...from OFW to call center agent......

April 2012 Features Gallery

... as published by the sun.. (www.sunweb.com.hk) From OFW to call center agent By Sol Banganan

Once a migrant, always a migrant. This has been proven by many overseas Filipino workers who spend decades working overseas. Most of them never considered staying abroad for long. They promised the family they left behind that they would just be away for a few years. They would work, save enough, and return home for good. Unfortunately, very few manage to keep that promise. Often because the simple needs of their family becomes more complicated as years go by. Or, they start feeling "at home" in their workplace, and forget the promise. But being migrants, it is inevitable that we will all go back home to our country. Many OFWs, no matter how much they miss their family, dread that day especially when they are not yet ready, or if there is no source of income waiting for them in Philippines. In case of premature termination, most would apply again even if it means spending thousands of pesos more in placement fees. If leaving the country guarantees homesickness, being uprooted from one's workplace could mean disaster for the whole family. As an OFW who worked and considered Hong Kong home for ten years, my sudden departure from "the city that never sleeps" affected me immensely-- physically, emotionally, mentally, and of course, financially. Living (again) in our country was a huge adjustment for me. Being away for a decade changed me a lot that it felt like having a culture shock all over again. Though it may sound unpatriotic, I had felt that Hong Kong was my home. Back in the Philippines, I was disturbed by what I saw around me, from having to take dilapidated public transport, to the sight of indiscriminately thrown garbage, to the able-bodied beggars who just depend on the compassion of others to feed themselves, and the overall lack of discipline of my fellow Filipinos. They all made me wish I was back in Hong Kong. The hardest part of course, was having no income. For ten years, I had a steady income, even if it was not enough to pay for my family's needs most of the time. I learned to appreciate the things that I did not value when I was still working. Driven by these circumstances, I made up my mind to go back abroad. I had several destinations on my list: Macau, South Korea, Europe, anywhere. When my former employer told me she wanted to hire me again, I knew that I had to go back to Hong Kong. And yet, a part of me also said that I should try my luck in our country as well. I gave myself a month to look for a job, and if within that time I don't find a decent work, I would start processing my papers back to Hong Kong where I thought I belong. I searched the net for job openings, and found it full of adverts for call center jobs. I signed online with five companies and headhunters. All five of them called me back for a phone interview, and after I passed, they all asked me to report to their office. I was left to use my own instinct in deciding which company to join. On the day of my appointment at Transcom International, my heart sank at the sight of the hundreds of applicants who arrived before me. I almost retreated because most of them were fresh graduates and ex-call center agents, but I reminded myself that I should at least give it a try. The initial interview proved to be the hardest. Each applicant was asked to talk about him/herself in front of the HR interviewer and their fellow job seekers. It was hard because everybody could hear you, and assess your performance. Forty percent didn't make it. Computer-based exams were held in the second screening. Fifty items in the test were about basic PC operations; another 50 on grammar and spelling; and 30 on customer service. Most of us passed this stage, called the versant test. It is a telephone-based exam where the computer grades your communication skills, voice quality and grammar. Most of the applicants found this test the hardest. After the HR endorsed me to the operations manager, I started getting hopeful. I didn't mind being at their office for almost 12 hours. Most call center companies process job applications within the day, so as the crowd started to thin, I prayed silently because I knew deep inside that I would soon be joining this company. After a few more moments, there were nine of us who were summoned inside and offered a job. Before I went home, I was already holding a contract with Transcom International. I would be working as a customer service representative for a UK telephone company. I know that being a call center agent is not the best job but still, I am thankful that I have been given the chance to work in our country. My advice to my fellow OFWs is to make their stay in Hong Kong worthwhile. I owe my present employment to all the activities that I did when I was still there. I owe ATIS, Unifil and Migrante for the leadership and speaker trainings. My circle of friends helped me develop my confidence, and my interaction with my fellow OFWs taught me how to deal with different kinds of people. And of course, I owe my communication skills to the publications that opened their doors to me:Pinoy Abroad for introducing me to the world of print media, and most especially to The SUN, for the invaluable training I received on how to enhance my writing skills. These things brought me to where I am now. I encourage my fellow migrants to fully exploit whatever potentials they may have while abroad. Skills or knowledge learned there will always prove useful, wherever one might end up. My journey as an OFW might have ended for now, but I will always be grateful for the experience. I will always be an OFW by heart because the tools that I used to get this job were made possible by me being a migrant worker. === (This is not the first time that Sol has written for The Sun. As she says in her column, she was one of our regular contributors, and has even written a piece or two for this section. Despite her earlier misgivings about going back home and looking for work there, she now seems to be enjoying her job at one of the top call center companies in the Philippines. This piece traces her steps from the time she lost her job in Hong Kong, to when she successfully landed her much coveted post-Ed).