THANK YOU FOR CALLING...

"Thank you for calling [***bleep] broadband tech support, my name is [insert name here] with tech Id number blah-blah, how may I help you?"

Arrgghh... I am tired... of not working. I need to go out! Yes! I fuckin need a job and start flexing these muscles, or fingers. Well, guess what, I'll be back in the call center. Dyaran! Pffft....

Did a couple of job interviews, already have a couple of job offers too... well, I keep on searching for the one that offers the "best" salary but I just can't seem to find a company that provides the same salary my previous employer was giving me. Arrrgghh... I am tired of going through all those shitty interviews and answering those English proficiency exam-whatever (Oh my Gawd, I already had enough of that shit when I was in School!) and answering questions like "why do you want to work for our company" and hypothetical questions like "how will you describe the color blue to a blind", and other sort of stupid questions... I'm tired of getting in line and waiting for my turn for the job offer only to be dismayed with what they have in the cards for me. Gee....

The Philippines, I must say, is one of the most versatile and capable nation to be trained in the call center industry for American companies. Given that we've been colonized for a few-couple of years by the Americans, and the always-present-English Subjects in Schools, and our media and entertainment being bemused by the western, most of the locals here can at least understand, if not speak, English. And yes, Philippines is one of the best versatile countries in Asia who can perfectly mimic a neutral American accent. And another thing: we are the cheapest to exploit among all other countries in Asia. Sad but true.

Call center is continuously growing in the Philippines. Thousands of jobs are being offered in call centers but the effects of global economic crisis still managed to hit the call center industry even just a bit. Call centers here are continuously hiring but they don't offer the same salary that they used to. Let me just mention this company in Alabang that starts with Gen and ends with pact (Just put it together, ok). I went to their recruitment office a week and some days ago to apply. There were three applicants before me, all girls. The lady on the reception was busy talking some shit on the phone, totally ignoring the presence of the 3 other applicants before me. Good 10 mins passed and the receptionist was still chit-chatting on the phone. Arrgghh... As much as I don't want to intrude and interrupt her blathering on the phone I politely said, "Ahmm...Excuse me miss, I'm sorry for my intrusion but we've been here, standing for quite sometime now, but nobody seems to notice us. We're applicants, if you don't know. Are you going to take are resumes or what???" The lady gave me the oopss-I'm-sorry-I-didn't-notice-you look, and put the phone down but did not hung up. She asked if anybody from us have call center experience. I said I do. She asked me how long, and I answered her. She said, with her sweet American accent, "Sorry sir, but at present time we only accept applicants who don't have call center experience, but you can still leave your resume and we'll contact you in case we have an available position for you."

WHY??? What the fuck is going on??? Can you repeat that, once again, one more time, again and again pleeeaaassee???!!!

Well, for obvious reason, that company only accepts inexperienced applicants to save money. They don't want to pay extra dollars for one's experience since they can just easily get some newbies without accent, train them for a couple of weeks and give them a salary way-way lower that what they usually provide experienced call center peeps.

Arrrggghhh... Is this the end of the world for me?

Now I am feeling sorry about leaving my previous company. But hey, there's no use crying over spilled milk. I remember ranting about that company in Ortigas in my previous post. Well, as much as I hate... I might have no other choice but to accept the offer. I need a good company but I'm really tired of going through all those job interviews... the worst part is that you wouldn't know exactly how much they'll offer you till you get to the actual job offer. My American friend said employers in the US tell their applicants upfront how much they'd be getting as a salary even before they start the initial interview. I wish employers here follow the same process.

For some reason I want to work in Ortigas. Maybe get an apartment again. The account that I'll be working for, if I take their offer, is an Australian Broadband Internet Provider, I checked their company online and was surprised they're the leading telcom and internet provider in Australia. Sounds like a big company, but I don't know how they compare with other accounts, compensation wise. And I'll be part of Wave1, so chances for promotion is bigger. But I really don't give a shit about what they can offer me in the future, promotion, salary increase, etc. We don't know it might be the end of the world next month, so what I really want to consider is what they can offer me TODAY. Another good thing that I like about this job is that it's an Australian account...so the earliest possible shift at work would be 6am...and yeah...I'm tired of (over)working at night, so working during the day and getting a normal life, geting a normal sleep during the normal night time, and waking up during the normal day time and doing the normal things at normal hours of the day is a big BIG plus. Not to mention that Australians are easier to deal with than Americans (mas mabait kesa mga kano) - well, that is just according to a friend who works for an Australian account now.

Wow, I checked my email while I was writing this and saw this on Yahoo News, Forbes: Pacquiao world's 6th highest-paid athlete. In the past 12 months Pacquiao earned something close to $40 million USD, making him the highest-ranking among the four newcomers to the list. Holy phaking shite! That's a lot of money!!! Just click on the link to learn more about it. Speaking of money, yeah... I need money. I need to fly to the US of A! And so I badly need a job. I need MONEY!!!

Arrrggghh... But I'm happy! Harhar. XD