I was invited to be a panelist at a recent contact center trade association meeting, and I prepared a list of 20 do’s and don’ts that I shared.

One of them, something that I take for granted, having risen through the ranks as a telemarketer, a trainer, a manager, and as a consultant is the fact that each and every job applicant MUST be screened by phone before being invited to an interview.

Imagine how surprised I was to be asked to elaborate on that point by at least a few people in the audience.

It seems they never heard of this idea, having undoubtedly earned their stripes during the age of the Internet.

Many of today’s recruiters hire from pieces of paper, from resumes, however resumes don’t speak. Only people can do that, and some of course, are much better at it than others.

The capable ones speak clearly, without distracting verbal mannerisms. They don’t use a lot of “uhs” and “okays.” The best candidates are also effective listeners.

Call center work is largely PHONE work, and that’s communication work.

How can we know who will make a good phone worker if we don’t assess their phone behaviors?

I’d rather cut out the resume step altogether, and invite the best communicators to “Come on down!”

If you’d like more information about the telephone measures I use to objectively judge suitability for phone work, give me a holler!