Canadian Marketing Blog

Dad, what do you think about me getting a job in a call centre?

My oldest is about to complete his first year of university and is thinking about taking a year off. Because I’m in the call centre business he asked me about employment opportunities in the industry and what I thought about working in a call centre. Before I could answer my wife jumped in and said, “I don’t want him working on one of those places. I hate those calls you get at night.” I politely explained that there are a whole range of opportunities in the industry with most of the jobs in roles where you’re handling inbound calls providing customer service and support. “But even in those places you have to put up your hand if you want to go to the bathroom. Who’d want to work in that kind of environment” she said.

So what a great question. As someone who’s been a part of the industry for over 15 years do I think a job in this business is good enough for my first born? The answer is a resounding yes. It’s perfect for him.

First, he doesn’t have a lot of experience which eliminates him from many full time opportunities but he does have retail experience. Dealing with and helping customers in a retail environment transfers well to the call centre business and many companies hiring will consider that sufficient background when they ask for “previous customer service experience”. Second, he’ll get some good training on basic, but very important skills that we’ll stay with him for a lifetime. Managing and guiding a conversation to a successful outcome, dealing with difficult customers, problem resolution, and communication skills, are all areas that he would typically receive training on and get plenty of practice using in a call centre job. Clearly these are skills that will be critical to him, regardless of the profession he finally chooses, and a call centre is a perfect place to hone them.

Even if he decides to try his hand “at one of those places” as my wife called it there is no more valuable skill to learn than attempting to engage someone who you call out of the blue and get them interested in your product and services. Sales skills, no matter what profession you choose, are critical to success in business. It also doesn’t hurt in giving him a little toughness that comes with hearing no over and over again before success is finally realized. That’s a life skill that he must develop and outbound telemarketing gives you a crash course in it.

You’ll notice that most of the reasons that I’ve cited so far are in the context of skills he’ll learn that he can transfer and use when he gets a “real” job. There’s another very important element to this business that I think is one of the best kept secrets in this industry.

There are probably no better environments for career advancement for talented hard working young people than in the call centre business. High turnover is a reality in this business primarily because most people view it as a pit stop along the way in their career. What a few people quickly recognize is that within this environment it can be easy to stand out by simply having a good attitude, showing some enthusiasm and initiative, and really caring about doing the right thing for your customer and your company. These people soon find that they are being considered for the next Supervisor or Team Lead position sometimes after only a few months on the job and often with little formal post secondary education. If my son lands a job in a call centre I am going to tell him to do his best to stand out because he may have the opportunity in a very short time to take on a leadership role and get some outstanding experience in managing people and leading a team that he just couldn’t get in any other environment.

In a recent meeting of the CMA Contact Centre Council I asked my colleagues, many of whom are Vice Presidents of Customer Service for large well known fortune 100 companies, how many of them started out as an agent. Over half of the room put up their hands. Wow. These very bright people figured out early on that by showing some initiative they could quickly work their way up the organization becoming subject matter experts in an area of the business everyone now recognizes as critical to success. That’s why they're earning six figure salaries. Not bad from starting out as an agent making a little more than minimum wage.

So when I’m not around and my wife secretly tells him to look for a “real” job because she naturally doesn’t believe anything I have to say, hopefully he’ll tell her about my friends who quickly turned a job, that she considers unworthy of her first born, into a profession that pays handsome dividends.

Who am I kidding? He’ll probably listen to her. Dad has no idea what he’s talking about.

You've let the cat out of the bag! This is a great overview of the perception vs. reality of the contact centre industry.

The people that are successful in this industry could be successful anywhere. The difference is in the contact centre industry there may be less competition for the top jobs. There is no better place, at a young age, to get experience managing people and developing business skills.

Hey I really hope your son can take your advice. You are a smart dad and your son should notice that. However, we all understand the power of MOM to most of the children. Maybe sometimes peacefulness is more important than anything.

I’m one of those people who took a job in a call center selling over the phone while I waited for a “real” job to come along. Here I am now, over a decade later in an upper management position in a call center and joking that I am still waiting for a “real” job to come along. In all seriousness, I would not trade in my experience or this environment for any other job. Not only do call centers offer great career opportunities, they provide a great place to work, the like of which one cannot find anywhere else. Regardless of the outcome, working in a call center is an invaluable experience and I think your son would gain a lot from doing it.

Bob well articulated; I am a product of starting off as an agent and ending up as an executive. What resonates with me is communication skills get honed when working in a call centre. Effective communication is one of the most valuable transferable skills one can learn. Agents do not have the luxury of a face to face interaction. This is why communication and listening skills are enhanced. This will bode will for your son's future development, regardless of the career choice.

I was little bit confused of choosing my career at a call center - thanks for the information.