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Many are called but only few are qualified

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief May 10, 2006 · 2 min read

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In the last couple of months, I may have received over a hundred resumes from people looking for a call center job. A majority of them are coming from Cebu but may come as far as India (yup, a dozen or so Indian nationals sending me email asking if I could forward their resume to Convergys).

I have been religiously forwarding the resumes to my friend who works in Convergys and of the lot not a single person got it. A couple made it to the first interview but not ever passed and made it thru. Like most call centers, Convergys has this internal placement program for their employees. They basically give referral bonuses for every successful applicant they refer and got hired. Payout starts at Php5,000 to as high as Php20,000 per referral.

So I thought I could get a cut from all those people I referred (my friend inside the call center will officially claim it and we split the sum 50-50). Alas, not a single cent came my way.

Maybe, the call center industry is so saturated that there are no more qualified people to be hired. Maybe the rest of unemployed population aren’t good enough or can’t speak English proficiently even if they do undergo training. Or, the ones that do don’t want a dead-end, no fixed schedule, you-have-to-push-a-button-to-get-a-two-minute-weewee call center career. Looks like the only way to get more call center people is by pirating them from other companies. I think that’s a fair assumption.

So, are we going to agree to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when she said we need a call-center school? Huwaaat?

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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40 Comments

Kristine Jean · 17 years ago

Good morning,I’m an 18 years old college girl and I’m very interested in the topic of many unemployed Filipinos who is taking the chance to be hired in one of the call centers here in the Philippines. Many said that “Call centers” are the answers for the growing unemployment of this country.We are going to have a debate in our college and sad to say that I’m in the group of Anti for call centers. It’s hard to search for evidences but I’m thankful that this site gives me hope in winning our debate. Would you please give me more evidences.,Thanks a lot!!!

Ural Laru · 17 years ago

you are all dumb

nhpbrc jvmzxty · 18 years ago

hdykpt wzdkti bfusdlqk apzhucm jphwqxbe pvli modyp

Genie C. Guimong · 18 years ago

Hi. If you’re running in circles in building your career,CONVERGYS is the right place for you. If you’re 18-54 years old, has finished at least 2nd year College or its equivalent, Fluent in English both oral and written, willing to be assigned in the night shift, pls email me your resumes thru ge****@yahoo.com so I can refer you.

Just read a lot of English mags and books, speak aloud while reading, try speaking to your family and friends in english as this will help you master the language.

We have branches in Makati, Ortigas, Commonwealth, Alabang, Cebu and Bacolod so its your choice where you would want to be.

JP · 18 years ago

Hey guys,

If you are interested in a call center career, you might want to try eSynergy International, operating in Makati. They provide review of conversational grammar, discussion and practice on communication skills, practice on pronunciation and American Accent, and training on customer service in call center setting. They will also help you with job application through a job application workshop and referral. You would definitely be more prepared for the interview and the job itself! Call them (02-729-7597) for more information!

julie · 19 years ago

just give yourself a time to practice and even you do it and still can’t go for a call center company,,maybe it is not really for you either not yet your time or call center is not for you..just like what i’ve been through..i don’t expect that i will be employed here at Voiceville..i didn’t take a preparation before applying here,,i just accompanied my friend that time and also submitted my resume..fortunately we were included to be as trainees..and now i’m working here..

for those who would like to join our team here,,try us and know your luck..here are our contacts:
address:T. Padilla St. Cebu City Philippines 6000
tel: +63 32 253-0946
email: in****@voicevilleinc.com
website: http://www.voicevilleinc.com/

Thank you.

aspiring agent.. · 19 years ago

hey guys can u give me a tips for applying in a call center.. because i always fail the final interview damn … i dont know the reason why i always fail the final interview…

SniperJason · 19 years ago

You know what guys? Convergys was the first callcenter company that i tried to apply but I failed after I took the initial interview back from year 2003.I was disappointed because eventhough I answered their questions perfectly, I wasn’t able to pass their interview because they said that I need to master the English accent.They said that we need to become fluent and speak like americans did.How pathetic.We all knew that we are confident enough to handle that kind of jobs they offered.That’s why they had to train us in able to know what specific responsibilities that we need to handle.They expect too much in every filipinos.didn’t they imagine how hard to master this kind of accent?? We were born in a country were we speak tagalog everyday unlike americans.We can’t master this kind of languange by taking a 10-day course from some languange training company like ExcelAsia unless you are gifted that within 10 days you’ll become fluent, OMG! Maybe 1 year.all we need is to speak English within 1 year! Isn’t sounds crazy? yes it is..Why they dont try to teach those foreign people to learn tagalog either! hahahaha! Sound crazy too right?

joyz · 12 years ago

You are damn right!!!

romy abanado · 19 years ago

will some body working in a call center as agent let me know where to get free english proficiency test so that i would know if i may qualify for that english proficiency test? my cell no is 0921******* again 0921*******
thanks romy here !

Anja · 19 years ago

Hey,

everybody who is looking for a callcenter job please send me following details to an****@yahoo.de and I will refer you and they will call you! We need people for english, german and french for starting this march!!!

First Name:
Last Name:
Course:
College Graduate or Undrgraduate:
Home#:
Mobile#:
Best Time To Call: AM or PM

Do you have any sales, Customer Service or Callcenter Experience?
Please reply asap, they are looking for people to start this March!!!

PI Outsource · 19 years ago

Quote” J. Angelo Racoma says:
May 10th, 2006 at 4:21 am

“Or maybe Convergys would rather hire direct applicants so they wonâ€™t have to pay the referral commission! :P”

Trust me the referral fee is nothing (zip zero nada wala) to Convergys. They want qualified workers.

If you could walk into their offices and tell them that you had 200 qualified agents ready to work who would sign a two or three year contract (and it was true), I bet you could sell them as a group for 10,000,000 pesos.

TeleDevelopment · 19 years ago

Being a recruiter is not easy!

Brad · 20 years ago

Anyone know a resource to find out waht the basic operator pay is for a call center in Manilla/Makati?

travailmemoire · 20 years ago

I think the reason as to why “many are called are few are qualified” lies in the underestimation of many people in the call center industry. I applied for three call centers in Ortigas and Makati. I was accepted in two, but failed the exam in the third company. I noticed in all three that during the initial interview, the companies immediately eliminate applicants who: lack communication skills, who are not able to communicate their thoughts effectively in the English language, do not have concern for the company (you’ll be hearing answers to “why did you join our company?” like “because I want to learn how to speak good English,” “I have nothing to do during my free time,” “the pay is good,” “my friend referred me to this company,” etc.), cannot contribute to a customer-service-oriented industry, do not have the patience and determination to work in the industry, are just in it for the pay and experience. On an average, I noticed that only two out of about 8 pass the initial screening/interview. The examination is also another level of understanding for the applicants. Even those who are well-versed in English fail because it is a test of analysis, comprehension, customer and company concern, as well as a test in ethics. In some companies there are more than one exam so the more exams the slimmer the chance of getting in. On an average, only half of those who passed the initial interview pass the exam/s. So that leaves only a small percentage of applicants to actually qualify for the final interview and even more for the job offer. Call centers do not only accept persons who speak in “straight English,” they are also looking for intelligent individuals who are patient and have substance and personality. But then again when you try going to a call center on a normal day you’ll see the long lines of applicants waiting outside the offices just to find out that “he or she isn’t what the company is looking for.”
Have a good day.

Kevin · 20 years ago

I’m an american citizen, i speak perfect english, understand the US culture here. massive sales and managerial skills and i am being pushed aside by these companies, INCLUDING convergys. Ironic or what? I am offered a basic agent position, but due to my qualifications i feel insulted being that i’m competing with kids who are fresh graduates with no sales, no managerial and some have strong english accents. Most dont know the US culture. What’s the deal with this?

Jon Limjap · 20 years ago

leo,

Correction. We have a huge shortage of *qualified* call center agents.

bit · 20 years ago

The wonder of wonders called hyperlinks have wondrously brought me here. Awesome blog, man. :-)

PGMA wants to open call center schools? I’ve always held that the call center boom should only be treated as a short-term solution to our economic woes (labor included). What we need are government supported efforts, further backed by the private sector, to bring industries with brighter futures into the country.