The Appeal of a Call Center Job in the Philippines
I built a website for one of my friends who want to try this blogging thing. I asked him what he was passionate about and he said “my job”.
His job is one of the most in demand careers in the Philippines to date, and even I was not spared from the temptation. I get headhunted by human resource managers from call centers in the Philippines and when they call, they often get to the heart of the matter immediately: money. They offer lots and they offer the most attractive packages to people who can speak English marginally well. Even more when you speak a smattering of another foreign language.
I sent my resume to a call center company 10 years ago, but at that time, the rush was minimal and people didn’t really know what a call center agent does (and whether the job is lucrative or not). A call center agent does not need to be a college graduate to work, he just has to know how to pronounce a word with an American accent. In fact, even if he doesn’t, he will be trained to speak that way in just a few months.
The HR manager asks me time and time again “So, ma’am, how much do you earn in your current job?” And, whatever value I mention, their reply is always “we can double that”. Attractive huh?
Why I never went for it:
1. Time – Filipinos sleep when Americans are awake, so that means that a call center agent who caters to Americans needs to be awake when they are. I do love to work late, but not as much as I love sleep and whatever else a hot blooded, committed woman can do late at night.
2. Stress – Yeah, you know how people who call tech support are almost always in a bad mood? Can you guess who they take it out on? Ahuh.
3. Communication – I love writing, typing and working in front of a monitor all day and all night. My job in the past involved databases and records, so I don’t think I will be able to handle talking all day to someone who wants to tear me up because the product that my client sold him is not functioning well.
4. Temporary – A call center job is temporary in my eyes, and I was proven correct when a few client accounts in call centers went bonkers due to the financial crisis in the US. The whole call center industry depends on outsourcing, and if no one will outsource anymore (because they want to use the manpower they have locally), I will lose my job.
I’d rather work in a virtual content factory for now, unless I find some way to join an assembly line of factory workers even without proper knowledge of linear motion systems.