My first job experience

Nagsimula ang drive kong mag-apply sa call center industry nung nawalan na ng laman na pera ang wallet ko. It was a summer of 2010 when I decided to go for it. I first applied sa isang big time call center company. Matatanggap na sana ako doon. Isang interview nalang, pasado na. Unfortunately dahil sa mga maling sagot ko sa mga tanong niya sa akin like:

"If you were given an opportunity to pursue your career as a nurse while you are with our company, will you take the chance?"

---YES, I WILL. Opportunities like that comes rarely nowadays so why not?

 Ayun, FAIL. HAHAHAHA! Ayos lang sabi ko sa sarili ko pero sa totoo lang ang sarap upakan nung nag-interview sa akin noon. If I remember clearly his name is "Bob" and he is gwapo. Pero kahit na, sarap niya lang silaban. Basta, alam mo na yun. HAHAHAHA!

with friends Cherry and Kena

And another opportunity knocks. Ni-refer ako ng friend ng sister ni boyf sa company nila. Go lang ako ng go kasi I'm in desperate need of money! It took almost a day of processing and I was fortunate enough to be hired finally! So, nag-start ang Communications Training ko 2 days after ko ma-hire. Naaalala ko pa noong first day ko sa office, sabi sa akin ng guard na naka-post sa may entrance:

"Miss, ilang taon na po kayo? Ang bata niyo pa po siguro noh?"

Echoserong manong guard yun. Pero natawa ako sa sinabi niya, napagkamalan pa akong bata sa itsura ko nung araw na yun. Napaka-haggard ko lang kaya nung araw na yun. Crap. 

My very first team! Team Metamorphosis!

Certification Day!

I belong to GCMA Batch 103, meaning I only have 3 weeks for certification or else, fail ako sa training. Luckily for me, na-certify ako after 2 weeks! You could say I was so proud of myself for that. Others would take 4, 6 or 9 weeks for certification but I managed to just do it after 2!

After certification, nalaman ko na din kung ano ang magiging account ko. I was placed sa isang Directory Assistance account for US platform. Nag-research ako about sa account na yun and a lot of people would tell that the account is super easy but the the work is very stressful. Each person will be receiving 500 or so calls per shift/day and each call takes a few seconds to accomplish. Exaggerating? No. I'm not.

For idea on how directory assistance works, CLICK THIS LINK

At syempre, hindi doon nagtatapos ang training ko. Madami-dami pa akong training na pagdadaanan. There's the OJT Training that would take 2 weeks: PASSED. The PST Training that would take 2 weeks: PASSED. The GMAX Training that would take 4 consecutive QA periods for me to pass: PASSED. 

PST days: During our lunch break

GMAX days with TEAM APRIL

Team April after we won 1st place during our GLEE-Max event!

Team building at Pansol, Laguna

The day came and all operators from Team April CERTIFIED! Training phase has just ended and we are so ready on the floor! Goodbye training and say hello to us, Santa Monica switch!

Entrance to Santa Monica switch, 18th floor

with fellow Santa Monica people =) imy'all!

SURPLUS is equals to HAPPINESS!

I've been a part of the Santa Monica switch for 9 months.I have a permanent working schedule which starts at 500 until 1430 so you could say I have a normal sleep cycle since I'm working in the morning which is not usually enjoyed by most call center agents. I was also an availer/surplus-er/bakal girl or whatever you call it so that gave me the opportunity to meet everyone in the floor. Our work is very stressful. What kept me from hanging on despite the fact that I really wanted to resign earlier in my career life is MY FRIENDS. Sila yung mga taong pinaghuhugutan ko ng lakas para ako maka-survive sa pangaraw-araw na trabaho ko doon. Sumasaya at napapatawa nila ako palagi kahit na minsan gusto ko na talaga murahin lahat ng callers ko. Yung tipong I reach a certain point in my life wherein I really wanted to give up pero THEY wouldn't let me. THEY made me stronger. So yeah, THEY ARE A BIG PART OF MY SUCCESS.

9 months.

It's not bad after all. A growing experience indeed. Thank you my dear company. Thank you dear supervisors of mine (except for one), Thank you dear Operations Partners and ASTs. Thank you dear manong guards and custodians. Thank you dear 5th floor canteen and Mini Stop. Thank you dear fellow operators from Santa Monica switch to Soft switch and Thank you all my dearest friends of mine. Our friendship will not end here. No, definitely not. I will just follow the path where I really belong and our memories altogether will forever stay in my heart =)

I LOVE YOU ALL AND I SURELY DO MISS YOU ALL!

Goodluck and NO SURPLUS FOR YOU!

Haha =)