Telemarketers
Skills & Knowledge
Most Important Skills for Telemarketers
- Listening—Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking—Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Persuading Others—Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Thinking Critically—Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Helping Others—Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Reading—Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Being Aware of Others—Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordinating with Others—Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Negotiating—Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Writing—Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Most Important Knowledge Areas for Telemarketers
- Sales and Marketing—Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- English Language—Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Customer and Personal Service—Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Communications and Media—Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Computers and Electronics—Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Clerical—Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
- Mathematics—Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Education and Training—Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Telecommunications—Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Psychology—Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Interests
Different careers may be a good fit for your personality or interests. This career is:
- Enterprising—Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
- Conventional—Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Learn more about your interests. Take the MnCareers Interest Assessment.
Describe Your Skills
People who have worked in this career typically perform the following tasks.
These statements can help a prospective employer understand what you can do, on a resume or during an interview.
- Selling or influencing people.
- Using computers.
- Communicating with people outside your organization.
- Collecting information from different sources.
- Creating and maintaining interpersonal relationships.
- Documenting or recording information.
- Communicating with supervisors, co-workers, or people that work under you.
- Compiling, calculating, tabulating, or otherwise processing information.
Careers that Use Similar Skills
The following careers use skills, knowledge, and abilities that are similar to those used for Telemarketers.
View more careers in the Marketing, Sales, and Service cluster
View more careers in the Professional Sales pathway
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
