The Advantages of Working in a Call Center

I worked for the BPO industry (or call center as a lot of people use to call it) for almost 6 years.  No, I wasn’t an agent.  I was part of the Workforce group.  I have collated some the advantages of working in a BPO industry in my perspective.  There may be more to this list but in my opinion, these are part what I was happy about working in that industry.

Just a trivia, I tried applying as an agent but was not successful.  Maybe, I am not good at English speaking.  The funny part was, I was accepted as a part of the workforce team.

Ø  TimeZone Difference – a lot of people would say this is not an advantage, but I beg to disagree.  Yes, your body clock is not normal but you also get to avoid rush hours.  No need makipagbalyahan sa pakikipagsiksikan sa pagsakay; no traffic.  And you can do all your errands like banking, getting IDs, because it’s your rest time during regular office hours.

Ø  Salary and Wages – well, this is a no brainer.  I’d admit the salary I have now is like a sale of my salary before – 50% off!

Ø  Multitasking – You will know the true meaning of this word once you work in a call center. 

Ø  Meeting a Lot of People of Different Nationalities – not a lot of Filipinos will say they were able to meet different people from different countries.  When you work in a call center, they are everywhere in the workplace.  From American, to European, to Canadian, even South Africans.  These people are the bosses, the clients, and the guests.

Ø  English Speaking Prowess – and since you’ll be meeting and serving these nationalities, you will be trained to be good in speaking English.  And not just the language, but the accent in all different areas. (kaya hindi ko maintindihan bakit minamaliit ni Mamita ang aking English-speaking skills <confused>)

Ø  Self-Control – it’s not a secret that the BPO industry has a lot of BAWAL.  They are not lenient on violators – meaning a violation of a rule would mean a sanction.  No cellphones on production floor, no bags allowed, no chatting, no internet browsing, no whatsoever.  You will learn to exercise self-control in this industry.  Being part of the Workforce team, I was exempted on some BAWAL rules, but still there are some I need to follow.

Ø  On Time – You know the phrase: Filipino Time?  Which we always connote as LATE. In the call center industry, when they say meeting starts at 8AM, the meeting will really start at 8AM with or without you.  You will have login time, break time, lunch time, logout time – which should be followed ON TIME.

These are just some advantages of working in a call center.  For you guys who work in the same industry, can you share some things you like and love working in a call center?

Photos from Google.