an interview, we dont want to know everything about you. We dont

care about your life story who your parents are, what they do, your religion, and
where you live. Its probably the most common mistake I see people making
spending too much time talking about personal information, rather than painting a
picture of their professional background and career aspirations.

If you answer this poorly, you set yourself up to get grilled by the interviewer.
Youll be a nervous, rambling wreck. Weve seen it many times and its entirely
avoidable if youre prepared.

If you are prepared and answer this question well, then you set the tone for the
interview and immediately begin the process of selling yourself to the interviewer.

And thats what you're doing here you want to start the interview by essentially
saying how awesome you are and why Im the best candidate for this job.

The best way to answer this question is to make sure you cover this core theme
in your answer:

How does your personal and professional background relate to you being an
extremely good candidate for the position youre interviewing for?

Any information that doesnt make a strong case for you should be an excellent
candidate isnt important here.

A good answer shouldnt be more than 60-90 seconds and should cover core
these core points:

Whered you go to school (and what you studied)

A very short summation of your career or background

The last job youve had, what that company did, key responsibilities and
one important impact you made in that organization
 Why youre there interviewing for this job

Heres what I would say if I were interviewing for a call center agent:

Hi, my name is Paul Rivera. I graduated with a Political Economy degree from UC
Berkeley and have spent the last 10 years working for and starting internet
startups. Im currently the CEO at Kalibrr. Kalibrr is talent matching platform
based in the Philippines with global investors like Y Combinator and Omidyar
Network. My key responsibilities there include management of strategy, sales,
customer success, marketing, finance and legal. I spearheaded the raising of $2
million in venture capital funding for Kalibrr in 2013, which was a record for a
seed round for a Philippine startup. Ive also directly managed product before
creating a product team overseen by our COO. Though I enjoy the work I do at
Kalibrr, I see a tremendous opportunity to leverage my skills and experience,
especially with excellent communication ability, to be an outstanding call center
agent at Accenture and thats why Im here interviewing with you right now.

The best thing about this interview question is you almost always will get it so
practice it, rehearse it, and memorize it so you start off your interview in control
and with momentum. Your answer and how well you tell your story will drive the
rest of the interview. In our opinion, the better you start, the better you finish.

What if you have no professional background and just graduated from school?

Not a problem here are the core points you should cover:

Where did you go to school

What was your course and how is that going to be useful for you for this job

Key coursework, an internship/OJT, or work experience and what they

taught you

Why this company + this job to start your career?

If Paul was graduating from Jose Rizal University with an HRM degree and was
interviewing for a Recruitment Assistant job at Globe, heres what he would say:

Hi, my name is Paul Rivera and Im a fresh graduate of Jose Rizal University. I
studied Human Resources Management because I really enjoy working with
people and Im fascinated with the role of people in building and operating
companies. Without the people, you dont have a business. While in school, I was
an OJT during my fourth year at Jollibee Corp where I worked with their
recruitment team and helped coordinate the interview of candidates for cashier
roles at Jollibee restaurants. I really understood the role and value that recruiters
create and how they help ensure a company always hires the best talent. I saw
an opportunity on Kalibrr to be a Recruitment Assistant at Globe and after doing
my research, I saw that Globe was one of the best companies in the Philippines
and I feel my experience and work ethic will make me a valuable contributor at
Globe.

So there you have it a template for you to answer the Tell Me About Yourself
question. Write this down on paper and practice it until you have it memorized
and can say it without looking like youve memorized it. Make sure you customize
it for every interview you do so research the job and the company and really
understand what they do and how you could add value to them.

Put on your best Piolo Pascual and nail that interview.

If you want Kalibrr to help you, just leave a comment and well make sure you
have an awesome answer to tell me about yourself. Rappler.com

A job in the customer service industry is one of the most in-demand careers today. Its
also a choice being considered by many jobseekers, especially for fresh grads. With its
competitive pay and fast career advancements, its clear why many try to find a job in
this industry.
 But before getting in, you need to get past the interview (and a few assessment tests
after that). While companies have different approaches to an interview, one of the most
common questions that a lot of jobseekers CSR candidates included fail to answer
well the question: Tell me about yourself.

Let me tell you now: no, they dont want to know every detail of your personal
backgroundwho your parents are, or your vital statistics. What theyre really saying is
they want to know more about your professional background and how that experience
can contribute to their company.

Another thing to keep in mind is to answer this question comprehensively. Youre about
to enter a customer service job that asks you to talk to different clients on a daily basis,
some of which are very challenging, and theyre testing you on how well your
communication skills are, and on how well you arrange your thoughts with the level of
stress at hand.

The Tell me about yourself is the first part of the interview that would lay out those
skills.

Heres what to include when asked this question according to a former BPO HR:
1. Your educational/professional background is

2. Achievements during the course of your education/previous work

3. How your experience has taught you to handle client concerns well

4. What skills you can offer as a customer service representative

5. What your intentions are working in the customer service industry, or working for them

An example would be:

Hi, my name is Poyen, and Ive had more than 2 years experience as a customer
service representative at Kalibrr Technology Ventures, Incorporated. During my time
there, I was able to meet all of the quality scores for daily, weekly, and monthly reports,
and was awarded best sales agent after just four months being with the company. I
learned to hone my multi-tasking and time-management skills, value patience, and
above all, being a team player. Im a person who thrives in a fast-paced environment so
right now Im looking for a bigger challenge, and an opportunity to apply my technical
experience and problem solving skills at a renowned BPO company like this one.
Notice how concise and straight to the point the sentences were structured? I started
strong, and finished strong mentioning my previous experience, my achievements, and
my intentions. You only have a minute or two to win the interviewers impression, so its
best to write down your answers and practice it over and over until youve memorized it,
but making it sound conversational. And once you get past this, the follow-up questions
will then be easy to answer.

Always remember that youve got to research the company youre applying for to really
be prepared, to help you lose the interview jitters.

Last words of advice: relax, be honest, be yourself, and smile!

Top 5 Call Center Job Interview Questions and

How to Best Answer Them
By Roxi Lim On September 30, 2015

When call centers first appeared in the late 90s, it was dubbed as a sunrise industry
with a huge potential for growth and numerous career prospects. Fast forward to today,
and that promise of growth has already come to fruition.
It is estimated that by 2016, the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry will
generate about $25 billion in revenue, equivalent to 10% of the Philippine economy.
That is at par with the amount of remittances that our modern day heroes, the Filipino
Overseas Foreign Worker, send home on a yearly basis.
If you have your sights set on a call center career, then one of the biggest hurdles you
need to overcome is the interview. Needless to say, its important to ace it!
Whether youll be assigned to work for an inbound account, where youll be handling
inbound calls, or an outbound program, which can range from standard welcoming calls
to sales pitches, here are some of the questions you should be prepared for in a
interview.

1. Why do you want to work here?

In most cases, expectations seldom match the reality of being a call center agent. First
time applicants think that it can be an easy way to earn fast income and that all they
need is to read scripts and call it a day (or night, if you work in the graveyard shift).

Some accounts are a lot more demanding than just parroting a ready-made script.
Premium accounts might require you to undergo training or pass a series of exams
before you can begin manning the phones.

To answer this question, research about the company first. Find out what you like about
the organization, whether its the company culture, their mission statement, the
management team that you admire, or their training program.

If one of your major reasons for wanting a call center job is the higher-than-average pay,
be upfront about it. Its no secret that the pay range in a call center is higher compared
to other industries. The key is in convincing them that you deserve it because youre a
fast learner, possess the qualities they need to succeed, and that youre worth the
investment.

2. How do you cope with a high pressure

environment?
From shifting schedules to dealing with irate callers to keeping up with the latest
information, call center agents need to constantly be on their toes. You need to be the
type of person who can stay calm and respond appropriately during high pressure
situations. Any job will have their share of challenges, but working in a call center
means you need to find the balance between adequately meeting both your customers
needs and the company youre representing.

The best way to answer this is by giving a real life situation that you dealt with where
you found a solution that worked for everyone. If youre a fresh grad, share a story
about a challenge you met, and how you solved it. Your experiences will vary, but the
bottom line is that you didnt allow the situation to get the better of you, and that you
solved it without burning bridges or any untoward consequences.

3. Why should we hire you?

To answer this question, convince the interviewer how your background matches the
requirements theyre looking for. But if thats not the case, then let them know that
youre a fast learner who can thrive in a fast paced environment. Working in a call
center means that you need to be a step ahead of your caller and know everything
youre expected to know about the company youre representing or the products youre
offering.

The chance for career growth is also high, and if youre keen to move up the ladder, let
the interviewer know that youre willing to do what it takes to move up and become a
valuable member of the company, and be worthy of the high compensation package you
expect to get.

4. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

This question seeks to find out what youre like as a person, how you view yourself, and
how you handle both good or bad work situations. Theres no standard or correct way to
answer this, obviously because every person is different.

Talking about your strengths is easier than admitting what youre weak at. The question
about your weakness is actually a way of the interviewer to try to catch you off guard so
you will reveal something you didnt want to say.
More than your personal traits, this questions seeks to find out how well you know
yourself and what you do to leverage on what you believe are your strengths and
weaknesses. For example, if youre naturally a people person, did you maximize this
trait to contribute to your school org by doing PR work?

You have to know what your weaknesses really are to give a good answer. You can do
this by taking a personality type quiz. You can also review the job description to see
which expectations you think you wont meet 100%. Talk about how youve conquered
your weaknesses in your other experiences.

5. How do you see yourself five years from

now?
This question seeks to know how your personal goals align with what the company can
offer you, and if your needs match. If youre keen in staying in the call center industry,
find out what your career path could potentially be, but be flexible enough to be open to
changes, too.

The interviewer wants a candidate who has an idea where he or she wants to go, and
what positions within the company can be given to accommodate that. So researching
the company helps, familiarizing yourself with what they offer, and letting the interviewer
know which positions you had your eye on is the best way to answer this question.

These questions will also give you a good idea to assess whether or not youll thrive in a
call center environment. Depending on the account youll be assigned to, its best to be
prepared so that your expectations are sufficiently met. Dont give answers just to
please the interviewer, but ask your own questions to see if youre a good fit. That way,
you increase your chances to not only of getting hired, but of having a fruitful career in
the call center industry.