Top 7 Interview Questions & Answers For Customer Service Jobs

By Elizabeth Benu,

The Customer service industry is one of the industries that attract many job seekers.

What questions can you expect in an interview for an entry level position in his sector?

Perminus Wainaina, Lead Recruitment Manager at Corporate Staffing Services reveals this questions and answers to job seekers.

1. Tell us about yourself
The answer should include your name, age, educational and professional background, relevant work experience and why you are interested in the position. Do not go deep into your primary education.

Ideally spend 2.5 minutes answering this question. The bulk i.e. 1.5 minutes should be spent giving a break down on relevant work experience.

“I am Josephine Mureithi, 26 years old with three and a half years experience in the customer service industry. I possess a degree in Communication and I am currently making plans to pursue a masters in the same. I have amassed relevant experience from working with an NGO, an insurance company and a bank……. This position interests me because it will give me a chance to take full responsibility for achievement of individual key performance indicators beside my interest in the steel industry.”

2. Why should we hire you? Or Why do you think you are the best candidate?

Do not mention things that you cannot prove or explain. Concentrate on your expertise picking on 3 or 4 areas on the job description and show how knowledgeable you are and how you perform. Be sure to explain and give a practical example.

“In a day I manage close to 100 clients; all with different questions and I can deliver unsupervised giving quality customer satisfaction.”

3. What are your strengths?

Strengths can either be personal or technical. Personal strengths are inborn and depend on a person e.g. friendly, outgoing or aggressive. Technical strengths are gained in the work environment such as report writing and customer service skills.

An ideal answer should have a mix of the two. Start with the technical ones stating things in the job description.

“My work entails seeing customers from 8:00am through 5:00 pm with minimal breaks. I ensure that I give undivided attention and equal level of service to each. Through that I have been able to develop patience and empathy.”

4. What is your weakness?

The easiest way to handle this question is to think “Which area in my profession do I feel I need to improve on?” As a professional, do not give an answer that will alarm the recruiter such as ‘I get bored easily’ yet the job description states long working hours.

“In my current position, I never used to do any reports or meet high level clientele but in the current job description it requires me to do at least two reports in a day and work with high network clients. This is an area that I must improve on.”

5. What are your salary expectations?

This always depends on the organisation, the industry, the company size and the position you are interviewing for. An entry level position will earn Kshs. 15,000 while one that requires 2-3 years experience will earn Ksh. 60,000. However, multinationals and industries such as banking pay more than Kshs. 60,000.

“Based on my education level and work experience I expect a gross of Ksh.100,000.”

6. Why do you want to leave your current company?

Many candidates give reasons such as growth, development, a new challenge which is a lot of lies that an average recruiter hears daily. Come up with a better answer and tie it to the job description.

“Currently I have interacted with customers via emails and phone calls. However a face to face interaction with customers is what this new opportunity offers. This is ideal for me since I can now get feedback and offer better service.”

7. When are you available?
This question seeks to ask how soon you can start the job. Common mistakes job seekers make is to think that if they say ‘soonest possible’ the recruiter will favor them. The interviewer interprets it that given another chance you would leave without notice.

“My employment contract stipulates a 30 day notice and I would like to issue a notice and have adequate time to have a replacement.”

He is also quick to note that some companies subtract remaining leave days from the 30 day notice required of you.

For queries concerning Interviews, contact Elizabeth at elizabeth@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke