This upcoming Tuesday, I'm going for a job interview with a local bank's customer service call center. I've been taking this training program for call center work for people with disabilities and Tuesday my class (only three people in it) are doing interviews. I'm a nervous wreck because I get tongue tied when they ask questions like, "Tell me more about yourself." or "Tell me one strength and one weakness that you have."
Any good advice for me?

Smile a Lot and just be yourself. Look at them when they talk to you, do not fidget. Take your time talking so you don't get tongue tied. Good luck

Try to get some useful informations about the call center and the company they represent before the interview.

Make yourself a list of your strengths and weaknesses (write 'em down if necessary). Pick for yourself (with the requirements of this job in mind) which to emphasize and which to be better put back.

Be honest. Don't try to make up something in case you can't answer the question right away, but let them know that you are interested in learning more.

Like chooch said - be yourself. If the interviewer is no complete stoopid ignorant, he knows that you are excited and nervous, but try to keep a bit of your composure.

Take a deep breath. From the moment you're entering the building, it can only get better. ;)

Well, I know some stuff about the bank. I'm not sure if anyone of you has heard of M&T Bank, but that's where I'm working. It started here in WNY and it's in seven other states. They have a call center here and in Delaware.

Good luck on the job interview, Molly. I'm sure you will do great! :)

Everyone already gave you good advice. Good luck!:)

Visulize being successful. It will help your confidence. Good luck

You'll do just fine. Wave has given you some solid advice. :)

Some great advice! Only thing I can think of is dress for success. Your outward appearance is the first thing they will see. Also be nice to the receptionist. They have a lot more power than you think. ;)

Good luck Molly! Keep us updated!

Break a leg, Molly.

First of all Molly congrats on getting the interview. Now on to the big day. The first thing to remember is that the interviewer (s) will be as nervous as you! The reason is that they need information from you to able to make a decision as to whether you are competant. If their questions are too difficult then all the applicants are going to struggle and then the process becomes useless. The questions are designed to elicit information from you so remember they're not trying to trip you up!

Now when you arrive always look presentable and have done some research into the company. Nothing looks worse if they ask you about the company and you know nothing. Look at their website if nothing else.

Never, upon pain of death should you tell fibs. If you are asked a question like "Have you ever used linux" and you havent say so. If you dont you will inevitably trip up later in the interview and then its "game over".

Questions like "Why should we give you the job" seem daunting but actually they are a godsend. Why? They have just said "Talk yourself up" and given you the floor!!! As already said, never lie but this is the opportunity to tell them all the experience that you have and you dont have to wait for them to question you about it!! So when you hear something like "Tell me more about yourself" that is a golden opportunity to tell them exactly how good you are.

If you dont understand a question, ask them to repeat it. Even if you heard the question right you can use this tool to buy yourself a few valuable seconds to formulate an answer.

Interviews are not a perfect method of recruitment and anyone is says that they dont get nervous before an interview is lying. But trust me Molly its not as daunting as you may think and you may find that you are a better interviewee than you give yourself credit for. Good luck!

Thank you so much everyone. I really appreciate the advice. The training I'm taking, we've been practicing interviewing skills. I'm feeling a bit better. I'm going to practice and do some research on the bank. It is a good bank to work for. The starting pay is $10 an hour.

Be nice to everyone you encounter there, you never know who is going to go back to the person hiring you and report how you were.

Remember "please" and "thank you". Write thank you notes to anyone who interviewed you to let them know you appreciate their taking time with you.

Sit up, speak up, but don't be stiff, just confident.

Always answer in the positive. For example, if they ask you "What is one of your greatest weaknesses?" turn it into something positive. Oly answer honestly. I could HONESTLY answer that question "I sometimes want so much for everyone to be happy at work that I am willing to sacrifice myself to make that happen, I tend to work really hard at making sure that everyone does well." That is HONEST but it doesn't truly look like a weakness.

Grooming is important. Dress one level up than you think people will be dressing there. If you think they will be business casual, go for something slightly dressier. Some places prefer to see a woman dress in a skirt or dress, so don't wear slacks.

I forgot to mention the place were we are having the interivews is at the place we are doing training now. One of the interviewers was a guest speaker on our first day of training. She's a really nice person. I hope I get her for the interview, because then I will feel a bit more comfortable.

I've interviewed over 200 people over the last 10 years and I can tell you from my personal perspective for an entry level position , appearance and preparation are everything.

Appearance- I don't mean I only hire hot chicks ( I wish), it means dress up, the days of suits appear to be over, I can't believe how many kids show up dressed like roadies for Pearl Jam. I had a guy show up in shorts and sandals, (all I noticed were his big yellow tonails). Dress up, it's very important , to me it shows you take care of yourself and you have made an effort for the job.

Preparation- do research on the company, their going to ask you what you know about their company so you might as well know. If you don't it just looks like your applying for any job and not this job

When they ask about attendance, either make sure you have very good attendance at past jobs or you might as well lie, no one is going to hire anyone who has missed a ton of time, and it better be good, I have people telling me their past attendance was good, they only missed 10 days in 6 months (and they beleive that is good), no employer thinks that is good..

It's also good to have something unique about you (not a sixth toe or anything), but a special hobby etc.I hired a guy once because he travelled from Alaska to Mexico on a bicycle, not that he was any better than anyone else, but after a day of hearing the same rehearsed answers to strengths , weaknesses, hobbies etc, this guy was refreshing and different- he did steal a laptop later so it wasn't my best hire but he did get hired

hopefully I have helped

I already have a nice outfit picked out to wear. You would think it would be common sense to dress nicely for the job interview, because you're showing off a good first impression. I know with a call center job, usually the interviewer closes their eyes, because their first impressions are with the person's voice.

They all gave you good advice. If all else fails, shows some cleavage:laugh: j/k

Like cal I interview on a fairly regular basis and Cal's points, like everyone elses on this thread are spot on.

I appreciate all the advice, it's very helpful. Thanks guys. :hug:

Being nice and smiling at everyone you encounter are reeeeaaallly important. Just because someone is answering the phone doesn't mean they're the receptionist. And whoever that person is could have pull with the person doing your interview. I and several others relieve our receptionist all the time. One of the people covering for breaks is the CEO's secretary.

Don't say, "I think I could learn to...." Say, "I have some experience in that area, but I'd like to learn more." You're telling the interviewer that you realize you don't have a lot of experience but you're confident in your ability to learn that job aspect better.

When I told my first boss at this company that I usually learn something new every day about my job, she said, "That's what I like to hear. There are two kinds of people in this world, those who are always learning something new, and those who will never learn another thing." Meaning, they think they know it all. But I got the job. ;)

weaknesses, hobbies etc, this guy was refreshing and different- he did steal a laptop later so it wasn't my best hire but he did get hired

hopefully I have helped

Now we know who has your gay porn collection!:dgrin:



Anyway Molly, something nobody else mentioned, make sure you eat a good meal before you go. Low blood sugar, or hunger can distract you. You need to stay focused!

Now we know who has your gay porn collection!:dgrin:





actually we can't prove it, but everyone thinks it was him

Well, my job interview was today. I thought it went well, because I practiced some of the questions they gave us and I just kept my cool and stayed relaxed. I'll find out about the job sometime next week. If I do get the job, I will go for more training at their call center. The training I'm going for right now is just basic call center training. A great thing about the training, if I get the job, is I get paid for it. :D Keep your fingers crossed guys.

Glad the interview went well, Molly! Hopefully, you will get the job.

I've been out for the weekend and just saw this thread. I'm glad your interview went well, Molly. When you get the job, remember, even if you're having a bad day, never, ever, ever let it affect your work. Never let your coworkers know things are going badly for you. If you keep a positive attidude, smile and pretend that happiness is all you know, your supervisor (and coworkers) will think very highly of you. Trust me.....I know.

jen*, I'm going to be dealing with people on the phone, and they told us in training to leave our issues at the door when we go to work, which is good advice.

Best of luck Molly! You'll pick it up no sweat. :)