call center job?

Hello guys,

I have been looking at this site for a while and i constantly see posts about how many people got their start in a call center job and then was able to move up/on to different positions from there. My question is, does this also count for call center jobs that pretty much all telephone and no "hands on" experience? Im asking this because i decided to take a part time job at a company that Dell has outsourced their support calls. Its a level 1 position thats all phone support but after talking to a manager during my interview, it sounds like all the positions there are phone support only unless you get on to the actual IT team. Do u guys think this will help gain experience and steer me to better jobs in the future? Im a recent college grad with some internship and personal support experience but havent earned any certs yet (finishing up my CCNA) Im looking to get into a Jr. network or systems admin spot eventually and go from there. Any comments is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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Comments

RobertKaucher

Get your certs and be sure to show your skills in your current position. Make a name for yourself as an individual who knows his stuff and works hard. If you begin to look at your current position as a waste of time, it will be. Use it as a way to show your determination and knowledge and future employers will see it as such.

What are you looking for in your next position? Do you want to do strictly networking or are you also interested in server administration as well?

gcarroll357

Thanks for the quick response.....i guess im looking for more hands on experience. I definitely going to do my best while at the job just curious if this would give me "experience". I only question it due to it only being scripts and telephone support and am not sure how if that is going to help me in the end. I am grateful tohave the pt job just curious. As far my next job, i would like to see a mixture of phone/ticket/hands on roles as far as types of supporting roles and would like to get more into the windows and networking isses.

RobertKaucher

You will want to add a few Microsoft certs onto your list as well, then. Most places probably would not count it as direct experience, but the knowledge might still be applicable. You are going to gain skills with the ticketing system as well as customer service skills dealing with the people who call. I would suggest the following:

CCENT: (ICND1 exam for the CCNA)
MCIPT: Enterprise Desktop Adminstrator (Windows 7)
and/or maybe the MCIPT: Enterprise Support Tech.
A+

I would extend getting your CCNA a little while because with lack of hand on you will forget a lot of the Cisco specific info that you learn.

brad-

gcarroll357 wrote: »

Thanks for the quick response.....i guess im looking for more hands on experience. I definitely going to do my best while at the job just curious if this would give me "experience". I only question it due to it only being scripts and telephone support and am not sure how if that is going to help me in the end. I am grateful tohave the pt job just curious. As far my next job, i would like to see a mixture of phone/ticket/hands on roles as far as types of supporting roles and would like to get more into the windows and networking isses.

sounds to me like you should take it, make the most of it, and use it as your first stepping stone. Nobody wants to be stuck on the phone forever. You could at least move to a call center type job in which you would use a remote connection to troubleshoot problems for people...specically revolving around proprietary software or hardware.

In any case, do your best, make a good name for yourself, and move on.

wheez

If you ask me Dell would be a good place to start of. I assume the function you're starting in would be hardware-specific? i.e. desktop or laptops?

I know Dell offers (OEM) OS support as well, so if you'd get a few Microsoft certs and make sure your supervisor knows of your interest in (Windows) networking, I think you'd definitely have a good position to start from.

gcarroll357

rhermans wrote: »

If you ask me Dell would be a good place to start of. I assume the function you're starting in would be hardware-specific? i.e. desktop or laptops?

I know Dell offers (OEM) OS support as well, so if you'd get a few Microsoft certs and make sure your supervisor knows of your interest in (Windows) networking, I think you'd definitely have a good position to start from.

thats the thing, the actual company im working for is a third party company and not Dell; i am just providing support to Dell's customers (basically im going to be the guy that u call when u have a warrenty and ur laptop is not working, etc) Like i said before im going to make the best of the job just wondering how much this might help since i talked to to a manager and they stated that at that company its 90% phone support (the 10% is for the actual IT team for the actual team), Thanks for your response.

rsutton

My first two "IT" jobs were 100% phone support. I learned a lot from those jobs, I also busted my buns to be the best technician in the call center (I'm extremely competitive). Being that way however, anytime I wasn't sure of something I would research it. After a few years I walked away with a good amount of knowledge which enabled me to get in to Desktop Support. Now I do System Admin type work.

I think the biggest factor is how you look at your job. If you are one of those rare people who actually cares about their job and wants to do everything to progress, then this could be a good stepping stone for you.

JL2728

I have an interview for a phone support job and could use some advice on preparing for the interview and also have an idea about a phone support technician. I would rather do a field work, I'm really more like a hardware person, but right now, since I've not worked for a while I think I'd go for this job and try to start from there. Any advice would very much appreciated. I hope to get a reply soon. I still in school studying for my MCDST, currently have A+ and N+.

tpatt100

JL2728 wrote: »

I have an interview for a phone support job and could use some advice on preparing for the interview and also have an idea about a phone support technician. I would rather do a field work, I'm really more like a hardware person, but right now, since I've not worked for a while I think I'd go for this job and try to start from there. Any advice would very much appreciated. I hope to get a reply soon. I still in school studying for my MCDST, currently have A+ and N+.

From my experience most questions are handling customer calls. The most common I have ran into were the "so you got a really irate customer on the phone how do you handle it?"

Then I got a "what are a few ways to keep the customer happy?" I answered that most important way is to keep the customer up to date on the status of the problem if you had to escalate it. This could be as simple as an email to them saying how you escalated it and the importance of following up on a service call so the customer does not feel abandoned.

Then you get really basic desktop questions and if you want to impress them have the names of a few web sites which you frequent or I hope you frequent that keep you up to date on technology.

My first help desk job that I interviewed for they asked me how I keep up to date and I told them a few sites. They really liked it when I told them of a site similar to this where I said it was possible to get assistance/provide assistance to peers in the IT field.

thatguy85

Absolutely take that job. I worked at a grocery store for 3 years while I was in college, and generally hated my life until I got the opportunity to put my education to use on a help desk. The fact of the matter is that even though it's the lowest spot on the IT totem pole, it gets your foot in the door.

From there you have the opportunity to meet and become friends with other people that may be in different, higher positions in the IT industry.

Beware though, even though this is a great starting job, it will quickly become boring and you'll start to hate people after the first year or two doing tech support, lol. It depends largely on your user community, but broadly speaking you'll twitch with rage everytime you hear some redneck say "I don't know nothin' bout this computer stuff" for the 100th time that day.

jenniferruth04

Network or system admin is a better option then phone support. Moreover in phone support you would not get any hands on experience. To have a better future in IT you could probably go for networking instead of call center.

Turgon

gcarroll357 wrote: »

Hello guys,

I have been looking at this site for a while and i constantly see posts about how many people got their start in a call center job and then was able to move up/on to different positions from there. My question is, does this also count for call center jobs that pretty much all telephone and no "hands on" experience? Im asking this because i decided to take a part time job at a company that Dell has outsourced their support calls. Its a level 1 position thats all phone support but after talking to a manager during my interview, it sounds like all the positions there are phone support only unless you get on to the actual IT team. Do u guys think this will help gain experience and steer me to better jobs in the future? Im a recent college grad with some internship and personal support experience but havent earned any certs yet (finishing up my CCNA) Im looking to get into a Jr. network or systems admin spot eventually and go from there. Any comments is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

It's certainly a start and you will get a lot of exposure to customers which is a good thing. The trick then is to find a way out of helpdesk. For that look at opportunities to progress within the organisation itself. If there are none then start to look elsewhere. But initially just settle into the job as it stands for a couple of months and don't be seen to being too eager to move on. A few people there may have had similar goals for a very long time and you want to make a few friends in helpdesk for as long as you are there.

ULWiz

Someone in this forrum posted this link once before. I believe it was Turgon.

Get Your Dream IT Job! 77 Questions You Need to be Ready For | Train Signal Training - Free Computer Training Videos

Check it out should have a bunch of questions your gonna get asked.

gcarroll357

Thanks everyone for the responses....Im still in training (4 weeks in class and 2 weeks on the floor. I am definetly soaking up everything i can about this job. Due to my internship and scheduling i am not sure how long i will be able to keep this job but im going to make the best out of it.

jenniferruth04 wrote: »

Network or system admin is a better option then phone support. Moreover in phone support you would not get any hands on experience. To have a better future in IT you could probably go for networking instead of call center.

Jennifer, I agree with your statement but i honestly dont beleive im qualified for those positions yet (i have applied for some jr. positions but nothing solid yet) What do you (or anyone else) recommend when trying to get into one of those positions?

Once again thanks guys.

Turgon

gcarroll357 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the responses....Im still in training (4 weeks in class and 2 weeks on the floor. I am definetly soaking up everything i can about this job. Due to my internship and scheduling i am not sure how long i will be able to keep this job but im going to make the best out of it.

Jennifer, I agree with your statement but i honestly dont beleive im qualified for those positions yet (i have applied for some jr. positions but nothing solid yet) What do you (or anyone else) recommend when trying to get into one of those positions?

Once again thanks guys.

Put some time in on the phones. 6 months wont kill you and it will demonstrate a willingness to stick at something and give you a wide range of exposure to end users. Lots of people are trying to get off helpdesk and in to hands on support often with little or no experience of doing it. So you are kind of equal with those folks there, but demonstrating some patience in the helpdesk role should be a plus when you interview for a move up. At the end of the day you will be dealing with people and their problems when you are administrating systems one day so get some practice now. Get a good handle on problem resolution and when jobs should be escalated. Also get some studying done on the side. It shows ambition.

Sie

Toilet Cleaner in a established IT Company is still a foot in the door. Unless there is a better option take the job and soak up the experience.

Continue with your studies and prove yourself in the job and keep your eyes out to move within the company.

gcarroll357 wrote:

What do you (or anyone else) recommend when trying to get into one of those positions?
Once again thanks guys.

Show you are hard working, dedicated and willing to learn. Work hard enough and people should notice. Look at the job postings and what they require and include those areas in your studies. If you are unsuccessful this time atleast you have a running start on next time!

gcarroll357

Thanks for the words of advice Turgon and Sie. Im definitely going to soak up everything i can. Sie, im definitely taking the job.