Is a call center job my next stop?

By Jeff Orvis

As my search for employment continues at a snail's pace, I've been trying to open up my mind to more possibilities. For nearly 40 years, the jobs have come to me Rarely have I had to beat the bushes looking for my next paycheck. I've had five jobs in media and in each case, it's like the old saying that when you find a job you truly enjoy, you don't feel like you've worked a day in your life.

With the ever-changing ways we receive news today, I realize that the days of those totally enjoyable media jobs may be a thing of the past.

As I've tried to determine what my next step should be, I realize that one of the things I most enjoyed about the news business was talking to people. In a couple of those jobs, I tried selling advertising. But I soon learned that despite having a few victories, where the potential advertiser agreed to buy, there were probably three rejections for every success. And I soon found that I'm not too good at accepting rejection.

Still, keeping in mind that I apparently enjoy helping people, I am exploring a couple of opportunities at call centers in this area. There are some things I really don't want to do, but we will see what may be available and what any potential employer might think I could handle.

These past months living in Mom's condo, I've been the recipient of countless calls from solicitors of all sorts. I learned that my mother contributed to several causes over the years, both when she operated a business and even after she retired. She was a proud registered member of a political party (not the one I'm affiliated with) and as you can imagine, the weeks leading up to the last election were a nightmare. I had the pleasure of hanging up on numerous political candidates as their robo-calls attempted to sway me to vote their way. After awhile, I started talking back to them, even as I realized that I was talking to a recording.

Even months after the election and months after Mom passed from this world, I am still getting calls from this particular political party. When I explain that she has been gone for several months, most of the live callers apologize and promise to remove her name from their list. Then, several days later, I get another call.

Some callers may not be connected with a political party and some don't even tell me who they represent. I got a call the other day asking for Mom by mispronouncing her name. When I asked who was calling, the reply was “This is Sherry. This is a courtesy call.” My response was, “Well, that's not very courteous, since she's been gone since September!”

But as I've indicated, the time may come soon when I could be on the other end of a call like that. While I realize that my potential employer has a certain way of doing business, I would hope that my recent experience, both as the recipient of these calls and in calling various businesses in my role as executor of Mom's estate, would enable me to be a good fit for a position.

One of my goals if I am hired for a call center position is to SPEAK UP! Nothing bugs me more than calling a company (or its designated call center) to ask a question and hear a faint voice on the other end. You don't have to shout, but speak clearly and loud enough so the person on the other end can hear you!

Another thing I would bring to this position is the knowledge that the only dumb question is one that is not asked. A newspaper editor told me that one time. So that would go both for anyone who might call asking me a question or for me attempting to find an answer. I would hope that my training would allow me to know most of the answers, but if I don't, I want to know who I can ask at my workplace to find the answer as quickly as possible.

There have been times when I've called a company or government entity looking for answers and have been put on “hold” for 20 or more minutes. Since most of the numbers I've called are toll-free, apparently some companies don't think the caller is being inconvenienced. What particularly irks me is the standard recording while I am holding, “Your call is important to us. Please stay on for our next available agent.” I want to shout, “If this call is so important, why don't you have enough people on the other end of the line to help me sooner?!”

And yet, I think I am basically a patient, slow-to-anger person. If I get an interview with a call center, I hope I can convey this attitude and see what happens.

I remain confident that God has a plan for me. I would appreciate it if the folks from Publishes Clearing House would pull up in the driveway later this month. But since I don't see that happening, I'll keep looking and maybe, when I least expect it, one of those jobs that don't seem like a job at all will come up again.