Previous experience in customer service or sales is a great start, and a very useful background for entry-level Contact Centre roles. For example, if you have worked in the hospitality industry, or you have worked a retail job, then you will have necessary customer service skills to work in a Contact Centre.

For mid to senior level roles, or for those positions that have an outbound component, then typically, clients prefer candidates to have had prior Contact Centre experience. However it does depend on the specific role and client organisation, so please do ask our Consultants if you interested in a role and keen to see if you are a good match.

One of the biggest focus areas we have when recruiting for Contact Centre positions is looking for what are termed ‘soft’ skills. These are essential, non-technical skills that will enable you to do a great job in a customer-focused position.

Soft skills include:

• Communication skills (being articulate)
• Active listening
• Time management
• Resilience
• Empathy
• Problem solving
• Being proactive
• Having a growth mindset & willingness to learn
• Reliability

If you possess these soft skills, and can demonstrate these from your time in a previous role, then you will have an excellent chance of securing a role!

An inbound role is about providing customer service for those customers reaching out to a company, this might be for example, to answer general queries, for tech support, appointment scheduling, or order processing.

An outbound role involves proactively reaching out to customers. Outbound contact centre roles can involve sales activity, however it is a misconception that outbound roles are always solely sales focused, or that they are ‘hard’ selling, with specific sales targets. Outbound can mean a follow up call, proactively replying to a customer’s email enquiry. An outbound role certainly may involve sales activity, but in the modern context it’s typically about providing customised, personalised options for the customer, to enhance their experience of the organisation’s services or products.

The job description should tell you everything you need to know about the tasks required of a particular Contact Centre job.

We believe we’re the right choice for job seekers looking for a new role in the Contact Centre. This has been an area of specialisation for Madison for more than 25 years—we have the strongest contacts, great clients and the best jobs.

We pride ourselves on our special Contact Centre special match-making abilities. When you register with us as a candidate, you are not only matching with the job you’ve applied for, but with a Consultant who specialises in this area, and will work with you to find exactly the right role to meet your needs, expectations and dreams.

We’ll be able to give you in depth insights into the company, culture, benefits and challenges of each job you have put yourself forward for, to ensure it’s the right one for you. We provide you with feedback and coaching, so you are really well prepared for job interviews. We are there to support you, every step of the way, including after you’ve got the job and have started in your new role.

We’ve had many occasions where happy Madison candidates have eventually turned into happy Madison clients, which is a great feeling and we think, a good sign that we got it right!

The Contact Centre industry is a great place to find flexible work to ensure you have the work-life balance you desire. Of course, it depends on the organisation, but as a guide— we frequently recruit roles that are fully work-from-home, as well as many that are in the hybrid model, i.e you can work two or three days from home, and the rest from the office.

This industry offers part-time positions, for example, evening or weekend work, which is a great way for students and parents to fit work in around other commitments.  We also see plenty of standard business hour positions.

Visit our Types of Employment Page for more about roles, and different contractual arrangements.

As most of the permanent jobs we recruit for require successful candidates to start within four weeks, we don’t generally consider overseas applicants. If you have a visa to work in New Zealand, we recommend you get in touch with us once you have relocated, and we can begin the process then.

For more information on visas for New Zealand, visit the New Zealand immigration website.