Christiansburg's Dish Network center to hire 200

By Jeff Sturgeon
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/315724

How to apply

• What: Job fair
• Where: Dish Network, 400 Technology Drive in Christiansburg (in Falling Branch Corporate Park just off Interstate 81)
• When: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
• For more details: Go to www.dish.com/christiansburg.

Dish Network Corp. plans to hire 200 people to work full time at its Christiansburg customer service center, officials said Tuesday.

Dish is boosting employment at the facility, now at 600, by 33 percent, before the fall television and holiday shopping seasons when demand for services is expected to increase, company spokesman Aaron Johnson said.

“This is a great opportunity for graduates as well as those with solid work experience to launch their careers to a new level,” according to a company-issued news release Tuesday.

The company plans to pay a starting hourly wage of $11. Employees will also receive consideration for a bonus; medical, dental and vision insurance benefits; training; tuition reimbursement; a retirement account with company match; an option to buy company stock; and free Dish TV service, the company said.

The work involves responding to phone calls from throughout the country from existing customers and new customers with product, technical, billing and plan issues. Employees won’t be asked to make outbound calls, the company said.

The online job application says the company is looking for people who are proficient with Windows 95 or higher; good with organization, time management and problem solving; can sit for long periods of time; have at least a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma; have six months of customer service experience or training; and are free to work nights, weekends and holidays.

Dish, an Englewood, Colo., provider of pay-TV and broadband service, built the Christiansburg center, which opened under the name EchoStar, in 2000. Dish operates 11 customer service centers in all and counts about 14 million subscribers companywide.

The company said applicants can apply online at www.dish.com/christiansburg or during a job fair Saturday. The job fair is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the center at 400 Technology Drive.