Getting into the call center industry in 2025

A Guide for a Newbie to Thriving as a Call Center Agent in the Philippines: Secrets to Success and Career Advancement

A career working as a call center agent in the Philippines is an exciting journey with very rewarding experiences. The BPO industry has become one of the most powerful economic pillars in the country, opening so many job opportunities for Filipinos. It would help those who are just joining the industry about getting hired but more importantly, how to stay in the game and get higher on the career ladder within this dynamic industry. From tips on interview questions to practical career advice, we will answer even learning a new language such as Spanish can enhance your career.

For your information, I started my call center journey in 2017. I handled different accounts from various companies in Metro Manila. In 2024, I tried to get in to the virtual assistance industry and will be there soon.

1. Passing the Call Center Interview: Tips for Newbies

First hurdle in BPO is getting through that interview. How to knock the interview:

1.1. Preparation of Communicative Skills

Communication has been the most important parameter of a call center professional. Thus, your skills of speaking are going to be judged on the panel. You might not sound fluent but try to reflect that you can speak without any confusion in English as well as confidently. Therefore, preparation can be carried out as follows:

Practice communicating in English every day among friends or family.

Watch English movies or series and try to copy the way native speakers communicate.

Record yourself speaking, and listen for areas for improvement.

1.2. Research the Company and the Role

One of the biggest rookie mistakes is showing up to an interview unprepared on the company side. Before your interview spend time researching:

The history of the company, what they do, and believe in.

The services that they provide and the various industries they service.

The particular needs of the call center position you're applying for, such as technical support, customer service, or sales.

1.3. Show Me Your Problem-Solving Ability

You will always be expected as a call center representative to be able to solve your customers' concerns effectively. In the interview, you need to share examples from other experiences, even though these are not directly connected in which you were able to solve problems or difficult situations, which would show that you are resourceful and have the capability to deal with hard calls.

1.4. Cool and composed at interview Interviews can be pretty nerve-wracking.

Still, the key thing is to remain calm even when under pressure. Deep breath before answering each question and do not rush through them. Interviewers also look for applicants who would keep their cool, a situation that might be applied in dealing with an impatient or angry customer.

2. Career Tips for Newly Hired Call Center Agents

Getting the job is just the starting point. Staying motivated and then excelling in your job requires dedication and continuous improvement. Here are some tips for your career to do well:

2.1. Continuous Learning The BPO industry is fast moving and always changing.

The only way to stay on top is to take full advantage of training programs, workshops, and webinars that your company offers. If your company provides any skill enhancement sessions, ensure that you make it a habit to join and be active.

2.2 Develop Active Listening Skills

Although it requires talking, calling agents have to listen appropriately to succeed. Customers prefer being heard; hence ensure you put your full focus, confirm what they actually are communicating, and communicate wisely back to them.

2.3 Build Resilience

Call center work can sometimes be stressful in case clients demand much, or there are loads of calls. Resilience building ensures you keep the right attitude and handle pressure while at the same time coming out strong and bouncing back after some tough calls. Set some time and do an activity that will help calm you, like exercising, meditation, or just spending with loved ones.

2.4. Accent Neutrality

Work on Your Own Accent You don't have to have an "American" or "British" accent, but you need to have one that is neutral or not easily misunderstood by any customer. Use tongue twisters or speech exercises to improve the flow and enunciation of your speech.

2.5 Work with Your Colleagues

A BPO success story usually depends mostly on teamwork, so you should always keep yourself open and willing to learn from everyone in your workplace. Keep your ears open to whatever feedback your supervisors or your fellow employees give you. Be able to share knowledge or skills you acquire through different departments. Good working relationships make the place even more amiable and accommodating to you.

3. Power of Multilingual Skills: Learn Spanish to stand out

Most of the call center agents here in the Philippines speak well in English. How cool would it be to separate yourself from them? This is one of the strongest career moves you could do as a call center agent: learn Spanish.

3.1. Why Should I Learn Spanish?

• In-demand: Due to global expansion, there is now a growing need for firms that serve customers with their native language in Spanish.
• Higher Pay: Bilingual agents earn more than monolingual agents.
• More Job Opportunities: You are now qualified for niche jobs, such as dealing with Spanish-speaking accounts or becoming a translator or interpreter in your organization.

3.2. How to Learn Spanish

• Join Language Classes: Most institutions and online providers offer Spanish classes designed for beginners.
• Practice using Duolingo, Babbel, or Rosetta Stone for practicing Spanish while you're on the go.
• Practice with Native Speakers: Engage in a language exchange group or community that would help you to converse with native or fluent speakers of Spanish.
• Listen to Spanish Media: Listen to Spanish music, podcasts, or watch TV shows and films to be more conversant with the language and improve your comprehension.

3.3. Beyond the Job Benefits

Learning Spanish is not only about professional development, it opens your eyes to new cultures and broadens your horizon. Being multilingual enhances your communication skills and increases your value in any professional setting.

Note: It is in your interested to choose another language you like to study. I just cited Spanish language here since the language is much closer to the Philippines.

4. Final Thoughts: Your Call Center Journey

Being a successful call center agent in the Philippines involves more than just getting hired; it involves working hard, being adaptable, and committed to growth. Always remember that every successful agent started as a rookie. By embracing continuous learning, honing your skills, and going the extra mile—like learning a new language—you can turn this call center job into an enriching and profitable career.

Now, if you are ready to begin this journey, memorize the tips above, and be persistent while making every call count. For sure, the BPO industry has much to offer, especially with the right mindset and preparation for a highly successful career path.

Celebrate Christmas everyday

Why Filipinos Should Stop Celebrating Christmas for Four Months—and Celebrate It Every Day Instead

If there's one thing that the Philippines stands out for globally, it's the unrelenting fervor by which Filipinos celebrate Christmas. The so-called "Ber months" – from September to December – spell out a season of holiday ditties, twinkling lights, and a sense of festivity that unfolds into a whole third of the year. This long Christmas celebration is beautiful and deeply rooted in the tradition of the Filipinos, but the alternative worth considering is to spread the feel and spirit of Christmas throughout the year.

The Four-Month Christmas Tradition

As soon as September comes, holiday fever grips the Philippines. Jose Mari Chan's popular carols are now heard over the airwaves. The malls start decorating with their giant Christmas trees, and families begin preparing for the much-awaited celebrations. Long anticipation of Christmas Day brings excitement and cheer but is tiring and, sometimes, overbearing.

While the Philippines proudly proclaims its long Christmas season, the fixation on the ordinary and even event-driven, materialistic aspect of Christmas may miss something much deeper—it is, after all a spirit embodied every day of the calendar year. Christmas Isn't Just a Season—It's a Way of Life

At its core, Christmas embodies values which everybody shares: love, kindness, generosity, and community festivity. Such values do not deserve to be put in just one portion of the calendar. Why Filipino people should be infused into everyday life:

1. Culture of Continuous Generosity

Christmas is a season of giving and charity. We see people who go out of their way to help others, donate to charities, and share meals with less fortunate members of society during the holiday season. What if we maintained this spirit of generosity all year round? Communities might witness an improvement in well-being and connectivity by incorporating giving as a daily lifestyle instead of an annual occurrence.

Just imagine if acts of random kindness became the norm instead of the exception-including dinner solutions, helpful hands, and uplifting words. The results would be colossal for both the recipient and the giver.

2 Building Relationships Past the Holidays

Holiday season - reunions with the family, catching up with relatives and friends, and bonding with each other. There is more to a relationship than a season of attention. We become opportunities for care and nurturing at all times of the year if we embody the spirit of Christmas. Family reunions, calls with no specific agenda, words of appreciation would make loved ones feel cared about and strengthen relationships in ways that supersede the seasonal rush.

Being there, or just listening and showing the love and appreciation each day will help build tighter emotional bonds that are far away from the last months of the year.

3. Gratitude and Positive Mental Attitude

Christmas is that period in which people focus on the positive and get thankful for what one has, and hope as a ray of the future unfolds. Why must this feel-good attitude be saved for just a few months in a year? Gratitude practiced daily enhances happiness as well as life satisfaction. When Filipinos make themselves thankful for small blessings, they can further develop their sense of joy and contentment throughout the year.

Taking a moment daily to reflect on what you are thankful for can turn your outlook and mental health around, making life easier to handle with resilience and optimism.

Christmas Every Day: How It Can Be Made to Happen

Celebrating Christmas every day is an abstract concept; however, if done with consciousness, it is possible. Here is how it can be made to happen:

1. Small Acts of Kindness

Help others not only during the holiday season but as a daily activity. Open the door for another person, assist a friend, or volunteer in community events. These small acts show the Christmas spirit all-year-round.

2. Gratitude Practice Daily

Begin each day by writing down three things you are thankful for. They might be something as simple as having breakfast with your family or being able to walk to work. That helps keep the Christmas spirit alive by staying positive and content.

3. Regular Family Time

Always find time for your family, not only during holidays. Family dinners can be weekly; game nights or Sunday picnics are all awesome ways to strengthen bonds and keep the holiday spirit burning.

4. Mindful Gift-Giving

Give an ordinary Christmas every day as gift, instead of storing in the Christmas season. And a note, small gifts, or even some help are good enough for making them feel valued. Every expression of appreciation and love reinforces relationships.

New Ever Day Christmas Tradition

Beautifully lit with full joy is the Philippines during the period of September through December, but what is an even more fulfilling and harmonious life, I'd say, when this season can extend even to months. Parties and decorations may represent Christmas, but its love, sharing, and hope define the essence of the Yuletide season.

Make Christmas part of daily life and build a culture of kindness and gratitude. It is time to shift from four months of Christmas celebrations to 365 days of its values. For it is not in the season but in the manner of dealing with each other that we can find the true spirit of Christmas. Doing so will make araw-araw ay pasko into a reality.

About mistakes and regret

True cost of errors vs. price of regret

Everyone makes mistakes. Whether it is personal, professional, or even interpersonal, error occurs. Most of us, at some point in time, are afraid to commit mistakes because of what comes with them. There's, however, one vital truth: Mistakes can cost you, but the price of regret will always be too expensive to pay. This statement, thus, deserves a lot more elaboration.

1. Value of Mistakes as Teachers

Mistakes are mistakes, and mistakes happen in life, but actually they are one of the biggest teachers of life. One learns first hand, consequences of actions by committing a mistake, hence he learns to be wise and experience. A mistake may carry a price of embarrassment to actual losses but is very often a treasure that would be useful for all his future choices.

Consider the best persons in this world. They are inventors, business owners, and inspirational persons like Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, or Thomas Edison who achieved so many great things yet failed severely in other projects. In fact, the great Thomas Edison is said to have told, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." And from each one of those mistakes he took one step nearer to a success–his invention of the light bulb. Moral? Each failure was overridden by the reward from the eventual success and the lessons learned along the line of venture.

2. The Weight of Regret

Regret, however, is an emotion that carries a much heavier price. While the cost of mistakes can be tangible and sometimes fleeting, regret stays in our minds and hearts for long after the window to act has closed. It reminds us of all those moments when we did not take the chance, when we did not speak out, or when we did not pursue our dreams. While mistakes give growth, regret offers nothing but the burden of "what if."

Imagine reaching the later years of your life and reviewing the list, not on mistakes but on opportunities left undone. Regret from never doing something you'd wanted to do, or not having called a loved one when you could, or never venturing beyond the safety zone can really make a person feel empty. The weight of the emotional consequence is often greater than that of any results from a mistake.

3. Why Mistakes Are the Risk Worth Taking

The most typical reason to avoid risks is fear of failure. But notice that the fear of failure is often driven by a fear of mistakes. The irony is that this way of thinking results in lost opportunities and subsequently regret. It involves the risk of the fact that reality of a jump, decision, or willingness to do something important carries with it the very inherent possibility of mistakes. So, it is, of course, an inherent risk. Growth and fulfillment though are price-worthy for it.

Taking calculated risks allows us to live life more fully, because we don't have a fear of failure. It is out of those experiences that resilience is built, creativity develops, and true potential becomes known. Knowing that making mistakes will always give room for learning creates a stepping stone for confidence. Then you begin to realize failure is not an endpoint; it is a stepping stone.

4. Embracing Mistakes, Avoiding Regret

So how does one train their mind to accept mistakes and reduce regrets? SELF COMPASSION: Be aware that mistakes are a part of life and never define who you are. Act lovingly toward yourself and learn from your mistakes.

• Take Action: Act in spite of fear. Reach out to a love one, seek that job you have always wanted, or try something new for yourself. In the face of fear, nothing else moves you forward.
• Reflect and Adapt: Sometimes, after making a wrong move, one needs a little time to reflect what went wrong and how better it would be done in the future. This can prepare a person for whatever challenges await in the future not to continue doing the same over and over again.
• Seek Growth, Not Perfection: It is not all about not making mistakes. Life teaches lessons. Growth will come when there are difficulties, not when avoiding.

Conclusion 5. The Lesser Cost of the Mistake is the Regret

Surely, with mistakes come also consequences that go along; these are temporary, a precursor to growth and learning resilience. The cost is far more significant: It's one that mounts to be accumulated over time into the possibility of unrealized potential, the haunting possibility of what could have been.

Choose to act, risk mistakes, and live without the shadow of regret. For life, in all its messiness and imperfection, is just as beautiful. Embracing mistakes as a journey will give you much greater lessons than the comforting peace of not acting at all. So take your chance, embrace uncertainty, and remember: it is far better to pay today's price of a mistake than the heavy cost of tomorrow's regret.

Why Spanish language is still alive in the Philippines

Refuting the Claim: The Philippines as a Non-Spanish-Speaking Country

The Philippines is not a Spanish-speaking country and my goal is to refute the same claim by Esquire Philippines writer Angelica Gutierrez. She claim that the Philippines is the only former Spanish colony not speaking Spanish and they keep on posting on social media. It is true in terms of the widespread and daily usage of the language, but it ignores the subtle ways Spanish language and culture have deeply embedded themselves in Philippine society. We have to look at history, linguistics, and the lingering cultural imprints that prove Spanish lingers, subtly, in the Philippines.

1. Historical Legacy and the Spanish Language Among the Elite

Spanish did indeed become the language of the elite, the educated, and the political class in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. For centuries, Spanish was taught in schools and was the primary language of government and literature. True, the Spanish friars focused on learning local languages like Tagalog and Cebuano to spread their religious teachings, but Spanish was adopted by the upper classes and those involved in governance.

Prominent Filipino writers like the works of José Rizal, "Noli Me Tángere" and "El Filibusterismo," to name a few, used their language to awaken national consciousness. The Spanish language came not only as a shadow of colonial power but in the very mouth of how resistance, reform, and an identity would be expressed: though the use of it declined, especially after its colonization by the Americans but never fully disappeared.

Also, most of the 82 provinces in the Philippines are named in Spanish language. The notable provinces with names ending in Spanish words like del Norte, del Sur, Occidental, and Oriental. My home province of Isabela was even named after the Queen Isabella II of Spain, the name of our country which is the Philippines is named after the King Philip. Another example is the municipality of Reina Mercedes which is also in Isabela is notably the most royal address in the world.

2. Integration of Spanish in Filipino Languages

No one can deny that the legacy left by the Spanish is very strong when it comes to the languages used in the Philippines. Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, and the regional languages are so filled with Spanish loan words that hundreds of words spoken every day in the country come from Spanish. The following are some examples of words used daily in the Philippines: mesa (table), silla (chair), kutsilyo (knife), gatas (milk), sapatos (shoes), and even numero (number).

Apart from basic words, some Filipino cultural practices retain a system of idiomatic phrases, counts, and other linguistic tools brought about by the Spanish that remained intact to this very day in certain circles such as among the elder ones or those who grew up within some parts of Zamboanga City. There is also the case wherein younger generations, without the actual knowledge of the subject matter, use Chavacano, the locally-influenced version of the Tagalog that blends local with Spanish tongues for people of their area. Being this type of Creole proves itself as evidence of how effective it is for Spanish not only in being retained over generations but also as able to integrate with native tongue even further.

3. The Position of the Spanish Language in School Education and in the Religion

Even though the Spanish Language is no longer prevalent in this country, which had been occupied by the Americans, it was studied in schools for centuries until, as recently as in the middle of the last century. In fact, until constitutional revision in 1987, there was, in the Philippines, an obligatory Philippine curriculum subject and, therefore, most of those living today have retained at least some familiarity with Spanish as part of their education.

In religious activities, influence from Spain is also strongly displayed. Their language in praying, hymns sung, and even terminologies used in religious gatherings were still derived from prayers through Santo Niño or the Holy Child, Nuestra Señora, the Our Lady, or terms like Hermanos (which means Brothers). It presents historical assimilation of Spanish to Filipino spirit under the tradition of Pasyon, which is a chant describing how Christ suffered during the Passion observed during Holy Week.

4. Revival and Modern Interest in the Spanish Language

In fact, recent developments showed the renewed interests about the Spanish language among the people of the Philippines. Various educational institutions, private schools that teach languages, and organizations in culture offer their course programs in Spanish for, apart from historical, cultural, and economic purposes, these are important relations for the two nations involved: the Philippines and Spain. Ties of Spain with the Philippines have been promoted through bilateral cultural programs as this will help to rejuvenate common heritage shared between two nations.

The boom in globalization and the increasing significance of Spanish as a global language is also a reason behind this resurgent interest. For a vast Hispanic market has started opening up, along with much economic potential related to countries speaking the Spanish language. Many professionals now consider it their advantage to be conversant with Spanish.

Conclusion: Spanish is Not Yet Over as a Lingua Philippines

Indeed, Spanish is no longer the lingua franca of the Philippines, unlike in other former Spanish colonies in Latin America. But to dismiss the Philippines as a non-Spanish-speaking country is to miss all the linguistic and cultural subtleties that continue to tie the nation to its Spanish past. From the rich blend of Spanish vocabulary in everyday speech to renewed interest in language learning and cultural programs, part of the Filipino identity is Spanish but not at the helm.

This would essentially oversimplify the case, claiming that the Philippines is now free of all of its Spanish roots. Of course, it runs much deeper and is wedged into the very fabric of culture, history, and even modern consciousness. Left, it may no longer be as dominant as once viewed and felt, but this lives on in constant repetition across generations, reminding the Filipino of a shared past, which defines their country's future and present.