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Month: February 2020

4 Reasons Gen Z is Valuable in Customer Service Centers

Generation Z has been raised on technology and they have an innate understanding for how to use said technology.

By educationworkadmin
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1. They understand technology like no other

Generation Z has been raised on technology and they have an innate understanding for how to use said technology. This sense of understanding allows college students, who are Gen Z, to acclimate quickly to the software used within customer service centers. Their knowledge also helps with their ability to think quickly and solve problems with the technology at hand.

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2. They’re able to offer new perspectives

Hiring Generation Z students allows for a new force of different perspectives to join your workforce. It’s important to have diversity in any organization because it allows for open discussions on how to problem solve and offers new perspectives on how to improve on skills and tactics. Their insight is extremely valuable and should not be taken lightly.

3. Students are eager to gain resume worthy skills

College students often seek opportunities that allow them to gain the foundational skills that are required for any career. Any major can benefit from the communication and teamwork skills that are provided by customer center work. Students are seeking these roles to put them ahead and make their resumes stand out.

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4. College students are seeking new experiences

On college campuses, students are often restricted by the type of work they can do. Campuses tend to be surrounded by restaurants and retail and not much else. As mentioned in reason three, students want to gain the foundational skills to help prepare them for the real world, and being in a new environment, one that customer centers often provide, allows students to get a jump start on their future careers and provide a new experience for them that gives them developmental opportunities.

Sources:

https://monetsoftware.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-hiring-college-students-as-call-center-agents/

5 Reasons Gen Z Should Work in Customer Service Centers

A common phrase that’s thrown around is “communication is key.”

By educationworkadmin
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1. You Build Foundational Skills That Apply to Any Career Field

A common phrase that’s thrown around is “communication is key.” You may hear that phrase in passing and not think much of it but it is truly essential to our lives. At the foundation of every career is the ability to communicate. Without this ability it’s almost impossible to get your message across in any capacity. Working with a team or with customers involves good communication and there is no better place to gain these foundational skills than through working at a customer service center. It’s a common feeling to be scared to talk on the phone. Working in a customer service center allows you to jump that hurdle and become a master at communication.

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2. Gain Knowledge Retention Skills

College students often empathize over the practice of cramming the night before. Students have so much going on all the time it can be hard to retain information. In a customer service center environment, you have the ability to improve on your retention skills by having to remember information given to you on the phone. This practice of knowledge retention through phone calls could help you when you start to study for your next exam. In a position like this, it is essential that you increase your ability to remember details - benefiting you in your future career and in your classes.

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3. Work Around Your Class Schedule

At EAW, the ability to work around your class schedule allows you to focus on your academic career and graduate with less debt! Working around your classes also teaches you time management and prioritization skills!

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4. Improve Your Patience

With the advancement of technology in our fast-paced society it seems almost impossible to tap into your patient mindset. It can be hard to watch a video longer than a minute or hey, read a blog post that may take a few minutes. Customer service center positions require patience, and it is a great skill to build upon as you inch closer to the real world. Being the first point of contact means you are the first to help a customer and that requires a lot of patience. You may have all the answers but the person on the other side of the call doesn’t.

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5. Spark Your Creativity

In a customer service center environment it often takes creativity to find new ways to solve a customer’s problem.  They may have a question that doesn’t have a clear answer and it’s up to you to be creative to find a solution. Suggesting alternative ideas sparks your creativity and develops your ability think on your toes.

What I Hope to Learn as an EAW Digital Reporter and How I Got Here

Hello! My name is Joycelyn Cabrera and I am Education at Work’s new Digital Reporter for Arizona.

By educationworkadmin
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By Joycelyn Cabrera, EAW Student Digital Reporter

Hello! My name is Joycelyn Cabrera and I am Education at Work’s new Digital Reporter for Arizona. This role as a student reporter is an opportunity I have been waiting for my entire college career. I’m a sophomore studying journalism at Arizona State University. Specifically, I am majoring in Journalism and Mass Communications with an emphasis on Digital Media Studies, and  minoring in Digital Audiences at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU. I know, it’s a mouthful.

I started working with EAW last year at their Downtown Phoenix site as a call center agent. As a Digital Reporter, I’ve switched from a call center world to a storytelling one. My job is essentially going to be reporting on all the students who work with EAW and the events that take place as part of ASU/EAW’s student life.

I’ve been a reporter for three years, beginning with an internship my senior year of high school. I interned at a local paper that year. My freshman year of college was filled with learning and writing. I wrote articles and have since done freelance work for local outlets in the Phoenix area, including ASU’s State Press and Ahwatukee Foothills News.

As a sophomore, I got a part-time job with InMaricopa.com and I continued to work at EAW. During orientation, I was told all about how EAW has opportunities for so many career paths, including journalism.

After learning about the various opportunities for journalism and other communications majors, I continually asked about what might be available in the future and made it known that I was interested in the digital reporting role because it was a chance for me to gain more experience working in mass communications and social media engagement. I worked at EAW as a Student Supervisor and waited for an opportunity to open up, and six months later, I met Berenice, the previous Arizona Digital Reporter at EAW.

Eventually, I was finally able to apply to this role I’d heard so much about, and here I am! Now I just actually have to do it (I didn’t think I’d get this far).

For as much experience in the news industry that I have, pitching is probably the bane of my existence. I’ve always been not-so-great at coming up with my own story ideas, let alone pitching them so they get approved by an editor.

I see this is an opportunity to fix that. Given my experience with EAW and the tightness of the community here in Arizona, I am so happy to say I’ve already come up with a list of pitches to pursue! I definitely want to keep this up and get even better.

There are a lot of things I know how to do, but there’s still a lot of skills I want to sharpen and continue to work on. I can write an article, but I want to tell people’s stories. I can shoot video, but I want to learn about content production and multimedia. I can measure engagement data, but I want to boost the engagement of everything I cover.

One of the things I am very excited to work on is the Student Spotlights and Success Stories. Every student who works for EAW has a unique story. It’s always such a great feeling to be able to tell that story in a way that accurately portrays the person.

In the future, I want to join my peers in participating in a remote professional program with the Cronkite school, where student reporters experience the 24-hours news cycle in a busy newsroom. The Washington D.C. Bureau or Los Angeles Bureau are programs I have my eye on as a digital media reporter. Beyond that, digital media production (producing written work online with multimedia content) is where I see myself in the future.

I can’t thank Mike Bober and Sabrina Fawley enough for giving me the opportunity I’ve waited so long for, something that fills a graduation requirement for the Cronkite school, and something that’s going to help me so much as I continue on my journey as a reporter.

And of course, I can’t thank Berenice enough for telling me all about this job she wanted me to apply for once spring semester starts. EAW has been a great organization for me throughout my entire college career and I can’t wait for it to continue on with me.

Gaining New Opportunities at EAW: My Journey to Marketing

My name is Brittany Collier, I am a student at UC studying communication and have been with EAW for more than a year now.

By educationworkadmin
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By Brittany Collier, EAW Student Marketing Assistant

My name is Brittany Collier, I am a student at University of Cincinnati studying communication and have been with Education at Work for more than a year now. The New Year has brought many new opportunities for me, one of those opportunities is my transition into the marketing department from student success where I recruited and interviewed perspective student employees. As people do around a new year and with change, I look back on my decision to apply to Education at Work as one of the best choices I’ve made in my academic career.

When I first heard about Education at Work I was actually headed toward the exit during the career fair at the University of Cincinnati when I spotted Education at Work’s booth. I had done some research before and knew that they placed an emphasis on gaining real world experience and I knew that was something that I couldn’t pass up.  I took a shot, walked over to the booth and now here we are.

One of the main things I value during my time in university is gaining real world experience. Class is great, and I’m learning a lot but nothing is better than doing hands on work in your dream field. I was given a great opportunity by a student run communication firm, UCommunicate, where I am the Director of Social Media. That real world experience inspired me to look for more great opportunities so that I could add to my resume and gain the knowledge I needed as I am inching closer to joining the “real world.” Education at Work has given me the gift of gaining this knowledge and feeling prepared to enter adulthood post-graduation. My dream career is to be involved in a marketing department for an inclusive makeup company, and this real world experience is pushing me closer and closer to my goal.

My favorite thing about Education at Work is that they care about their students. They have a mission that prides itself on helping students with their debt and their preparedness post-graduation. I can’t think of another company that values their students as much as EAW does. Not only do they value your future, but they value the experience that you are getting in the present. I’m getting my Bachelor’s degree in communication and Education at Work knew that I could get experience in my field if I switched to the marketing department. Once a position was open my supervisor from recruiting, Ryan Boyd, was extremely supportive of my transition to the marketing department. Without this support from not only Ryan, but my new supervisors, Sabrina and Mike, I wouldn’t be getting the real-world experience I’ve always desired.

Now that I am the marketing assistant at Education at Work, I will be taking on a multitude of tasks including: writing copy, pulling analytics, making branded content, posting to our social media feeds and more. I’m really looking forward to developing my marketing skills so I can communicate our mission to an audience in a way that is creative and innovative. My favorite thing about marketing is the ability to incite creativity within yourself to share a mission or value you care about greatly. That’s why it’s such an honor to do marketing for Education at Work - I truly believe in their mission and respect the value they have for their students. I can’t wait to start my marketing journey!

Student Success: Dalton Mallery

Dalton Mallery is a senior at Northern Kentucky University majoring in kinesiology and is on track to graduate this spring.

By educationworkadmin
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Dalton Mallery is a senior at Northern Kentucky University majoring in kinesiology and is on track to graduate this spring. Dalton has been employed at Education at Work (EAW) for his entire collegiate career and thanks to the help of tuition assistance EAW offers, Dalton will be graduating debt free.

Dalton first heard about Education at Work when he was in high school. Since his time at EAW, Dalton has succeeded at several different roles, learning different skillsets along the way.

In his first role at EAW, Dalton completed a lot of data entry. He says this daily routine helped him to develop the mindset to show up and do his job day in and day out. Dalton’s second role at Education at Work was a more customer service-based role with a leading global financial services company. Dalton says this position gave him enough of a financial background to help him understand finance which will better prepare him for his future. As an EAW student success ambassador, Dalton has developed the soft skills needed in any job. On a day-to-day basis, Dalton speaks with prospective student employees, guiding them through the recruitment process until their start date with EAW. This is something Dalton greatly enjoys. He says being a part of an organization that helps students pay for school is an extremely rewarding experience.

Dalton came to college not considering student debt as, “a big thing” then four years later he realized that tuition assistance, and having a job during his entire collegiate career at NKU helped set him up for success after graduation. As college begins to wind down, Dalton says he is glad he can focus on other things, rather than loans. He says he’s fortunate he doesn’t have to deal with the worry that comes with paying back debt.

After four years with Education at Work, Dalton has a lot to take away from his experience and will be able to utilize the new skillsets he’s learned in life post-graduation.

“I’m going to be able to say I worked for three different companies and I’ve been able to pay for my schooling which is a big deal,” says Dalton.

Speaking about his EAW experience, Dalton says he would tell students to get into EAW as soon as possible, saying, “The longer you stay in, the more you see the benefits on the way out.”

After college, Dalton hopes to attain a job within medical sales or cardiac rehab.  With the resume building he gained during his time in college, Dalton is well prepared for the next step in his journey, a full-time work environment.

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