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What are Common Collections Interview Questions?

G. Wiesen
G. Wiesen

There are many different collections interview questions a person should expect to be asked, though in general they will usually fall into one of a few categories. Many of the questions will likely concern customer service, with an eye toward assertiveness and being able to deal with customers who are upset or belligerent. Some questions will typically be about a person’s previous work experience, especially anything involving customers or phone work that might qualify someone for working in collections. There are also typically collections interview questions about a person’s general background and personality, to ensure that the interviewee would be a good fit at a company.

Collections interview questions are typically questions asked of an applicant during a job interview for a position in collections at a company. Many of the questions asked in this type of interview are about the general background and personality of the applicant. These questions are aimed at determining who the applicant is and ensuring that he or she will work well for the company and provide services that would fit the needs of the company. General collections interview questions may also be used to determine the background of the applicant, to ensure he or she will not steal from a company or use private information he or she is given access to in an inappropriate way.

During a collections job interview, candidates may be asked about their customer service skills.
During a collections job interview, candidates may be asked about their customer service skills.

Many collections interview questions revolve around the previous work history of an applicant to ensure he or she is qualified for the position. These questions will typically be about how the interviewee enjoyed jobs he or she had in the past, and reasons for termination or leaving of such employment. The applicant may be asked about his or her duties and responsibilities at previous jobs, and honest responses will typically best serve an applicant.

During a job interview, an interviewee should also expect collections interview questions specifically about working with customers and dealing with the realities of working in collections. If this work is going to be done over the phone, then the applicant may be asked about previous work that involved phone use and he or she may be asked to “role play” a scenario with the interviewer to ascertain how well the applicant can communicate verbally. Since people can often become hostile when dealing with someone collecting on a debt, these questions may also be used to determine how well an applicant can deal with that reality. Such collections interview questions can involve describing previous experiences with angry customers, and methods the applicant used to remain calm and keep the conversation on task and productive.

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    • During a collections job interview, candidates may be asked about their customer service skills.
      By: apops
      During a collections job interview, candidates may be asked about their customer service skills.