Sounds sensible to me. Hopefully "Goldfries" won't be reading or visiting this thread. Better fly below the radar...for the time being. Hihihi.

Joey~~~

Alright, I'm just going to add some questions being asked to me by the Maxis lady and some from Shells (from my friend's interview) for the contact centre agent/CSR/CSO position:

One important tips: From what I know, contact centre training companies keep teaching the trainees to be positive, cheerful and motivated. They want the trainees to start their job feeling really positive. So, you must give your answer with a full smile, be firm, positive and confident. Open your mouth when you are answering. And keep your eye contact with the interviewer (my eyes almost fall out from staring at her's)

1."So you are saying that you have the experience of working in a customer service industry before. Yours was basically walk-in customers. Do you think there is a difference between handling walk-in customers and handling customers' call?"

2."Alright, I'm sure you know a lot about Maxis. Do you know what Maxis's prefix is? What else do you know about Maxis?"

3."Tell me about your best and worst experience when you were dealing with a customer"

4."Oh, I can see that you're using a Maxis number So, can you tell me about any bad experience you had with our service? Anything is fine..."

5."Are you willing to work in Shift? You know that this work is based in S***ay right?"

6."So, you are saying that you were infuriated when you were having a problem with the Maxis line. What make you say that? Is it because of the agent?"

7."Mr. N****, you said that you can work in S***ay. However, I'm a little bit concern about how you will go there. You are currently living in XXXX. The morning shift will start at 6am in the morning. Are you sure you can do that?"

8."Alright, even though you said you can rent a house, are you sure you can do that? You told me that you are currently living with your family. How about your parents? They don't mind you live far away from them?"

9."I'm sure you know that handling customers' call can be stressful. Will you be able to handle stress? Tell me about it"

10."I'm sure you can handle walk-in customer. However, this job is quite different. Don't you think it'll be hard on you when handling calls?"

11."So, you personally think that handling walk-in customers is much more easier and better than handling customers' calls?"

12."Is there any questions that you want to ask?"

13."You mention about your worst experience. How did you solve it?"

14."Do you think our company will have a great future?"

15."You don't mind working for a 3rd party won't you? (They did not mention about the third party's name at all). And the pay is...... Are you sure you want to work with us?"

16."Oh, you are a graduate in accounting/business/biology. I wonder why you want this job? Why didn't you search for a job that is related to your qualification? Your qualification doesn't relate to this industry at all..."

17."Do you know that you will be using lots of IT technology. Since you are a non-IT graduate, can you really use those applications well?"

18."Alright, can you tell me what sort of technologies are being used in a contact centre?"

19."Okay, you said that you apply for this job because it is a fast growing industry in Malaysia. Is that all to it? No other reasons for applying this job?"

*Maxis purposely did not mention about the third party's name
*They keep saying the salary is 'basic' and 'can be increased' to make you ask them about it during the interview (or maybe to check your interest?)
*Question 20 till 24 were from Shell. And no, I'm not trying to bad mouth Shell. I am convinced that there is a reason why they try to provoke the interviewees:

20."Hmm... how do you see yourself in 5 years?"

21."Oh you want to open a business in 5 years later? Then how about your performance in our company? We don't want an employee who can't focus on his/her job"

22."Yes, everyone can say that they will give their 100% to this job. What makes you different from them?"

23."Tell me why should we hire you? Everyone is coming for the same thing"

24."You told me we should hire you because you are a positive person? Anyone can say that"

and sometimes, even after you provide the answers to some particular questions, they'll probably ask the same questions again to irritate you

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................
OCBC (banking industry) interview will probably require you to respond to a situation. Maybe a role play or a presentation (first or/and second interview)

Think about the best way to answer them. Even after you used a strong word such as 'infuriated' make sure you turn that statement back to a positive statement. Don't forget to practice answering while smiling . Oh, and sorry for not arranging the questions according to the chronology, I just write down what I can remember

This post has been edited by ryukai: May 24 2009, 03:30 PM

No problemo ryukai.
It is already very helpful that you can still remember the 24 questions and post them up.
I think i'd prolly forget 20 of them too. haha.
I think this will be a useful tips for those goin for CSO interview~
Good job.

Yeah, I got the Maxis. However need to work with the 3rd party first for about 12 months (going to sign the contract tomorrow) and after they evaluate your performance and if it is good, Maxis will hire you as a full employee. What differentiate candidate who passed the interview and those who didn't pass (I'm not cocky tauu ) is their level of confidence, clear conversation/communication and keep smiling

My friend got a different Maxis interviewer. The interviewer was an Indian female (middle age I think). She didn't smile at all when interviewing my friend. She keep looking with her eyeglass on her nose and sometimes even look uninterested and do something else. My friend keep smiling and smiling and she tried to attract the the interviewer's attention. And finally, that so serious looking interviewer succumb to my friend's smile. She finally smiled back and even talk in a cheerful manner. For me, interview session after lunch hour can either make you lazy or tired compared to the morning session. It'll totally depends on you to lighten up the mood.

But somehow, I found out that male interviewer sometimes is very hard to please. Agh, you know about their's "I know everything" attitude and even keep commenting about how you put your phone no in your resume, this and that, your address is too smalll, bla bla bla. For me, there are two types of interviewer, one is the old school and another is the one that can accept modern ideas. I love the modern one much better

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I was told that most of our explanation when being asked "Tell me about yourself" is too dull (not by the Maxis lady but by a former contact centre's Manager that has worked in UK, Australia and Singapore). All candidates were using the same word, same structure, same jargons, bla bla bla, same thing.

Instead of saying:

"My name is...... I was graduated from..... with a degree/diploma in ....... My program requires me to..... My first job experience was...... My second job..."

They told us that we sound like a robot and almost all candidates were using the same structure. She said, try to improvise the way you explain such as this:

"I am xxx from xxx. I love doing..... that's why I pursue my study in .... so that ....... (don't explain too much). There is something you should know about me, I had worked with ....... before......"

In other words, from her point of view, you should continuously grab the interviewer's attention. I asked about this to another former manager and he said "yeah, fresh graduates and those robots can be boooringg" (those two former managers are now professional instructors moving around giving lectures to students and managers)

ps: Personally, I think the above way of explaining about yourself don't go very well with old-school interviewer (mostly gov sector).

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he also mentioned about this:
-Look at me with your two eyes even though I don't look interested or even yawning in front of you or even look like I'm writing something
-Open your mouth, speak loud even if there is another interviewer who is currently interviewing another candidate in the same room
-Don't make a boring face in front of me, do you want this job or not?
-Girls must wear make up. Even if you are currently pregnant or whatsoever, wear you lipstick! I am already tired, give me something to look at
-Don't play with your pen! And don't even think about moving that executive chair you are sitting on!
-Silent your phone. Only my phone can ring in this room
-Why are you looking at the table or the ceiling? Is there something there that I should know?

I gain a little tips for the question "Tell me about yourself":
-If your resume already list down your education background and the resume is already in the hand of your interviewer before you go there, then you probably do not need to tell about your qualification at all. Just tell about "who you really are". What is your hobby, how your hobby benefits you. Your characterictis- cheerful, helpful, etc. Your favourites (but must be meaningful. Only you really know about yourself) and what have you learned in the past.

(warning, may not work with old-school hardcore interviewer)

-If you are handing out your resume to the interviewer for the first time, then you probably need to tell about your qualifications and experience.

ps: I used the word 'probably' because you need to be able to read the situation
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Warning again! If you tell too much about yourself, be prepared to answer questions such as these:
"So how do you relate your interests and likes to the job you are applying right now?"
"I can't see how you can fit into this job since you only like to..... Don't you think so?"
"So, is there anything you've learned in the past that would benefit you in this job?"

Haha, don't worry too much

This post has been edited by ryukai: May 25 2009, 09:28 PM

Hehe nice tips and experience! But one thing I don't really quite agree is where u mention we don't have to repeat edu background. Keep in mind that interviewers might have > 50 candidates and they can't remember all resumes they might went through before that (or maybe didn't go through at all, only glance at it seconds before interview session because there's a possibility that HR filtered the candidates). In any case, there's a lot of possibilities and I usually go with talking bout Edu in any case.

The "tell me about yourself" is subjective. You can talk about almost anything but I agree with you that it has to be interesting. I usually go with the culture shock and difference in perception that I observed when I studied out of country back then. Some interviewers find it interesting (also have to depend on what you say).

For interviewes, be armed with all sort of possibilities and questions.

You are right, that's why I said you need to read the situation (maybe you can ask politely if they already go through the resume. Some will see this question as acceptable I think and some may not).

Sigh, actually you cannot satisfy every interviewer 100% all the time. Diff people diff wants. It's okay, I'm juz pointing out their opinions. And I also agree wif you. Ah, one thing, doing a research (if you can) about the interviewers from that company may help

ps: I wonder how many of you really give thank you note after an interview?

i don't think i will give a thank you note....but i will drop an thank you email though....

as far as tell me about yourself, the best tip i got was from schlumberger website and have been following their format since then.

well it includes all the things that you need to say.

name, family background( the way your family raised you up), courses and why you pick it, hobby and why, sports,volunteering,current and future goals.

as the sentence. you need to construct your sentence and be creative about it.

have you guys ever encountered this kind of question during interview?

1. Your expected salary is very high, can you lower it down?

Actually that pay is average... just that this kiamsiap company underpay its ppl want to 'step' my pay... i tried justify my worth why i worth that much... i stand firm on my expected salary and i didn't gave in...

may i know do you get employed? depending on situation, if that pay is not reasonable and economic is good then you can reject it otherwise most people will just take the job

a question i would like ask is....if i'm a fresh grad.....should i mention in my interview tat i'm planning to attend my convocation in a foreign country sometime in the future....

should i tell them in advance???.....coz i might take a few days or even up to a week of leave.....

Morning!

I'm not sure about this but I've been asked a couple of times before during my interviews in various companies, both MNC and SME type.

Question by Interviewer: "From your academic results & transcripts, your scholarship & active involvements in co-curricular activities, if given an opportunity in the future, would yu pursue for Masters Degree?" OR "Do yu have any planning to further your studies?".

It seems simple but I think there's a sinisterly ulterior motive when the interviewer asked me such question. There are some companies that provide Training & Development and it is claimable under PSMB/HRDF OR it shall be half sponsored by the company.

Maybe they are afraid of me bailing out once I got my Masters or my pursuant to my studies will get in the way of my work? This left unanswered until now...HaiZZZ.

Regards, Joey~~~

This post has been edited by Joey Christensen: Jun 10 2009, 10:23 AM

Funny enough, I hardly send a thank-you note X( I think I only did it for 2 companies.

It's normal for ppl to ask for 'discount'. Maybe knowing that you could put it slightly higher and then reduce it during the interview. Make sure you put the term: Negotiable in your resume.

In the end it depends on you. You are 'selling' yourself during the interview. The company is the customer and determines whether they want to 'buy' you or not. So it's expected for them to 'negotiate' prices before 'purchasing' just like we do at times

IMO you only tell that to the company when they have confirmed they want to take you in. For example you were confirmed on the spot during the interview. So upon that, let them know that you have not gone for your convo yet and it'll be in xxx month and you might need to take xxx days off.

Hello just would share this awesome site www.telcojob.net to those who are into telecommunication industries.I am working for prominent company here in Malaysia as a RF Engineer.
This site is still new and currently open for those who are interested to post their resume. I have posted mine and hope there will be job opportunity for me soon.
See you guys there

It's normal for a company to hire a the highest skilled person they can get with the lowest pay possible so they can increase their ROI.

A good company will not offer you much as they are doing good.

A 'going-downwards' company will offer you much more to get things good (and risk of being fired / retrenched if you don't do good!).

All of these, will eventually fall back to you. If you don't really need the job and looking for more MONEY, then you can tell them that you have surveyed the market, and found that your expected salary is what they should expect to get people to do the job - but of course, be logical and don't expect a RM10k pay for a RM3k job.

If you are desperate (I know not all will agree to this), you might want to turn around the table and ask 'How much does an average XXXXXX earn at your company?' And you can go further there by your own to decide if you should sell yourself off for that price or not.

I think it's wiser to check the title of the thread before posting. Whatever that telco job is, all the best and pls post it in Job Enlistment in future. This thread is to discuss on interview questions (in case you did not notice).

Some questions that I have encountered many years ago:


Q:Describe your work ethic.
A:Besides listing a long list of good stuff, don't forget to add some 'negatives' to make your answer sound more real and honest.

Q:What has been your biggest professional disappointment?
A: Say something that was totally not your fault like: "I was all ready and set to be promoted when the economy crisis hit and the company went into financial turmoil"

This evening i got call for interview.. tomorrow i gonna go for interview.. aRGHH.. a not ready yet and my bran is 0.

still loving sitting at home

Here I am, getting those funny questions like
- What is your weakness?
- How do you want to improve it?
- What is your goal in 5 years time?
And I sort of screwing them up.

Gotta wikianswer them all. But seriously, there is so many interview questions that I will never answer honestly, say, if you ever say in 5 years time I gotta set up my own worm farm you will most likely failed your interview. People are wearing a mask to attend interview, dunno say you know, no goal say sky high goal, passing time job say life career... sometimes, these interviews are just sucks.

Just passing by..

I heard from someone that when the interviewer start to ask about your hobby, it usually means that they are already decided not to hire you.

So far this theory holds true for me. Anyone has a different outcome for this?

This post has been edited by rexis: Jul 7 2009, 11:11 AM

not true.

some want to know ur character better to see wat type of person u are.

generally if they duwan to hire it'll be no more questions, save time.

i think u are coincidence only