Originally Posted by
joanrie777
Hello Fellow Istoryans...
I have read this article
just now and I wanted to
share this to you all, I, myself
is guilty with what is written
in this article but still I'm
loving the job...Enjoy. And
let me know your thoughts!
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Quit Your Call Center Job
by purevoid
December 16th, 2007
Quit your night-shift call center job. Well, maybe not today or tomorrow but when you have learned enough and saved enough to get by for a new career. This is one opinionated post that will surely touch a nerve with the huge population of young working people in the industry but I’m writing from experience.
And as an added disclaimer, I do not hate the call center industry at all. I recognize its value from providing opportunities to thousands, improving the economy, and fully opening the Philippines to the global market. I would even say that any entrepreneur would benefit from cold and warm calling skills that you would definitely learn in a call center. I would just advice workers here not to stay too long as a night-shift agent or manager.
College All Over Again
A strange thing I found out when I was working as a deputy director for start-up call center is that a majority of the employees from my former company kept working despite low pay, disputes with management and other negative factors simply because of their co-worker friends. In relation, another thing I saw with my own eyes is that most of them stayed because of a competent, and well-liked supervisor or team leader. This social aspect of the call center, while I generalize, cannot be discounted. The call center atmosphere is almost always fun, laid-back and basically feels like college all over again with many drinking sprees and out of town trips.
Health Issues
But what are the costs to staying in a night-shift work, particularly in a call center. In terms of health, even without looking at studies linking night shift work to breast cancer, diabetes and many other illnesses, everyone I know who has worked for years in a call center is generally unhealthy. It may be any of these indicators - paleness, overweight, hand spasms, frequent fever and colds, underweight, smoking, drinking too much, eye bags, stomach problems and most common is lack of energy. Again, I am generalizing from my experience and from knowing at least a hundred call center workers that I have met and have been friends with.
Unfortunately, the common age bracket of the call center worker is early 20s to 30s. This is the time our bodies should be at our prime and punishing it at this stage rather than stabilizing its strength for the rest of our lives is very destructive.
Career Paths Remain Hidden
Career-wise, a call center agent is neither in luck from what I have seen. You may be put in a better campaign, better Australian shift, become a trainer, team leader and whatnot but as long as the improvement is not major and you are still using the basic set of skills, you are probably in a dead end. An agent must understand, that more than most other industries today, the call center and BPO industry is founded on cost saving. Hence, it is always cheaper to hire new people, fresh graduates then to promote a current employee.
Even if you are excelling in the call center it is also not much different from other careers in the corporate world - it takes years to get to the top. And for this reason, you must focus on a general career direction you can sustain for a long time.
My rule of thumb has always been that if in a year there is no MAJOR improvement at least in terms of position and pay, you should change jobs. This rule of thumb, take note, has been applicable only in recent years with our fast changing world. Companies can crumble, merge, restructure in any given day. New technologies and new economics can obliterate an industry in weeks.
Or another rule of thumb is if you are comfortable, better do something new.
Take more lightly the advice of your parents and elders to get a secure and stable job - there is none. The only security is investing wisely, developing your talents, and business skills while you’re working in any company.
Do not just look at your monthly salary and savings. Whether you are an office worker or self-employed, it is crucial to look at your relative income (that is your income divided by the time you spend working or simply hourly rate) and where you’re putting your money.
The worst thing you can do is spend years in a career that is not your calling just to save money and build your resume. “It’s like saving *** for old age,” according to Warren Buffet.
If I have yet to convince you to change your career, I beg you to read “Who Moved My Cheese?” and the newest edition of “What Color is Your Parachute?”
***
My old friend, who is one of the first generations of one of the best performing call centers in the Philippines, maybe lucky that she was one of the pioneers and she is enjoying a massive salary and a high position. She’s married, well-respected, and financially secure. But she is still on night-shift and has been for the last 8 years. And one look at her, from a pretty, glowing and energetic girl back in college, she’s now a delicate waif with sullen eyes and balmy skin. Given the chance I would really convince her to quit while she’s ahead and improve her health while its not too late. She must enjoy her new family and maybe just use her savings to invest instead. No career or amount of wealth is worth the irreversible costs on her time and health.
***
So my unsolicited advice if you are working in night shift:
1.Make a definite time line of a year and no more to stay (even if you get promoted to the next rank). Do not get baited with promotion promises.
2.Work extra hard to master cold calling and negotiation skills and any other things you can learn. Make the most of it.
3.Pay attention how management works; study their metrics to know where your performance counts.
4.Eliminate after work drinking sprees. Stop smoking; it’s more dangerous when your body is weakened my abnormal sleeping habits.
5.Contrary to intuition, do not engage in strenuous exercise at all. Risk of heart attack (even at our age) has become common because of a weakened state. Do only light stretching daily.
6.Spend weekends with family and old friends instead of co-workers. While making new friends is always good, time spent with co-workers at the office is truly enough. This would ground you on your original dreams before you were in the rat race.
7.Set aside at least 10 percent of your net income (after tax but before bills) for security and 10 percent for investment.
8.Get a medical insurance separate from your Philhealth.
9.Look into jobs in sales, marketing, PR, customer service and even real estate industries that are day shift and those with realistic chances for fast management positions.
10.Do not revert back to where you once were. Strive above all for consistent, never-ending improvement in your life.
11.Always have a career direction and purpose and act on them. Know what matters to you.
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