Working for the contact centre industry might be appealing to you, but are you sure you have what it takes to work in one? Below are questions you may want to ask yourself first if you are truly call centre material.

1. Do you love talking to people? Working for a voice-based job can be pretty daunting for someone who is reserved and quiet.
   However, if you are not a particularly quiet person and you have a gregarious personality with the penchant for talking to people almost all of the time, then working as an agent might be the perfect job description for you.
   

Working for the industry means talking to a lot of people.
The volume may be manageable, but that will still be a lot of talk time.
Although there is that phone line separating you from the person you are talking to, your voice needs to sound active and engaging during your shift.

2. Do you feel that you are convincing and persuasive enough to affect other people's decisions? A major function of working in the industry is telemarketing or doing sales.
   Depending on the company that you will be working for, you will be tasked to sell a variety of products from computer software and car parts to a fibre broadband connection and occupational safety products.
   If your powers of persuasion are powerful enough, you won't have a hard time selling a variety of products on the phone and earning commissions on the side.
   
3. Do you manage well in the face of pressure and multi-tasking? Like in any job in the world, there is that latent requirement for employees to multi-task, and more so when working in the contact centre industry.
   You need to attend well to the person you are talking to on the phone and you also need to document the call or take notes simultaneously using computer applications as required by the company.
   
4. Are you a team player? Being in the industry means working closely with other people from colleagues, team leaders to local and expat managers.
   Although the industry does not restrict itself from workers who deliver best independently, having a team player attitude is perfect for anyone who wishes to work in the contact centre industry.
   Especially if the company you happen to work with will base your performance, incentives and salary increases on the performance of a team, you need the team player attitude to last in the industry.
   
5. Are your English speaking skills sharp enough? Working as a call centre agent means you are communicating with them through the English language.
   English, particularly American English, is the universal language that links us to people of almost all nationalities.
   If your English speaking skills are at par with the standards of the contact centre you are applying at, there is a very good chance that you will be hired.
   An accent is not necessary, but competence, grammatical correctness and proper use of tenses can take you very far in the industry.
   

If your answers to all the question are in the affirmative, then you know what to do.
Look for opportunities in the contact centre industry and prepare yourself for the screenings and interviews that lie ahead.