Just got an interview for a telemarketing job tips?

Post Reply New Topic

I just got an interview for a job. Can anyone offer me tips

sinsboldly can. pm her, she'd be happy to give you some tips - she does phone work for a living.

what is the nature of the company. I have done telemarketing for a couple of arts organizations..I had one positive experience where I stayed there off and on for over a year..they were very laid back and accepting....
The other one I quit --crying-- after a week and a half. They were high pressure and my boss was a gentle jerk...

very personable and easy going.
THey do funding raising for non-profits.

I went to the interview and did very well and they hinted i might have the job. It help having a job coach and the government offering them benefiets to hire me like the government paying the first three months of my wages and a tax right off.

Tips to get a telemarketing job?

1) Practice good diction.
2) Practice speaking rapidly.
3) Get used to people hanging up on you.

Quit as soon as you can. I hate telemarketing, and I never pick up the phone when I know that it's a telemarketer trying to brow-beat me into getting a new credit card or donating money to some charity. When I say I'm not interested in your stupid credit card, I MEAN IT, and I would hope that you would have the brains and the heart to listen to me and respect my wishes!

Sorry, nothing personal. I'm just ranting.

My advice as a past unlucky telemarketing employee:

RUN!! !!

Telemarketing requires social skills that can sometimes put great anxiety on an Aspie. I fuddled my way through the gig for a year (didn't have much of a choice back then), but I dreaded waking up in the morning. I wasn't even really selling anything all that bad. I was upselling like items to customers who were one-time buyers of Lenox. Still, I had a problem with invading people's privacy like that.

I took a defensive sales approach: Being overly apologetic, understanding, and roping in those who would otherwise be pushed away by aggressive salespeople. It worked for me, and I was never criticized for it, but there are some telemarketing firms that will yell at you if you aren't a complete pushy douchebag to each and every customer. I don't know what company you're looking at, but be aware of this type of environment. They yell and scream in your ears as they walk up your cube aisles, making it impossible for you to do an already difficult job, let alone take your AS into account.

Good luck with whatever you do, and I hope for your sake that you find a niche elsewhere. Unfortunately, this economy has brought people to taking jobs like this because it's the only thing available.

Telemarketing is probably the last job you want being an aspie. You'll be dealing with social stress all day long.

Just do your best, what else can you do? It's good to try different types of work. I don't know if it would be an overly social-type job, you would probably just read from a script??

As a former telemarketer, don't worry about the interview -- if you're breathing they'll hire you.

Telemarketing is not a good job for an Aspie. We don't have the social skills or dishonesty required by this type of job. However, it will pay the bills in the short term, and it is good practice for talking to strangers on the phone.

Try to find something better if you can.

Good luck.

I second Celtic's post.


Telemarketing is perhaps one of the worst jobs for AS. This does not apply to everyone with AS though as you know there are some people with AS that can chat and charm your ear off and sell you a soiled diaper... but for the majority of us who find small talk difficult, telemarketing is not a good choice.


Bear in mind that:

- you will be expected to meet a weekly sales goal. In real life terms this means that it does not matter how helpful, sweet or how hard working you are.. in the end, if you do not meet that magic number you will end up being fired. This is why salesmen are pushy SOB's. If they dont, they dont meet their quota and lose their jobs. Bad karma in my opinion.

- you will be expected to take multiple calls per hour and regurgitate an insanely stupid script that is designed to force the customer to agree to terms that lock them into many penalties once they buy the product (depends on the industry you are in of course).

- Yes, you will get irate people at you. This is the worst part for an AS person because there are 2 kinds of irate people on the phone: People who are irate and cling to illogical and irrational reasons to yell and keep you on the phone ... and people who make absolutely perfect sense and have all the right to be very upset.

the problem with these is that the illogical irates we cant handle very well and the 'logical' irates we can't argue with them because..damn, THEYRE RIGHT. In either case, you are supposed to, as part of your job, get the illogical irates off the phone because they are taking up time you could be using selling whatever crap the company sells WITHOUT hanging up on them (all companies have this policy) ... and get the 'logical' irates off the phone without giving in to their demands for compensation or refund ..because that would mean a loss to the company AND it is part of the legal stuff they agreed to when buying the product that once they buy it there's no refunds or compensations. All industries have these policies.

- You are expendable. If the company needs to cut on personnel, you're the first to go. As Celtic mentioned, they can get new hires and pay them less at a moment's notice.




Again, it all depends on the industry. If you want to work in sales over the phone one of the best options is to apply for a technical sales position. Computer sales is a great example. you are still liable for a quota and such but it is much easier for you to sell a product most people are clueless about than one everyone is familiar with.