Congratulations! You just got an interview. Now you’re in a panic because you have no idea how to interview – successfully that is. You’re wondering what questions the interviewer will ask and what are the perfect answers for interviews – how to best answer each question. And, if you could, you would love to get your hands of some great sample interview questions and answers.
Here are a couple of sample interview questions and answers to ensure you have great success in your upcoming interview.
Q: Tell me about yourself.
A: I am a seasoned customer service manager with experience in the telecommunications industry. I have successfully managed teams of upward of 100. In each of the customer service management roles I have been in, I have planned and led successful initiatives than significantly increased call response times and boosted customer satisfaction.
Note: Come up with a 30 second to 2 minute (no more) response that overviews your expertise and shows how you will be able to positively contribute to the company in this role.
Q: What brings you here today – why are you applying for this position?
A: I thoroughly researched your organization and found it has a remarkable reputation globally. I read about your organization’s plans for growth going forward. I have expertise leading change and throughout my career as a customer service manager, I have planned and implemented successful organizational initiatives. Moreover, I got buy-in from CSRs, improved call response rates, and increased customer satisfaction by at least 15% in each position in which I worked. Given my experience and success, I am certain I can make a great contribution to your organization in the customer service manager role.
Note: This is not the time to say that you’re desperate to get a job or that you had to apply for six different jobs to get unemployment. Give good examples that show how you far exceed your competition and demonstrate how you will be even more effective in the role. Show your ability to lead, plan, implement, and get positive results.
Q: Why do you want to leave the company you work for now?
A: Unfortunately, the company that I have worked for the past three and a half years has decided to take a different approach. They are in the process of outsourcing and off shoring all customer service operations. It is only a matter of time before my department’s services will be completely eliminated. I am leaving on good terms, and as a matter of fact my general manager has provided me with a letter of recommendation.
Note: If you can, speak to the fact that you are not leaving your company on bad terms.
Q: Give me an example of a time that one of your initiatives failed. What was the problem? What did you do going forward?
A: I actually did have an initiative that caused some problems at the beginning. I was charged with expanding customer service hours from Monday through Friday 8: 00 am to 5:00 pm to Monday through Sunday 7:00 am to 10:00 pm. I had my team bring on temporary employees to start. Unfortunately turnover was high using this model, and my team was frequently hiring and training. After a couple of months, I modified the model and switched to a temp to permanent hire structure. I provided employees with an incentive for working evening and weekend hours, which generated great success. Making this change led to an immediate improvement – turnover rates decreased by nearly 50%.
Note: Now is not the time to say something like “I never failed at any initiative. Come up with a good example. Explain what your objective was and how you went about the process. Talk about the problem. Describe how you were able to resolve the issue. Note: give an example of something you were able to resolve. End on a positive note clearly explaining how you resolved the issue.
Remember, there are no perfect answers for interviews. However, there are ways to effectively answer even the toughest interview questions. The above sample interview questions and answers should result in interview success and job winning results!