Trapped in a call centre

greenbee

CP26 wrote: »

Are there are any internal job opportunities you could apply for?

Where I work, the call centre staff are some of the most knowledgeable people in the business and lots of my colleagues have used this background to get into other areas.

This is very good advice. I used to work in the IT department of a large corporate, and very soon learned that the best place to recruit was from the call centres - very knowledgeable about the business, fantastic customer service skills, ability to deal with difficult people, good communication and interpersonal skills, good at managing their time and following process, organised and efficient. The technical aspects of the roles I was recruiting for could generally be taught/trained for. These so-called 'soft skills' were harder to teach, and not common in people with IT qualifications. Some of these people have gone on to have fantastic careers and are probably now earning significantly more than me - but credit their success at least in part to the opportunity given to them by taking them out of the call centre and showing them that they had other options.

Opportunities for using writing skills come up in odd places in jobs - it may be needing to write up process documents, or policy or communication via internal blogs or newsletters (not just confined to corporate communications - also for local departmental needs). Good written communication skills are a bonus in a world where email and online methods are pretty much the dominant method of communication.

It's easy to think 'all I know is call centre work' but try to think not about the tasks you do, but the skills you use (see my examples above) and write up a CV and maybe an 'elevator pitch' using that. Provide examples of how you have used these skills to e.g. deal with a difficult customer satisfactorily, exceed customer expectations etc and use the STAR methodology (Situation, Task, Action, Resolution) to explain what the problem was, how you dealt with it, what the outcome was. It's also good to have some examples of when something went wrong and how you would have dealt with it differently so that you can show that you have learned from the experience.

Then think about what you know about your business - maybe draw out a chart or a mind-map.

Also have a think about how you can use your current role to extend and expand your experience and skills in any way, however small, while you are there - it may help to have a goal and know that this job is in some way helping you to achieve it.

These two sets of information will help you to identify role descriptions that you feel you might be suitable for - and which internal areas to keep an eye on for jobs. If you have an internal contacts outside your call centre, however casual, it might be worth asking whether you could pick their brains in return for buying them a coffee.

It's often very hard to see your way out of these situations, but there are ways. It's just a question of looking at things from a different perspective until you see that chink of light that indicates there's a tunnel there with an exit to something better.

jobbingmusician

One of the chains binding you ATM is your debt. Maybe get over to the DFW board and (also) start working on that? I promise you, chipping away at it will give you a sense of achievement which will help your overall wellbeing and build on your confidence to do some of the other good suggestions here.

BigAunty

The Civil Service offers masses of call centre roles - tax credits/tax with the HMRC and benefits with the DWP and other organisations.

They can low paid, around 16/17k (which isn't too bad for a call centre role and at least it is mainly inbound calls with no selling or commission pressures) with horrible hours (but these are usually capped from 8am to 8pm with Sundays off) so can be better than the 24/7 contact centres for banks,etc.

However, once you've got the foot in the door, you can then apply for other roles as easily 90% of civil service vacancies are filled internally, with only a minority of hard to fill specialist/technical roles or graduate fast-tracks recruited externally.

Some government departments will not accept applications from those on probation but others will, so its possible that you won't have to slug through 9 months of a probation period being shouted at by benefit claimants before you secure your next role.

You could then move up into other types of roles in wider business support capacity, for example, through the promotion route or get onto some of the specialist training courses for internal applicants, like Tax Inspector or similar.

You may find it a more respectful and less pressurised environment because of the public sector ethos and the support for personal/career development (or not, who knows).

However, my experience of public sector recruitment is fairly dismal - days spent writing mini essays as part of the application process, a lengthy online test that shows that you can take tests rather than whether you may have aptitude for job itself, a lengthy panel interview where you are marked on whether you can follow a rehearsed formula to prove competency, and it can take 3 months from advertisement to outcome. My last public sector job saw me apply in early Summer and start in December, for example.

marginalone

BK123 wrote: »

That's totally contradictory to what I've seen happen myself (and i think i might count as a recent graduate. Graduated 2011, graduated postgrad degree in 2014). Employers definitely value experience more than most things, so a degree for you would be good as the experience is already there. I've also noted a lot of people in this forum talk about the neverending cycle of "i need a job to get experience, but experience to get a job". If that's whats holding you back, go for it. Seriously, the amount of people who have degrees nowadays is so much that employers really do value actual experience over a degree.

Il give you an example of my situation. I was looking into doing PRINCE 2 with a view to looking at going into entry level project management. Doing research and contacting companies of different sizes both informed me that they would rather take on experienced people who have " some project experience " I don't have the experience they were looking for even at entry. One company HR person told me they would usually go for graduates for entry level - which was I felt, a shockingly candid admission.

BK123

Admittedly I haven't been in your situation (exactly), so I'm open to others' comments too, but I do think you are overthinking this. Either that or I've misunderstood what you're saying.

Literally every job I have applied for at graduate level has asked for experience. Didn't stop me (and many others in the same situation) getting to atleast the interview stage, if not the job itself. How many people do you think apply for entry level jobs that already have experience? They ASK for experience, its not a deal-breaker. Put yourself in the employers' position. Wouldn't you atleast ask for experience? That would be one of the main attributes of their ideal candidate, so publicly they have to maintain that stance. In this age where every tom, !!!! and harry has a degree, they're not going to say "well you have a degree, you're clearly going to be good enough for us". In reality, they know as well as anyone that they're unlikely to find that ideal candidate. Having someone who has studied the area and has vast experience of work, even non-related, is something they would surely consider.

Sorry if that came across a bit patronising, but from the few posts of yours in this thread, it really does look like you've given up hope when there's no need to.

BK123

Above post was meant for marginalone. Stupid phone not letting me quote ��

marginalone

BK123 wrote: »

Admittedly I haven't been in your situation (exactly), so I'm open to others' comments too, but I do think you are overthinking this. Either that or I've misunderstood what you're saying.

Literally every job I have applied for at graduate level has asked for experience. Didn't stop me (and many others in the same situation) getting to atleast the interview stage, if not the job itself. How many people do you think apply for entry level jobs that already have experience? They ASK for experience, its not a deal-breaker. Put yourself in the employers' position. Wouldn't you atleast ask for experience? That would be one of the main attributes of their ideal candidate, so publicly they have to maintain that stance. In this age where every tom, !!!! and harry has a degree, they're not going to say "well you have a degree, you're clearly going to be good enough for us". In reality, they know as well as anyone that they're unlikely to find that ideal candidate. Having someone who has studied the area and has vast experience of work, even non-related, is something they would surely consider.

Sorry if that came across a bit patronising, but from the few posts of yours in this thread, it really does look like you've given up hope when there's no need to.

Not at all patronising. Your right I have given up on a few ideas to being knocked back! Its the lack of employers who seem to be reluctant to take on an over 35 on a career change.

freebitcoins

Do you know any languages? Perhaps you can try something new in your free time to clear that debt e.g. teaching english online and get paid per hour.

italki offers this. no affiliate link so im not gaining from promoting them. Click on the Become a teacher on italki link at bottom of site if you are interested.

marginalone

freebitcoins wrote: »

Do you know any languages? Perhaps you can try something new in your free time to clear that debt e.g. teaching english online and get paid per hour.

italki offers this. no affiliate link so im not gaining from promoting them. Click on the Become a teacher on italki link at bottom of site if you are interested.

That's something that wouldn't interest me

Dan83

Yes, I hate my job and the people I work with.

I hated school, I'd go in at 9:00 and climb over the fence back out at 9:10.

When it came to exams, I didn't do great but I never done bad.

I always thought it would be my willing to work that got me a job, not what I'd done in school.

I left school early and started college, I wanted to be an accountant, but I couldnt start that course until I was the right age, so I learnt how to be a mechanic. I'd done 9 month in college and was coming up to September and was planning on swapping course's, then out of the blue got an apprenticeship, the next few years were great, I went to a college in a different city with lads from all over the uk, I worked in a commercial work shop and enjoyed it. I then changed job, which at the time I thought was a step in the right direction, 8 years later I'm still here and hating it! I'm still full of hope and an enthusiastic, but now I'm 33 I'm not the spring chicken I once was.