Post 7 - Interviews Questions

As a recruiter I get to prepare candidates for interviews all the time and most candidates would like to know precisely the questions that they will be asked. However every clients I am dealing with have different questions and interview styles so this is always tricky.

However I have listed below some questions that will be asked very often for Customer Service/Call Centre roles: 

• Describe a situation where you went beyond customer expectation.
• Describe a situation where you had a complex problem and explain how you resolve it.
• Describe a situation where you had communication difficulty and what was your response.
• Describe a situation where you had a goal and a task to achieve but you had a lack of resources.
• How do your team manager or colleagues describe you?
• Describe a situation where you exceeded work performance.
• Describe a situation where you had to use strong commitments.
• How do you ensure that you are learning?
• Tell me about a time that you had to deal with a difficult customer?
• Tell me about your Customer service experience?
• Tell me about a time you were unable to resolve a problem and how you managed with this situation?
• How is your experience meeting the deadlines and targets
• How are your technical skills, what programs you normally use...?

To answer those questions you need to give an example of a time in a previous job where you did the following things.

The best way to answer these questions is to begin by describing where you were at the time (eg. When I was working at ‘Microsoft’), describe the task and what you did, and finish with a result (eg. We succeeded in the task and were given a bonus). 

Strengths and weaknesses questions. Always be prepared to give 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses! This question is not as tricky as it sounds. 

Give the Strengths that you have for the particular role you are applying for. For example for a Customer Service role: "great communication skills, ability to explain things to customers, good problem solving skills, great interpersonal/people skills..."

Give true weaknesses that are not going to stop you from getting this job. For example for a Customer Service role: "I am not great at giving presentation in front of a large audience, I had to do this in the past and I can do it but I would need to prepare myself very well." This is a good answer and will not be an issue with the employer because he can see that this is something under control. 

The most important in an interview is to be positive. Always be positive about your last job, colleagues, manager, employer...