These five qualities will help you stand out from other applicants and hopefully place you in your next call center position.

Employers today are looking for candidates that not only fulfill hard skill requirements but individuals that personally sell themselves during the interview. Five qualities that employers are always looking for include:

Dependability
Punctuality
Professionalism
Customer Service
Commitment
Dependability Whether you are interviewing for a long-term position or short-term contract, employers are looking for individuals they can depend on. Throughout the interview, make sure to highlight specific times in your previous employment that showcase your ability to provide consistent work. Showing your employer that you possess dependability will show them you are reliable, responsible, and will prove that you will be a great asset to their organization.

Punctuality The next quality to emphasize in your interview goes hand in hand with dependability. Punctuality is a soft skill that is always reviewed by employers and begins the moment you arrive. Punctuality means being twenty minutes early, being on-time means you’re late, and arriving late means you’ve lost the job opportunity. In the interview, emphasize the understanding that if an employee is late, it not only affects them but also the entire team. Their tardiness can lead to increase overtime costs, which ultimately affects the business. By relaying this understanding to a hiring manager, you showcase a sense of duty to your company and respect for your team. TIP: If at any point in your employment, you run into a problem that will affect your attendance, immediately reach out to your supervisor and team. Also, if your estimated time of arrival changes, continue to follow up with your supervisor with updates. Communication is key; never assume. Employers are more understanding with employees who are upfront rather than individuals who no call, no show or communicate poorly.

Professionalism Which leads to the next quality to highlight during your interview, professionalism. No one ever gets a second chance for a first impression. An interview is your first impression to show confidence, consideration and respect to a potential future employer. Make sure to look your best and most importantly pay attention to detail. Hiring managers will recognize an individual that pays close attention to detail and could be a key deciding factor in their employment decision. Shy away from discussing personal matters, unless your interviewer asks direct personal questions first. If your interviewer happens to bring up personal matters, feel free to speak about them but stay formal. Many employers try to get a glimpse of an applicant’s professionalism by making them comfortable speaking about their daily lives and personal matters.

Customer Service Customer service is a quality difficult to determine by an interview alone, but employers are always on the “look-out” for candidates displaying this quality. It’s beneficial during your interview to highlight past experiences when you provided great customer service. If an interviewer questions your customer service abilities, be prepared for a NON-generalized response and instead have specific examples where you provided exceptional customer service. For instance, highlight a time in previous positions in which you managed to calm down a customer or co-worker and successfully resolved the problem with a positive solution. TIP: Employers will follow up with questions if they aren’t receiving in-depth answers from you. Recognize when your employer is responding to your answers with more questions and make sure you expand your future responses to describe more specific examples or details.

Commitment Coming to an interview prepared with information on the company displays a sense of commitment to the position. Make sure to do your research before coming to the interview and then using this information to respond to questions appropriately. Don’t be afraid to highlight and sell personal skills that show you are a great fit for the position and the company. Explain how excited you would be to work for the organization and always ask if there is any other information you can provide or any other questions you can help answer or clarify. Following up with a thank you letter, will also showcase your commitment to get the job.

These qualities may sound simple, but if you can demonstrate these qualities concisely and with enthusiasm, the odds of successfully receiving an offer skyrocket. It is important your future employer believes the skills you highlighted during your interview, will be seen throughout your time as an employee. Make sure that the examples you provide in your responses directly reflect the soft skills you can and will bring to the job. If you make your interviewer believe this, the job is yours!