ETCC Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – I was initially contacted by the HR Specialist for a specific location and underwent an informal phone screening. I was then scheduled for an in-person interview a few days in advance. The interview itself was a 2 person panel. The office where the interview took place was cramped and the interview seemed ad hoc but the questions were relevant to the position and I was given an opportunity to ask questions regarding the operation of this particular project. I was called back again about 2 months later for a 2nd interview which was with one of the individuals I initially interviewed with.

Reason for Declining – This is a loaded question because I greatly appreciated their time and consideration for the position and felt the hiring process was fair and allowed for some exploration of the position. However, the first thing to note is that when I declined the offer I was not asked why. My primary reason for declining the offer was that after learning in detail about the position I realized they were hiring for the wrong position.

The red flags for me were;

*The number one red flag for me was that the hiring manager bad mouthed the person currently holding the job for most of the interview. One has to wonder if it will be "me" being bad mouthed during the next round of interviews after such an experience.
*The call center team to supervisor ratio was off the charts (80 to 1)! They made it pretty clear that they did not want to hire additional supervisors and seem to be angry with the current manager for not being able to control productivity.
*The call center was 80+ and growing but the position being filled was titled, "assistant manager" along with a pay scale to fit the job title. This position appears under under-paid, under resourced and under supported from upper management. A person managing a team that is 80+ and growing should be compensated accordingly. This company seems to be growing but has not re-evaluted its structure.
* The only existing management member of the team had 4 months of experience as a Supervisor... with no previous call center experience and is managing scores of people. This did not seem concerning to the hiring manager.

While I thought the hiring manager was personally likeable, there were too many red flags during the interview process. I did not get the impression that the company really valued its employees or understood its own business model and I just could not see myself being there long term based on the offer made.