Message was left about potential job, but I cannot understand

[Nikia]

The woman, who called and left a message on my answering machine, has a thick accent. Luckily, the name of the company and phone number were clear enough to understand. I cannot figure out what her name is though after listening to the message several times. I really need a differnt job and this might be a good one for me. Who do I ask for if she is not the one who answers? I am wondering if I might have a hard time understanding her if it is a phone interview. I don't want to insult her accent though or imply that I have a difficult time with it. I suppose that it will be alright as long as I am able to understand key information.

[liberalhistorian]

1. I'm getting that all over the place, now,

for almost everything, might be because of outsourcing. The only calls it doesn't seem to happen with are the fucking $#$%#$%#$^#%@#$% debt collectrolls, lol!

I don't mean to sound bigoted, but sometimes it's really frustrating not being able to understand someone. I'm sure it's frustrating for them, too, trying to understand me, but I'm not the one who called.

[enough]

2. Just call back as soon as possible

and explain simply that you received the message but didn't quite catch the name of the person who called.

Don't dwell on the fact that you couldn't understand her. You just didn't catch the name.

They called you -- that's a good sign.

Good luck!

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

3. Just Be Honest

If someone else answers, say that you had a message on your answering machine from someone who called you about a position and the message was not clear. It's the truth, and you have no moral obligation to explain why it was not clear (technical difficulties vs. thick accent). If you get the person "in person" you're going to know it and take a deep breath, relax, and don't tell yourself "I'm not going to be able to understand her." If you get a face-to-face appointment with the woman, even if you end up not wanting the job, send her a brief, hand-written thank you note. Good luck.