During this pandemic, the call center agents and/or BPO professionals have been dubbed as the economic frontliners. Despite the health crisis, the industry remains a pillar to the economy of our country. The majority of the industries around the country were halted when lockdown started in 2020 except for the call center industry. The operations continued as more and more companies were shifting to teleworking keeping the livelihood of millions of Filipino BPO workers intact. Of course, there were those who unfortunately had been out of work for 2 months or so since teleworking was not possible due to several reasons; one of which is no stable internet connection. But have you ever wonder how it’s like to be in the industry when you are an aspiring applicant, or maybe just someone from an entirely different industry?
Here are the 4 things you should know before joining the BPO industry.
This is NOT for the faint-hearted
Before you decide to apply, let me remind you that this industry is not for someone who doesn’t have the courage to continue when faced with setbacks: from being interviewed by the client from onshore, or cursed by your first caller, or shouted by your team lead, or corrected by your angry SME while you are on call. No, definitely not for someone who easily cowers when dealing with someone whose ego is bigger than their position at work, or at life. This is not for someone who is too emotional and sensitive. So if you had been treated as a baby by the people around you, be ready to throw that away and prepare your heart before taking that job offer.
This is NOT a no-brainer job
Yes, you read it right darling! Working in the call center industry requires intelligence too, extra of that if I may add. Contrary to what most of the non-BPO workers believed, call center workers do not just sit down, and speak dollars the whole 8 hours. We do not just read scripts repeatedly for the entire day, or worst just press buttons. These assumptions are far from reality. Depending on your account, you can be someone you think you can never be. You can be an accountant, psychologist, sales agent, medical biller, actor, and many more. You can check this post of PisoPinoy on Facebook. He was able to explain clearly why it is NOT a no-brainer job.
Shift schedule and rest days are not fixed
Unlike other daytime jobs, depending on your account the working schedule of a call center agent is erratic. Meaning, it can change on a weekly basis, monthly basis, or sometimes it changes within the week. Sometimes you’ll have a crazy split day off. If you are not ready for a shifting schedule, or to work during the weekend and holidays, better not join in. If you’ll do, you do not have any reason to complain about shifting schedules since that’s one of what you sign up for when you signed the job offer contract.
The industry is NOT a dead-end job
Before you join the league of Bayaning Puyat it is very imperative you remove the stereotype that working in the call center is a dead-end job. A dead-end job means there’s a little or no chance of career development and advancement into a higher-paid position. (Thanks Wiki!) Definitely, this stereotype is a big fat lie. A lot of the centers nowadays have their own programs to develop their employees and prepare them for the next level position. There are a lot of people in the leadership and top management positions who started as agents. Career growth opportunities in the call center industry are abundant. You just have to really want it, and prepare. Remember success is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. PisoPinoy has great talking points about this in his Facebook post. Why PisoPinoy again? Just because I like his points regarding the matter.
There are still a lot of things you need to know before you accept that call center agent job offer, or even apply to get that job. I would personally encourage you to do your research for the pros and cons, and talk to the call center workers themselves. Try not to listen to the stereotypes of people outside this industry. After all, the insiders know better than those who only watch from the outside, and sadly a few of them only look down on the CC workers. Lastly, when you get the job, be proud of it. Not everyone gets the chance to work in this decent and well-paying industry.