Working in the BPO Industry as an agent has both its advantages and disadvantages. Though some may say it is a dead-end job, I believe that my experience as a call center agent had greatly helped me become a successful freelancer. Currently, I am a Marketing Manager for a publishing and consultancy firm and my background in sales and customer service as a call center agent has equipped me with the necessary skills that made the job easier.
In this article, we interviewed former BPO employees who are now gainfully employed in a different industry. We asked if they find their experience/ training as a call center agent relevant or helpful to their current occupation and here are some interesting answers we got.
Name: Renee Barian
BPO Experience: More than 5 years
Current Occupation: Offshore Consultant / Operations Manager
The BIG YES will have to go to "experience." Though the Call Center Training does a lot to improve your conversational and interpersonal skills, the best lessons and the best tool that was added to my arsenal came from the 1st hand on the job experience itself.
Having been able to handle multiple accounts/campaigns in different BPO companies pave the way for me. It gave me a better understanding on every objective I am setting my eyes on to land a job. The more you are familiar with what is in front of you, the more convenient it is to come up with a plan to hit whatever you're aiming for. This is what your Call center experience will give you.
At work, you'll learn how to handle stress in any given situation, come up with a marketing strategy of your own, and eventually add more knowledge about new and exciting things in the background. Because of this, it was just easy for me to be confident and use whatever I have gotten from my experiences to meet the desired qualifications of a job or a position that I want to get.
Name: Andrew
BPO Experience: 1 year
Current Occupation: Transport Service Provider based in Qatar
Yes, my experience in the BPO industry had taught me about system navigation and multi-tasking which is helpful in my current job.
Name: Maria Jelica
BPO Experience: 3 years
Current Occupation: Virtual Assistant and Ecommerce Specialist
Yes. There are a lot of skills I've acquired from working at a call center that I am able to use in my current job. Like customer service, multi-tasking with the tools, email and chat support and a lot more.
Name: Abigail
BPO Experience: More than 5 years
Current Occupation: SunLife Financial Advisor
I believe that my advantage is that I was able to handle different types of accounts and held different positions in the call center industry. This helped me really excel in my current job. I am trained to handle difficult customers. I learned how to adjust to different types of people where my patience and critical thinking ability are tested in resolving issues and coming up with different plans on how to grow the business. These are skills that I am able to apply to my current job as financial advisor. I am persistent and trained on how to handle rejection.
Name: Leslie
BPO Experience: 3 years
Current Occupation: Nurse
I am now a staff nurse here in Germany and my call center experience really helped me have the necessary skills or say practice to communicate effectively with other people especially with foreigners.
Name: Al
BPO Experience: 1 year
Current Occupation: Software Engineer
Yes. I'm currently assigned in a support role where interacting with developers is a daily task. It helped because it's easier for me communicate with them to solve whatever issue they have.
______________________________
As you can see, working in a call center is not a dead-end job. Instead, you can use this as a stepping stone towards your dream job. The experiences that you get can equip you with the necessary skills that you may need in the future.
For fresh graduates, don't be discouraged to apply in a call center. It's a practical option given the compensation and benefits. Just make sure that you continue to grow professionally. Robert Kiyosaki, one of my favorite authors once mentioned in his book, Rich Dad Poor Dad "Instead of simply working for money and security, which are important, take a job that will teach you a skill."
Name: Renee Barian
BPO Experience: More than 5 years
Current Occupation: Offshore Consultant / Operations Manager
The BIG YES will have to go to "experience." Though the Call Center Training does a lot to improve your conversational and interpersonal skills, the best lessons and the best tool that was added to my arsenal came from the 1st hand on the job experience itself.
Having been able to handle multiple accounts/campaigns in different BPO companies pave the way for me. It gave me a better understanding on every objective I am setting my eyes on to land a job. The more you are familiar with what is in front of you, the more convenient it is to come up with a plan to hit whatever you're aiming for. This is what your Call center experience will give you.
At work, you'll learn how to handle stress in any given situation, come up with a marketing strategy of your own, and eventually add more knowledge about new and exciting things in the background. Because of this, it was just easy for me to be confident and use whatever I have gotten from my experiences to meet the desired qualifications of a job or a position that I want to get.
Name: Andrew
BPO Experience: 1 year
Current Occupation: Transport Service Provider based in Qatar
Yes, my experience in the BPO industry had taught me about system navigation and multi-tasking which is helpful in my current job.
Name: Maria Jelica
BPO Experience: 3 years
Current Occupation: Virtual Assistant and Ecommerce Specialist
Yes. There are a lot of skills I've acquired from working at a call center that I am able to use in my current job. Like customer service, multi-tasking with the tools, email and chat support and a lot more.
Name: Abigail
BPO Experience: More than 5 years
Current Occupation: SunLife Financial Advisor
I believe that my advantage is that I was able to handle different types of accounts and held different positions in the call center industry. This helped me really excel in my current job. I am trained to handle difficult customers. I learned how to adjust to different types of people where my patience and critical thinking ability are tested in resolving issues and coming up with different plans on how to grow the business. These are skills that I am able to apply to my current job as financial advisor. I am persistent and trained on how to handle rejection.
Name: Leslie
BPO Experience: 3 years
Current Occupation: Nurse
I am now a staff nurse here in Germany and my call center experience really helped me have the necessary skills or say practice to communicate effectively with other people especially with foreigners.
Name: Al
BPO Experience: 1 year
Current Occupation: Software Engineer
Yes. I'm currently assigned in a support role where interacting with developers is a daily task. It helped because it's easier for me communicate with them to solve whatever issue they have.
______________________________
As you can see, working in a call center is not a dead-end job. Instead, you can use this as a stepping stone towards your dream job. The experiences that you get can equip you with the necessary skills that you may need in the future.
For fresh graduates, don't be discouraged to apply in a call center. It's a practical option given the compensation and benefits. Just make sure that you continue to grow professionally. Robert Kiyosaki, one of my favorite authors once mentioned in his book, Rich Dad Poor Dad "Instead of simply working for money and security, which are important, take a job that will teach you a skill."
