MONROE, La., March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly two months after it announced it would hire 150 people to staff a small business sales center in Monroe, CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) today reaffirmed its investment in the northeastern Louisiana economy and its objective of bringing new jobs to the area.

"We couldn't be happier with the results of our job fair and hiring efforts thus far for the small business sales center," said Vernon Irvin, president of CenturyLink's government, education, medium- and small-business group. "The community has responded positively to helping us fill these positions, with more than 500 individuals participating in our job fair last month, and nearly 70 new employees in training now."

This new center will focus on expanding CenturyLink's small business customer base as well as offering enhanced products and services to existing small business customers. The creation of the sales center also offers existing employees career growth opportunities. The first training class of new employees joined Irvin today at a press conference at CenturyLink's Technology Center of Excellence.

"I'm very excited about my new role in our CenturyLink small business sales center in Monroe," said Anna Waller, supervisor at the new sales center. "I began working at CenturyLink a little over seven years ago in customer service, and have been able to grow my career to a supervisor role for the new center. I am confident that the training and experience I've received here will equip me to lead the team successfully."

"CenturyLink is committed to helping small businesses succeed by delivering cost-effective, scalable solutions that address their unique needs and challenges," said Irvin. "This new outbound sales center will enable us to better engage with small businesses to not only educate them on our range of services, but also to share how we can be a trusted partner in helping them achieve their business goals."

In 2017, the company launched several offerings, including: CenturyLink Business Wi-Fi and CenturyLink Business VoIP for small business customers. These cost-effective solutions are simple to implement and manage, and can help small businesses connect to the power of the digital world.

Key Facts

• CenturyLink has hired nearly 70 of 150 employees to staff a new small business sales center in Monroe.
• The company plans to hire the remaining employees for the center by the end of the year.
• Interested individuals can apply for the new positions by visiting the company's careers website at https://careeropportunities.centurylink.com/.
• CenturyLink's current Monroe workforce is approximately 2,150 employees.

Additional Resources

• Read: Three ways small and medium businesses can improve operations in 2018

About CenturyLink
CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) is the second largest U.S. communications provider to global enterprise customers. With customers in more than 60 countries and an intense focus on the customer experience, CenturyLink strives to be the world's best networking company by solving customers' increased demand for reliable and secure connections. The company also serves as its customers' trusted partner, helping them manage increased network and IT complexity and providing managed network and cyber security solutions that help protect their business.

SOURCE CenturyLink, Inc.