I applied for the position on the American Express job board. I uploaded my resume, submitted a cover letter and documented the accomplishments in my present and previous positions. Based on my responses, I was invited to take the skills portion of the interview (plan on dedicating an hour of quiet time to complete this phase). The skills tests are reason, logic as well as identifying/matching letters and numbers for inconsistencies. There is also a personality assessment. Each section is timed so it is best to read thoroughly and answer as quickly as possible instead of staying on one question too long. The next afternoon I received a call, and an email, from the American Express recruiter asking to schedule an hour-long interview for later that day or the next day. This is a work at home position but please understand that everything is scheduled based on Eastern Time so make certain that you and the interviewer are agreeing to the same time.
The first interview lasted 45 minutes. I did not find my interviewer to be adversarial in any way. First question: Are you in the running for a position with another company? The recruiter discussed the parameters of the position and asked if I had any concerns about the background check, drug screening and education verification that would follow if offered a position. I discussed my resume and answered specific personality questions related to my previous positions. I was invited to interview with the hiring leader via telephone. I received a call precisely at the agreed upon time. The hiring leader was just as pleasant as the recruiter. However, it sounded like the person was reading a script. I was informed that there would be two phases of the second interview. The first phase: personality-type questions and specific questions about prior work. The answers were to be limited to the employer in question. The second phase of the interview consisted of questions that could be answered more broadly using a current or previous employer, school, or personal example. Be specific. 48 hours needed for hiring decision.
Two days later I received a call from the hiring leader. I was asked if I had any future plans that might interfere with 100% attendance during the 8-12 weeks of training. I was offered the position and given the amount of the annual compensation and it's dollar per hour equivalent. Details: operating hours are 6am - midnight ET 365 days of the year. It is possible to be scheduled to work on a holiday. PTO is available aftter training. Requests for off days are granted based on need. You may have to work on a holiday. Select your own schedule using the following parameters: must work at least 6 hours on Mondays, cannot work more than 10 hours a day, cannot work 7 consecutive days, when working 8.0+ consecutive hours you must add an extra 30 minutes to the beginning or end of your shift for lunch, may work split shifts but must work at least an hour per shift, all times are Eastern and schedule must be 40 hours per week.
A welcome email detailing the rest of the discussion was sent along with an attachment of the master schedule.The schedule is color coded based on need (red: highest need, orange: light need and green: slowest call times). You may have to work 4-12 hours on the weekend depending on your selections.
24 of 40 hours Red: 4 weekend hours. 24 of 40 hours Orange: 8 weekend hours. 24 of 40 hours Green: 12 weekend hours.
Red: Orange: Green:
Mon 10 am - 12am NONE Mon 6 am - 10 am
T/W/TH 9 pm - 12am Tue 2pm - 9pm Tue 6 am - 1:30pm
F/Sat 4:30pm - 12am W/TH 6pm - 9pm W/TH 6 am - 6 pm
Sun 7:30pm - 12am F/Sat 10am - 4:30pm F/Sat6 am - 10 am
Sun 12pm - 7:30pm Sun 6 am - 12 pm
Tips:
**Make sure you are ready and in a quiet place for the interview. Work at home positions have zero tolerance for background noise so it isn't going to serve you well if there are distractions during the interview process.
**It's okay to provide an alternate phone number if the one on the application/resume isn't the best one for the day of the interview. I did this and the interviewers were amendable to the changes.
**Use the STAR Method to answer questions (Google it).
**Know your resume completely so your answers are succinct.
**They are looking for information related to how you "break down a customer" and determine how best to help.
**Prior work from home experience may have helped me but customer service experience and the ability to sell yourself is as important.
**If you want the job answer that you are comfortable selling.
**Even though this is a customer service position you will be asked to make product recommendations to customers.
**If you do not have "sales" experience highlight your ability to guide/convince customers.