How likely is it to advance from a call center position?

I think it’s good to take the position. Now you will have access to what is posted internally. No way to know how fast a promotion might happen. It could be a few months and they move you if they see you are a quick learner and competent.

I do have a suggesstion if you want an administrative job (I might have suggested this before) apply with all the temp agencies for admin jobs. Ranstad and Manpower are two of the well known ones, I am not sure if they are in your state. There are usually several local ones in a city also. Then you can get some experience.

Oh believe me I’ve tried a ton of temp agencies and none of them have been helpful. I always get submitted in for work but they never want to interview me. I don’t know what gives. I have experience in administration work, I know Microsoft word, excel, PowerPoint and outlook very well. Not only that but I’m a very fast and accurate typer…..

I don’t understand. I know i can do the job because i always apply myself and do my best. Sorry for not capitalizing some letters it is kind of tedious typing on a phone.

That is strange.

First, it depends on the type of call center position. If it’s cold calling, sales, etc… then there’s not much of a good chance for advancement there…unless you are like a rock-star in sales and bring in tons of business. In that case , you might get a bump, but you’ll still be in sales. If that’s your thing, great but it sounds like you prefer admin work.

If the job is tech support or customer service, you can really take steps to shine and move up after a little while. It may not be too glamorous, but better than if you’re in a telemarketing gig at the moment.

As far as temp agencies and job searching, there’s nothing wrong with getting yourself on file at the agencies, you never know when you might become a perfect fit for someone. But I would definitely supplement that by going to your local State Workforce Center. Get yourself registered there and spend a day filling out your job-seeker profile really well, take assessment tests that can prove your skills, consult with a workforce agent and be proactive tap into their resources.

Best of luck

Job market is tight everywhere. Basically if you don’t have a skill set that is in demand then you usually have to settle. My advice would be to find a skill/trade in demand that you enjoy and learn it in your free time. You can take night classes, find an entry level job in that field and feel out how people in the positions you want got there. The easiest way to find a good job is as a recruit from a college, trade school or apprentice program. It can take a lot of time to “work up the line” without credentials of some kind.

I do think it is possible to advance. Do a good job.

Agree with the above. If you’re working for your parents, you’ll eventually own the company if you want to. And for that reason, you really should work every position in the company so you will have a clear understanding of what is involved with each job.

That said, never, ever take advantage of your relationship with your parents to accomplish anything in your job. You will be liked better for it.

I worked in a call center for three years taking telephone orders for a ritzy clothing catalog. They treated us like crap. We were the scum on the bottom of the company’s shoe. That being said, IF you weren’t arbitrarily laid off without warning because of slight fluctuations in that week’s number of orders, AND you kissed ass, there was definitely opportunity to move up. The woman that was in charge of all 75+ customer service reps held that very position some years previously.

Many companies like to hire from within. Just be aware your position is probably going to be the lowest rung on ladder, and you should be expected to be treated as such.

I walked out of a call center after two months, top seller in my bay. Like @FutureMemory, they treated us like total crap, even those of us good at the job.

In that place you could advance to management, that’s all, and the managers had it almost as bad as the callers, quota’s, etc..

Am I crazy if I accept a part time 3 month internship for an HR position I really want AND it’s close by to home? lol..l they just called me today and I was thinking of going for it if it’s worth it in the end. I mean 3 months experience, close by to home, experience I want…. sounds good to me.

If I have to quit my new job I’d do it for this internship while working part time for my parents so that I have some sort of income.

That’s kind of sad I’d work for nothing for experience for this.

I meant it’s kind of sad for the position I accepted that I’d be more excited to work for an HR internship with no pay lol!

You guys want to know what else is funny? Every time I interview with a male over the phone I have a very difficult time understanding them. They usually talk fast or their voice is so low and deep and get’s kind of distorted.

I worked for a retail company with multiple call centers for many years.

The way to move up was to be really good at selling whatever the company wanted sold.

The best people moved from consumer sales to business sales. You could start making $20K/year and make it to $100K in a year or two.

Most people did not do that, but it was possible.

Also, some people who did not excel at sales found other jobs with the company. We had ex-sales people all around the company, some in fairly high positions.

The successful ones were focused and efficient. They didn’t waste time and they lasered in on “what works” and “what does my boss want me to do” (which are good habits everywhere you will work in the future.)

I would be skeptical about any internship, unless they at least promised that they would consider hiring you full time afterwards. I would go with the call center job, but keep looking elsewhere. It is easier to get a new job if you are already employed. If you are asked why you want to leave your old job, you can be perfectly honest. In the meantime, find out from other employees what the chances are of getting a promotion.

Why be skeptical? Jw

Most interns I know are paid but any experience is better than no experience so I’d probably take it and just see how it goes.

Oh. For some reason most internships here in Ohio are unpaid. If paid its very little. The only paid internships that pay well are the very big companies like Limoted Brands, Nationwide, Express, etc.,

The danger of an unpaid internship is that it might be a case of exploitation. There have been some lawsuits presented by unpaid interns who felt that they got little out of the experience and thought that it was a case of slave labor. I think of an HR position as being long term. Why would a company want an HR person for 3 months? Maybe they are staffing up and they need someone to handle the paper work.

I guess I come from a place that’s different lol. Most internships here are seasonal, but few are 6 months

A month ago I had the chance to accept a minimum wage HR internship but I declined because I learned from the interview I wouldn’t be doing much just one aspect of HR which is finding people and doing a phone interview.
And it was only a month thing…..

Whereas this internship that’s unpaid seems much more informative with a lot to teach. Check it out and let me know if it sounds legit.

http://internships.jobs.net/j/human-...FVSNY0B4Y.aspx

Its possible if you’re dedicated and hard-working enough. I worked in a call centre for 5 years before moving into the administration department of the same company, which is where I am now.

Looks like they took down your internship job (webpage cannot be found). Time to keep looking I guess.