Mattias from Sweden: Call-Center Agent

Mattias Lund earns money with talking on the phone. Study-in editor Jo Graff met the call-center agent and found out more about his life in the German capital.

Name: Mattias Lund
Age: 25
City: Berlin, studies International Business Management
Home Country: Sweden

Job: I work in a service center and support a big German airline in Berlin.

Salary: I get eleven Euro per hour.

Working hours: That's something I can decide myself. I'm supposed to work 20 hours per week. But they always ask me how much I'm able to work. Especially during semester breaks I can work full-time.

Responsibilities: The service center is responsible for all kinds of things for example any change of reservation and cancellations. I answer the phone and try to answer all questions. I do that in English and Scandinavian. It sounds simple but actually it's really demanding. You have to keep in mind everything important, like data security, and that's changing constantly. There are lots of questions especially on visa requirements but sometimes even on transporting animals. About 70 people call me on a single day with different questions and problems. 

Find spot: Let's keep it short: I needed a job and asked myself: what can I do? I was a truck driver in Norway. I know how to do that. I thought about working as a garbage truck driver but this kind of job was hard to find. Then I thought maybe something that Swedish would be a benefit to. So I just Googled these terms. Next I had an interview with a temporary employment agency in Potsdam and agreed to this job placement. I've been working as a call-center agent since August already.

Requirements: You must be very friendly. That's very important. It helps to smile while talking on the phone. People can hear that in your voice. It took me two months to learn that. You also have to learn to get to the core of the problem. Sometimes people just call you and start complaining. In this case you should know what they really want and help them.

Reasons: I really needed a job. But I'd never do something I don't like. I was really lucky!

No gos: You must be interested in it. People who do not like to chat and are not ready to offer advice are unsuitable for this job.