Things have been so crazy lately that I don't even know where to begin. I write work emails everyday but it's been ages since I actually wrote something. And yes, I sort of miss it; but given the amount of work I've had lately, I can't seem to find enough time to put all the craziness into writing.
I say "craziness" is an understatement; or being overly dramatic. I honestly don't know. I feel crazy about everything there is about my new work. Oh yes, work! Well, I'm happy to say that I no longer contribute to the country's continuous economic downfall and I can proudly complain how BIR unreasonably deducts outrageous amounts of taxes from my paycheck. This means that I'm a full-pledged working individual. My mom will be so proud.
Things with the company I'm working for right now are great. So a few months ago, I went on an interview for a call center company near MOA for a non-voice account. Luckily, I was hired and became part of the first wave. After two months of taking emails, I got promoted (more like "voluntold") to become an S.M.E. (Subject Matter Expert) for the upcoming waves. I became more like a resident go-to guy for newbies and some oldies if they have questions on how to support the product, what to say in their emails, how to say it in proper grammar, stuff like that. It was fun but for the most part it was tiring and exhausting. But hey, who am I to complain, right?
Since the account is fairly new, management needed more support staff and one of the perks of being in a pioneer wave is you become one of the first in line for internal promotion. The SBU (Strategic Business Unit) Manager offered me to become a Team Manager (Team Lead) since the account was ramping up back then. I gave it some thought - more like 1 hour of thinking since she needed an answer right away. I decided to turn down the offer. I reasoned out that I cannot commit myself a hundred percent to a manager's work load since I went back to school to continue my studies. That was a half truth - I really don't want to spend 16 hours in the office with no compensated overtime pay. That's for sure.
Then a spot for a Quality Assurance Analyst came and I was again handpicked from a bunch of my co-workers for the spot. Seeing as it would be more up my alley, I applied. I passed my resume, passed the exam and the interview with the SBU Manager. So on my fourth month, I got promoted (again) and I became responsible for the auditing of emails of 141 of advisors (agents) weekly, four times a month. That means a total of around 500 + QA audits in a month's time. Piece of cake. Sarcasm.
Here come's another big one...
Last April 10th marked my 6th month in this company. Things are going great; I've met tons of cool friends and co-workers. I am officially promoted and got a teeny tiny increase from my basic pay (this will be discussed in a future post) and I have no school this summer which means a lot more of free time in my hands...wrong!
The company acquired another account from the same client vendor we support. Another account means more agents. More agents means training. And since the officially certified trainer (who happens to be a wavemate of mine) sort of screwed up his chances, they need more trainers. And guess who they want to become one?
The company gave me 2000php to apply for a Passport and said it was urgent. I finally got mine last Friday (April 13th). It's a good thing you don't have to wait for forever to get an appointment and the application took less than two hours. Kudos to DFA and their highly efficient appointment system. I mean, wow! Great job!
Anyway, the company is planning to send four of us (me, my QA Manager and two other agents who have had experiences as teachers) to Singapore for a 5-day training and certification. The SBU Manager told us that the certification will be done around mid-May; but it turns out that the class will be on the last weeks of April. So that means we are scheduled to leave the country on April 28 or 29. Crazy! Talk about rush, right?
At first, I didn't really think much about it. Given my cool and chill "whateva" disposition towards life, I didn't give it much thought. Unlike the others who are supposed to go, I didn't feel giddy or excited. I didn't even have the excitement to post a Facebook status about it. Pathetic, I know. But I have this feeling at that back of my mind that this wouldn't follow through. When the Operations Manager handed me the money to process my Passport, I got the impression they were dead serious. But hey, even if this plan doesn't push forward, at least I was able to process my passport for free which was a sweet deal if you ask me.
So now I got an email from our other Operations Manager about a cash advance thingy which I completely don't understand. All I know is it has something to do with our expenses for the Singapore trip. I am still weirded out that I'm not feeling excited over this. Once I pass (if ever I pass) the certification, I'll be a certified trainer and I'll be handling training classes at the end of May. There are also certain levels depending on the number of classes I'll be handling before I get a certain title (T2, T3, T4, you get the gist). I'm thinking this situation is like a Pokemon Battle where I have to get those stupid badges to play against the big boss. Silly.
Although "QA slash Certified Trainer" does look good on a resume.
I don't know how this will fit into everything I have planned and mapped out. I was really excited about being a student again and I was really happy about my choice of course (B.S. Social Work) as I find it very meaningful. A few months ago, I was really sure that my next job would be just something to pay off the bills but given the recent developments, the universe is making me think otherwise. Being a "QA slash Trainer" means tons of and exhausting workload and I love to take a stab at it but how will this affect my being a student once school starts again next June? Can I do it? Can I be a professional and a student at the same time? Just thinking about it makes me tired.
I entered the call center industry last 2007 with the hopes that, like what they say, I'll be easily promoted. But that never happened easily. No matter how good I was, I was never officially promoted into a management position with my two former companies. It took me two resignation letters and almost 5 years into the future to finally land on one. And now it's finally here, I can't decide if I have the heart to go through with it.
Now that it's finally given to me, should I climb the corporate ladder? Or should I choose the road less traveled?
Sings Bone Thugs N' Harmony: See you at the crossroads...
Things with the company I'm working for right now are great. So a few months ago, I went on an interview for a call center company near MOA for a non-voice account. Luckily, I was hired and became part of the first wave. After two months of taking emails, I got promoted (more like "voluntold") to become an S.M.E. (Subject Matter Expert) for the upcoming waves. I became more like a resident go-to guy for newbies and some oldies if they have questions on how to support the product, what to say in their emails, how to say it in proper grammar, stuff like that. It was fun but for the most part it was tiring and exhausting. But hey, who am I to complain, right?
Since the account is fairly new, management needed more support staff and one of the perks of being in a pioneer wave is you become one of the first in line for internal promotion. The SBU (Strategic Business Unit) Manager offered me to become a Team Manager (Team Lead) since the account was ramping up back then. I gave it some thought - more like 1 hour of thinking since she needed an answer right away. I decided to turn down the offer. I reasoned out that I cannot commit myself a hundred percent to a manager's work load since I went back to school to continue my studies. That was a half truth - I really don't want to spend 16 hours in the office with no compensated overtime pay. That's for sure.
Then a spot for a Quality Assurance Analyst came and I was again handpicked from a bunch of my co-workers for the spot. Seeing as it would be more up my alley, I applied. I passed my resume, passed the exam and the interview with the SBU Manager. So on my fourth month, I got promoted (again) and I became responsible for the auditing of emails of 141 of advisors (agents) weekly, four times a month. That means a total of around 500 + QA audits in a month's time. Piece of cake. Sarcasm.
Here come's another big one...
Last April 10th marked my 6th month in this company. Things are going great; I've met tons of cool friends and co-workers. I am officially promoted and got a teeny tiny increase from my basic pay (this will be discussed in a future post) and I have no school this summer which means a lot more of free time in my hands...wrong!
The company acquired another account from the same client vendor we support. Another account means more agents. More agents means training. And since the officially certified trainer (who happens to be a wavemate of mine) sort of screwed up his chances, they need more trainers. And guess who they want to become one?
The company gave me 2000php to apply for a Passport and said it was urgent. I finally got mine last Friday (April 13th). It's a good thing you don't have to wait for forever to get an appointment and the application took less than two hours. Kudos to DFA and their highly efficient appointment system. I mean, wow! Great job!
Anyway, the company is planning to send four of us (me, my QA Manager and two other agents who have had experiences as teachers) to Singapore for a 5-day training and certification. The SBU Manager told us that the certification will be done around mid-May; but it turns out that the class will be on the last weeks of April. So that means we are scheduled to leave the country on April 28 or 29. Crazy! Talk about rush, right?
At first, I didn't really think much about it. Given my cool and chill "whateva" disposition towards life, I didn't give it much thought. Unlike the others who are supposed to go, I didn't feel giddy or excited. I didn't even have the excitement to post a Facebook status about it. Pathetic, I know. But I have this feeling at that back of my mind that this wouldn't follow through. When the Operations Manager handed me the money to process my Passport, I got the impression they were dead serious. But hey, even if this plan doesn't push forward, at least I was able to process my passport for free which was a sweet deal if you ask me.
So now I got an email from our other Operations Manager about a cash advance thingy which I completely don't understand. All I know is it has something to do with our expenses for the Singapore trip. I am still weirded out that I'm not feeling excited over this. Once I pass (if ever I pass) the certification, I'll be a certified trainer and I'll be handling training classes at the end of May. There are also certain levels depending on the number of classes I'll be handling before I get a certain title (T2, T3, T4, you get the gist). I'm thinking this situation is like a Pokemon Battle where I have to get those stupid badges to play against the big boss. Silly.
Although "QA slash Certified Trainer" does look good on a resume.
I don't know how this will fit into everything I have planned and mapped out. I was really excited about being a student again and I was really happy about my choice of course (B.S. Social Work) as I find it very meaningful. A few months ago, I was really sure that my next job would be just something to pay off the bills but given the recent developments, the universe is making me think otherwise. Being a "QA slash Trainer" means tons of and exhausting workload and I love to take a stab at it but how will this affect my being a student once school starts again next June? Can I do it? Can I be a professional and a student at the same time? Just thinking about it makes me tired.
I entered the call center industry last 2007 with the hopes that, like what they say, I'll be easily promoted. But that never happened easily. No matter how good I was, I was never officially promoted into a management position with my two former companies. It took me two resignation letters and almost 5 years into the future to finally land on one. And now it's finally here, I can't decide if I have the heart to go through with it.
Now that it's finally given to me, should I climb the corporate ladder? Or should I choose the road less traveled?
Sings Bone Thugs N' Harmony: See you at the crossroads...
 |
| Ooops! Wrong "Crossroads" hehe |
strike while the iron is hot.
ReplyDeleteBOTH Bone Thugs N' Harmony with a Britney Spears movie poster? Gaaah...
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, you know how the BPO industry can be a wild ride, especially for a start-up company. Lots of opportunities and a rather fast-track career-wise, but also a lot more demands on your time and energy (and potentially your soul).
It's still a good opportunity - you can beef up your resume and make yourself a lot more desirable to other companies - never be an agent again! At the same time, you will need to consider how much time you want to give up.
For me, go for it and see where the road takes you. See if you want to conduct training full time. At least you'll get to travel a bit and you'll learn a lot both in and out of the training room.The rest of it (this being life in general) can catch up later.
I can definitely attest to this:
ReplyDelete"a lot more demands on your time and energy"
*Sigh*
Anyway, thanks for the input guys. I really appreciate it. Seeing as you are more experienced than I am (and all that implies, hehe), I'll be taking your advice. Plus, the company proposal's been approved so I can't back out now.
I guess I have to put my school on hold again for the meantime while I see where this takes me. :)