by Sarah Donaghy

Created on: March 01, 2009

There are many ways to go about getting a job in a call center. Taking the right approach when looking for work in a call center is important because, depending on how you go about it, your pay, your job security, and your benefits will be affected. It is not uncommon for people that work in a call center to all be earning different wages despite doing the same job. Beyond this initial approach to searching for a job in a call center, there are certain strategies to keep in mind when applying, interviewing for, training, and going live in these positions.

The most important factor in getting the best out of your call center job search is, whenever possible, to apply for the job directly with the call center itself. This isn't the easiest way to get a job in a call center, but if you pull it off, the benefits will outweigh the extra cost involved in finding these jobs. If you apply and are hired by a call center directly, you will likely be offered a permanent position with access to all of the benefit programs that make call centers all the more lucrative to work for.

The main challenges in applying directly to a call center are that most call centers don't advertise directly and that most call centers you will never have heard of unless you are an industry veteran. Regardless of the fact that most large companies employ call centers in their business models, these jobs are outsourced to companies that work strictly as call centers; that is to say, one call center will likely be providing the call support for several large companies.

Ask around to find out if anyone you know knows someone that works in a call center, and probe further to find out what the call center is called and if they have a website. Better yet, try to find out which departments are experiencing high turn-over at the moment and tailor your application to that line of business. Go on line and send a covering letter and your resume directly to the call center's human resources department.

If you are stuck, and cannot find out which call centers are located in your area, or what they are called, you can still get a job at a call center by searching for call center jobs on line or in the classified sections of newspapers. Beware, however, that the jobs that show up almost always are being advertised by recruitment agencies. Most call centers, in the grand spirit of outsourcing, outsource recruitment. While some agencies offer 'company introduction' services, with the aim of finding a new crop of

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