Want to be a BPO agent?

Regardless of what Malaysia-based Indian BPO firm Aegis claims, the Philippines remains a top destination for corporations that outsource their business processes. The Oxford Business Group said in a report a week ago that the BPO industry in the Philippines “hit an all-time high in August, following a decade of phenomenal growth that has seen revenues and employment expand ten-fold since 2004.”

And it’s not slowing down any time soon. In fact, the country is pegged to be in a position to “challenge” India’s dominance in the sector. Manila is currently the second most important BPO destination in the world, according to strategic advisory firm Tholons, sandwiched between Bangalore at number one and Mumbai at number three, both in India.

Working in the call-center and BPO industry has a lot of benefits—and some of these privileges are available the moment you apply for a job. (Job-seekers, you might want to take note.)

According to information found on JobStreet postings, the industry easily pays an entry-level worker between P16,000 and P30,000 a month, with a majority of salaries ranging from P19,000 to P21,000. There are companies that offer less, as low as P12,000, but there are also those that offer compensation packages worth as high as P32,000 for starting employees. Some even give out signing bonuses, as high as P20,000, to new hires.

The application process is a breeze, compared to other industries, which usually make applicants wait weeks, if not months, to be called in for an interview. Most BPO firms boast of same-day hiring—you can come in the morning with your CV and go home before the business day ends with a new job.

There are a million Filipinos employed by hundreds of BPO companies throughout the country, and there are still plenty of vacancies to fill as the industry expands by 20 percent annually.

A quick JobStreet search for “voice agent” yields more than 300 results in Metro Manila alone. The Customer Service category on the site has 10,000 (unfiltered) job postings. Top BPO employers through the job-hunting site include 24/7 Customer Philippines, TeleTech Customer Care Management Philippines, and Teleperformance.

However, BPOCareerHub.com, a recruitment and employment resource site for Filipinos, warns that despite numerous job vacancies, “not everyone is lucky enough to land a job” in the industry. These are the ones who can’t speak and/or write well in English, or those who don’t seem a good fit for the job due to their lack of “soft skills” and/or “people skills.” Developing those skill sets, the site says, can help an applicant be the candidate that recruiters “run after.” –Ed Biado, Manila Standard Today