Preparing for a customer service interview can be both, exciting and stressful, especially if you don’t know what to expect or have previous experience in this industry.

Most of the time, it takes more than demonstrating your skills and working knowledge. You have to show that you stand out from the others. Why would the company choose you among the hundreds of candidates that have applied for the same job?

In this blog post, we will provide you with insider tips and tricks to help you ace your customer service interview. This includes potential customer service interview questions and answers, preparation, and precise strategies you can use to get the best chances of landing your customer service job.

By the end, you’ll be well prepared to land your dream job in the customer service industry, so let’s dive into action right away!

Understand the Customer Interview Process

In general, the interview process is around 30 – 40 minutes in length.  Sometimes more than that, maybe 60 minutes if it is about a more senior position. The time is relatively short to answer everything about you and that’s why you need to have a plan.

The next step is to make in-depth research about the company. You simply can’t ace any interview if you don’t have a clue about the company. Start gathering information about their work culture, partnerships, history, mission statement, etc.

Keep in mind that companies will value you more if you know a lot about them and you come well-prepared. The more you know, the better!

Lastly, the dress code. If you can’t find any information regarding the dress code for the contact center you applied to, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t dress properly.

The first impression is key, so try to avoid wearing uncomfortable, ill-fitting clothing or any type of distracting clothing. P.S. This is still valid for work-from-home customer service jobs!

You will thank us later for this!

Prepare for the Interview

Keep in mind that you will likely be stressed and may even deal with some mental blocks. To avoid such scenarios, you have to prepare well. A good start is to prepare what you will talk about as an introduction. Sit down, write down your biggest strengths, and practice presenting yourself with confidence.

Since this industry is all about communicating, showing a lack of confidence, and losing breath mid-talking will likely be signs that you won’t fit the company. Instead, choose your words wisely, pause, and speak as clearly as possible. These are one of the most important soft skills for call center agents.

Rinse and repeat until you feel that you’re going to be prepared for the actual interview.

Customer Service Interview Questions and Answers

In this section, we’ll make an overview of the potential customer service interview questions that you will be asked regarding the customer service job.

Usually, the first customer service interview questions you receive are focused on your background, you as a person, and how much you know about the company. For instance, that may include:

• Tell me about yourself and past experience;
• How did you hear about us?
• Why did you decide to apply for this position?
• What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
• Why do you want to work here?

Tips for answering

Your answers should be concise, on-point, and well-structured. We recommend you be energetic and show confidence. You’re not on trial after all, right? Since you’ve come prepared to the interview, you won’t have any difficulting while answering these questions.

The second section would be focused on your expertise, problem-solving skills, and how you may add value to the company. Hence, expect questions like:

Hence, expect questions like:

• How would you define customer service?
• Why should we hire you / Why do you think you’ll be a good fit for our company?
• Is there a difference between customer service and customer support / What’s the difference between customer service and support?
• Have you ever received negative feedback from a customer?
• Why do you want to work in customer service?

Tips for answering

Before you start answering, try to ensure that you heard the interviewer precisely. Why? Because once you start answering and giving long explanations you may unintentionally move from the topic. What happens next is that the interviewer will likely ask you again the same question.

In addition, never lie, especially if you’re asked about a negative experience from your past. We recommend you speak about the way you handled the negative experience, how you took responsibility, and what you learned from the experience.

That’s the whole point behind the interviewer’s question. If you show that you don’t know how to show responsibility then you will unlikely get the customer service job.

5 Final Insider Tips To Ace Your  Customer Service Interview

Are you ready to finally land your customer service job? If yes, then continue reading our final tips to accomplish your goal!

#5 Arrive earlier

Regardless of whether you’re into work-from-home customer service jobs or on-site, arriving earlier than the assigned schedule is what can make you stand out from the others.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be as early as 2 hours, don’t worry. 15-20 minutes is the ideal time. We are suggesting you this because you will have enough time to organize your thoughts and prepare mentally for what’s to come.

On the other hand, punctuality is what recruiters and companies seek from their candidates. Indeed.com got your back here, so you can read more on their site.

#4 Watch your body language

One of the things you should avoid is to slouch while you’re speaking, or have your hands crossed to you. Such things suggest that you’re either lying, being uncomfortable, or insecure.

Be open instead, maintain the appropriate posture, and avoid using verbal fillers like “uh”, “um”, etc.

During the conversation, maintain eye contact, smile professionally, and speak enthusiastically.

If you’re being interviewed by 2 or more interviewers, then try to divide your eye contact with each of them equally.

#3 Ask questions

Interviews aren’t one-way streets, right? Feel free to ask your interviewers about the job position itself, ask them about the way everything is organized, what are their challenges, and similar questions.

The whole point is to get as much information about the company and the job as possible and have an excellent understanding of whether the position is right for you too.

Such behaviors suggest that you’re very interested in the customer service job, and you want to show this as much as possible.

#2 Close the interview in a professional manner

The closing state of the interview as is important as the beginning. You have to do it right because the first and the last impressions are everything in the business world. Hence, try to ensure that the interviewers will continue to have a positive picture of you.

Common conclusions include sentences like “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be interviewed”, or “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the interview with you today”.

#1 Follow-up with a thank-you note!

A good practice is to follow up with the interviewer within 24 hours after the job interview. This behavior shows your interest in the job and it can help you stand out from the others.

However, try not to appear too needy and send such follow-up messages too often.

Conclusion

In conclusion, acing a customer service job requires a lot of preparation and confidence in expressing your skills effectively. We hope that these insider tips will help you get an idea of what to expect during the customer service interview, but also how to respond and behave professionally.

With these strategies, you will be more than ready to increase your chances of landing a customer service job! Good luck!