How to get a job in Call Center? [questions, opinions & experiences are wel

[jheanne13]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

I think, the best advice I can share can be summarized in a quote: “Practice makes perfect!” If you want to be able to speak English fluently then speak in English as often as you can. Even if most of the people around you would think you’re weird, just ignore them. Read lots of written materials (newspaper, magazine, books). Watch English movies, expose yourself to the language. If you can ask someone to be your English buddy, do so. I think that most Filipinos have a hard time speaking English because they are afraid to do so. As for job interviews, please take note of your mannerisms. Most interviewers know how to read people simply by their gestures. That’s it. Good luck!

 

[<<esmh!e_09>>]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

I think, the best advice I can share can be summarized in a quote: “Practice makes perfect!” If you want to be able to speak English fluently then speak in English as often as you can. Even if most of the people around you would think you’re weird, just ignore them. Read lots of written materials (newspaper, magazine, books). Watch English movies, expose yourself to the language. If you can ask someone to be your English buddy, do so. I think that most Filipinos have a hard time speaking English because they are afraid to do so. As for job interviews, please take note of your mannerisms. Most interviewers know how to read people simply by their gestures. That’s it. Good luck!

thanks!

 

[mhapuzook]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

i just want this t0pic back on the line. .
But i have a new c0ncern,can s0me0ne please tell me s0me bpo c0mpany where i can apply without w0rrying too much about their standards and "experience" thing? because i'm only a fresh graduate and i am l0oking forward that this was the right time for me to pursue the job that i want. .

 

[onecruz]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

@mhapuzook

its me again.. san ka ba located... im limited to tell you some companies baka impractically malayo sa'yo..

 

[onecruz]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

@mhapuzook

(additional info ito)
btw, kasi broad ang BPO... dalawa pa kasi yan VOICE or NON-VOICE ACCOUNTS. san ka confident? if it doesnt matter to you then... here's what to do?

1) you're looking for a company, right? try to google "CALL CENTER PHILIPPINES 2010" look for companies currently hiring...
2) screen it. find out which suits you... like Location of the company, time, and what kind of BPO it is - is it for MEDICAL, TELECOM, SALES.
3) after that, do little research about that company.. like what accouts do they have... meron din blogs almost every BPO company in google.

what to remember:
1) BE PREPARED. it's time to harness all advices given to you here or learn from another.
2) BE NEAT. Wear POLO shirts.. most great BRO company have standards - you are evaluated from the time you enter that interviewers door... its always best to give them a good impression.
3) Avoid fillers sa interview like uhm, ahm.. etc
4) Sa INITIAL interview, most questions will came from your RESUME/CV. (Iba ang CV sa RESUME ok, ang CV kumpleto, RESUME is summarize data, max of 2pages)

How to prepare your CV/RESUME?
1) There's NO Standard CV therefore you're best chances is to arrange them in a better format.
2) For a newly grad like you, I dont advise to use old formats like Personal Info first, Education, etc... its a crap (a lesser points) for Call Centers/BPO... they dont care how old you are, who are your folks, or where do live kapag ganun ang format mo.
3) The best format i can give you , is this
a. OBJECTIVES
* You'll suck if you answer this the old fashion way, "To earn experience..."
* YOu answer this by, "WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR THE COMPANY" Not "What the company can do to you.."
b. QUALIFICATIONS
* Self-explanatory (What can you do?) Other info: Can you do multi-tasking? Are you ok in fast pace envionment? Can you easily adapt/learn?
c. EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
* if you don't have one kasi new grad ka, OJT/Intership is good to add here. why? This answer what working experiences you have. OJT's is also a pre-work experiences.
(* if CV naman, it's good to place your achievements here for every company na employed ka.)
d. EDUC. BACKGROUND
* You can also place Seminars Attended, and other Certifications here
e. PERSONAL PROFILE
f. CHARACTER REFERENCES

Why arranging this CV/RESUME important?
** Simply because your RESUME/CV is a tool to sell (or Excel) yourself to the company.
** Imagine you are an Interviwer then you have loads/tons of RESUME to evaluate it in a limited time. Mababasa mo ba lahat iyon page-by-page -- HINDI di ba? in fact, experts said they will only read the top thirds of the first page upon given limited time.
** as you can see, i place on top OBJECTIVES, QUALIFICATIONS, etc in such manner so that you can easily catch the interest of the interviewer.. (arranged according to importance)

FINALLY BE CONFIDENT DON'T BE AFRAID. (They can smell Fear! Hahaha!) They don't care if you have a lots of experiences etc.. what do they care is to screen people who are QUALIFIED (not just the best) among the rest.


Whew, i can add more or pwede ko na i-thread ito kaso im too sleepy na... hahaha

 

[rodeldeguzman]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

@mhapuzook
you can apply here at sitel in eastwood city libis, we have an open house on June 16 to 17 at 10am to 7pm, newly grads are welcome here. As a tip, just be careful in pronouncing your B's and V's, and P's and F's. Goodluck!

 

[gabranth_15]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

wow I really need this thank you for this very helpful post TS (frustrated call center agent here)

 

[mhapuzook]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

salamat sa lahat. .

@onecruz
bulacan ako sir. .QC or ortigas will do. .

 

[onecruz]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

salamat sa lahat. .

@onecruz
bulacan ako sir. .QC or ortigas will do. .

==========

malayo ka pala... anyway

sitel is good.
sykes mostly toxicated mga kilala ko dun dahil sa puyat hehehe.
west is good pero sometimes mahigpit mga QA.
eperformax ok but matagal ang training then QA is strict.
teleperformance mataas ang bigay, very fast environment, you really need to multi-task
telus ok, gives company CP so that employees have no excuse not to reply kapag prob ka pumasok
... marami pa...

another advice...
1) seek call center with multiple accounts ang hawak... reason: kc magka-trouble man isang account pwede ka ilipat sa iba.
2) secure yor basic requirements now ASAP... TOR, NBI, Police Clearance...
3) when you in an call center avoid absences nor male-late, lalo na kapag di ka pa regular

Good luck

 

[mhapuzook]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

sir pwede pa state ng l0cati0n ng mga c0mpany na nabanggit mu?ok lang al0ng edsa kahit bulacan ako,may 50%disc0unt mga bus samin sa regular passenger. .

 

[<<esmh!e_09>>]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

wow!, im surprised for making this thread alive.,

mhapuzook and onecruz.,

@mhapuzook., gnda ng mga advise ni onecruz., malayo k pla., and im not familiar with the bpo companies near quezon cty and ortigas., but my friends are going there 2day., i'll txt them then post q d2 un mga company., cp mode xe q ya d aq maxado mgco-comment., mya nlng., hehe! Ü

 

[<<esmh!e_09>>]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

i know that aegis peoplesupport recently opened their new site at ortigas., try there coz they have an english comm skills training for a month., so once u applied there and u didnt pass but they find some opportunities then they'l endorse u 2 that training 4 free however ur liable for all the expenses., and then aftr passing that u can apply again., its called aegis aspire., but dont worry coz d training is really worth it and i believe they are providing allowances., but i dnt know d amt., hehe!, and i dnt know if they already have this program in ortigas but they have it in makati., just go and try! Ü

 

[onecruz]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

wow!, im surprised for making this thread alive.,

mhapuzook and onecruz.,

@mhapuzook., gnda ng mga advise ni onecruz., malayo k pla., and im not familiar with the bpo companies near quezon cty and ortigas., but my friends are going there 2day., i'll txt them then post q d2 un mga company., cp mode xe q ya d aq maxado mgco-comment., mya nlng., hehe! Ü

hello,
thank you for reading the thread and following previous posts. i hope to share more about it, and how to enhance chances, preparations... sadly time is not with me. it's a big thread of usable and applicable advices... based from experiences and studies.
i just wanna help.

again, thank you

 

[<<esmh!e_09>>]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

hello,
thank you for reading the thread and following previous posts. i hope to share more about it, and how to enhance chances, preparations... sadly time is not with me. it's a big thread of usable and applicable advices... based from experiences and studies.
i just wanna help.

again, thank you

i truly understand you., and thanks for sharing as well., i only have limited knowledge about this topic so i'm praying that there will be lots of call center agents out there who will be able to share their ideas and experiences as well.,

KUDOS for you!

 

[j_cash777]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

Bookmark ko muna.

 

[<<esmh!e_09>>]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

Bookmark ko muna.

for dropping by... Ü

 

[jezreel]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

galing!

 

[onecruz]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

this thread is very useful.. it's not that long...
i advice new viewers to read it from the top..

gud luck

 

[voyager]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

hi symbianizers.. i want to help those who want to work in a BPO company.. i saw one thread about this issue last monday so i decided to make a thread as a starting point for you guys.. i dont know if there is an existing thread same as these, however i still hope that this could help you a lot..

for those who are questioning the hiring process of BPO companies.. guys, don't be mad at them because they are just doing their job as an HR employee.. it's also difficult on their part encountering applicants who almost cried in front of them asking to be hired.. you know what i mean right? I was also declined by a company before and I was told that I have to improve my GRAMMAR, PRONUNCIATION, ENUNCIATION, LANGUAGE, etc.. and then when I tried again I got the JOB OFFER.. see.. I know it hurts to accept their feedback however don't take it personally instead take it as a challenge and opportunities.. be optimist because you know your abilities and worth.. so don't lose hope.. the JOB OFFER is waiting for your SIGNATURE..

so here are my tips to all of you..

let's go through the step by step process of application.. (pls take note that this is not the actual process of all BPO, i just based it on my experience..)

**first is during INTERVIEW.. most of the BPO company has two sets of interview.. first is the initial and the last will be the final interview.. so as you hand your resume to the HR personnel they will ask you some basic questions like: are you a college grad? are you willing to work in graveyard shifts? do you have any call center experience? and so on.. most of these questions are answerable by yes or no, so once you are qualified they will endorse you to the initial interviewer.. during the initial interview, they will ask you some basic questions which are indicated on your resume.. i'll give you the most common topics that will be ask on this stage..

-- personal info
-- educational background
-- work experience
-- your abilities, skills, strength, weaknesses..
-- you're idea about their company and about the work..

be careful in answering their questions because honestly they are not just checking you're background but most importantly is you're English communication skills.. actually they are not looking for an agent who is fluent in English but someone who can communicate in English well.. they will check on you're GRAMMAR, LANGUAGE and PRONUNCIATION.. and this is the worst part of it.. why? because aside from the nervousness that you feel, you are getting confuse because they are writing something on your resume.. admit it guys that this can add up to the nervousness, right? because it seems like everything that you said are wrong and that they are taking note of it.. which is actually correct.. and at the end of the interview, they will tell you the bad news that you can come back after 3 months and you have to improve this and that.. haaaaayyy.. it was so tiring.. imagine after you wait for your turn and wait again for the result they will just reject you! Well, you can't blame them anyways nor curse their company.. (that's bad, huh!)

so for this.. you can try to research about American Accent Training by Ann Cook.. i cant share the website because there's a lot of site for this topic.. it is actually a book to learn the American accent as the title implies.. but I'm not telling you to have an American accent and BPO don't require you too.. it just serve as a reference so that you will know how to pronounce the English words correctly.. download the PDF file of the whole book, you can find a site in which you can download it for free.. it has CDs also so you can download the 5 CD included on it and its actually Ann Cook who is narrating the details of her book.. it's a fun learning guys.. believe me.. you will learn a lot of things about ENGLISH.. believe me! i actually have it on my phone.. hehe!

**so now let's proceed on the examination.. the exams are more likely about English grammar like the tenses, sentence construction, synonyms.. those simple things that i know you can pass.. they will also include some computer related questions especially for those who are applying for TSR.. after you pass it they will allow you to take their typing exam and sometimes listening exams too.. for typing, you just have to hit their minimum requirement which is 25wpm or sometimes it's 30wpm.. for listening you have to use your ears and listen carefully to the audio that they will play.. for this you have to take note of the important details and information like the name of the customer, e-mail add, phone number, account number and then of course the concern of the caller..

**next step is the final interview.. eeeehhhh.. hehe! don't be afraid because the interviewer basically will ask you same thing again.. basic questions.. but they will also ask you some behavioral questions in which they will ask you to state a scenario based on your experience.. and the worst thing is if they will ask you some unrelated questions like how can you describe a color VIOLET to a blind person.. (duh?! what's the connection?! good luck!)

-- for basic questions.. just be spontaneous, confident and honest to your answers.. you can create a script for those questions if you want to but make sure that it will not sound scripted ok! coz the interviewer can detect if it is a can-made answers.. I'll just inform you that the people who are conducting final interview are the managers and sometimes the clients.. hoooohh.. so exert a lot of effort guys coz this might be the last step of your application..

-- for behavioral questions follow the STAR.. S for the situation, so start answering the question by stating the situation.. same with S is the letter T for task, which is another description of the scenario.. then followed by A for action.. this is where you have to explain the things that you did to solve the problem.. and lastly is the R for result which is the result of your actions.. remember guys that situations that you going to mention are those that has positive outcome.. you can be creative on this part and create a scenario that never happened to you.. hehe! it will works as long as you'll make it believable and convincing to the part of the interviewer..

-- unrelated questions.. this are just tricky questions that they might ask you.. it's more on getting your idea about it.. probably they are testing your mind on how fast you can answer this and how creative and smart in answering these questions.. honestly, there are correct answer for these questions.. to find it out.. well just research for it or ask your friends if they know the answer.. I'll give you one example:

Q : How will you convince Ronnie Rickets to buy your pirated CD?

A : Tell him that you will inform him about the hide-outs of the producers of the pirated CDs if he will buy to you.. (hehe!)


**it's a good thing if the last stage of it is the final interview but for some BPO they still have phone simulation or mocked calls as the last step.. here, they will test your skills in handling calls.. they will give you a scenario and you will act as an agent.. isn't it exciting?!? of course it's not.. because this is the nerve-wracking part of the application.. it's fine if its just an HR employee but to some company it could be the account supervisor, manager or the clients.. geessshhhh.. my advise on this stage.. just relax yourself first if you can.. study the scenario and the tools that you will use.. probe questions to the acting customer.. smile.. speak clearly.. and try to solve the concern of the customer (as much as possible)..

...then last step will be the JOB OFFER.. at last, after the long wait.. so before getting into the company, prepare yourself first.. make sure you ate breakfast.. try to dress up but not too formal you can actually wear jeans.. anyways it's not a requirement after all but its an additional factor.. just be neat and that's it! speak clearly during the interview.. enunciate and pronounce English words properly.. and be confident! another advise is try to modulate you voice.. try to call a friend and then ask them about the quality of your voice over the phone or you can record your voice and then play it.. play around your voice until you get the right tone of it.. bring some money because the application will take within a day and the worst is it might end until 2am.. so please be prepare..

so for now.. check the website below and then practice... practice and practice speaking in English for you to get use to it.. i pray that I was able to help you.. and if you have some questions just feel free to ask.. and my apology for my wrong grammar in some part of this thread.. hehe! I'm not perfect guys.. i just want to use this language since this is the foundation of this job.. so try to response in English at the same time.. thanks for visiting my thread.. and good luck to your job application..

http://www.torrentdownloads.net/searches/American Accent Training Ann Cook

http://www.rapidshareindex.com/American-Accent-Training-by-Ann-Cook_289377.html

http://www.free-resume-help.com/behavioral-interview-questions.html

http://www.best-job-interview.com/behavioral-interview.html

http://www.brockport.edu/career/behave.htm

dictionary -- http://www.merriam-webster.com/

English grammar -- http://www.englishpage.com/

speed typing test -- http://www.typeonline.co.uk/

Thanks for sharing.. It's really a big help for those searching a career in BPO field..

 

[techny]

Re: want to work in a BPO company???

nice thread... i failed on my initial interview at convergys.. i got blank when we need to make a story out of the picture...whewww
better luck next time for me... but now i know how the interview goes on bpo companies...i hope my english here are right..
Ts, can i request that who enters on this threada nd leave a comment should be in englsih as a part of practice...thanks
I think this is not only for bpo but on other jobs as well... thanks