13 Hours

     Oh no! I actually fell asleep for like, 3 hours after my first post. Yes, I was really, really, realllllyyy tired. I had to go through a lot of tedious stuff just to get the requirements needed for my FIRST JOB EVER. So that's what I'm gonna talk about now.

Last Saturday (April 02, 2011) I didn't have anything better to do so I was looking for call center jobs on Jobstreet and I bumped myself into a manpower agency called People Solutions. Well, at that particular moment, I thought PS was a call center, like, seriously. Cause I'm the type o person who doesn't really want middlemen or whatever in my transactions (and I consider manpower agencies to be middlemen--of course, between the employer and the employee). I called them up and they told me to send my resume as soon as possible. I told them I'd be able to provide that in 2 hours. I seriously didn't know how to make a resume at that moment and I had to make a lot of researches to find a great format and apply it on my own resume.

Before my 2 hours was up, I sent PS an SMS and told them that I already sent my resume to the e-mail address they gave me. They texted me back saying they got the resume and told me to wait for their call. Imagine this: I sent the resume around 2 in the afternoon, and they called at around 8 in the evening! So I was really shocked when I got their call telling me to go to their office and provided me the address too.

So April 4, 2011 came, I went there with my mom (I had to! I don't know Manila that well yet, namean?), and just went inside the room full of anxious people waiting to be interviewed by this awesome recruiter named Richard.

Richard was a very nice guy, he wasn't intimidating (as what one would expect specially if you're applying for a career in the call center industry), and he made us laugh so that we'd feel at ease. He talked to us in a manner that we won't be afraid to answer his inquiries. It was pretty interesting cause he asked me to invent a 5-sentence story involving a glass half-filled with water with a leaf on top. I told him I'd be on top of it (well, the miniature version of me), together with my sister and we'd camp out on that leaf. Well, I had to elaborate cause I needed five sentences but you get the idea. Pretty funny when I think about it now. lol

So there, after a small talk with Richard, there was this very kind, soft-spoken, elegant lady waiting on the other room and Richard instructed us (me and two other women) to go inside the room for our initial interview and. Her name is Easter by the way. After our initial interview, she told the other two that they may leave and that she needed to talk to me. I didn't know that was the final interview and I was offered a CSR position for the Collections Department.

Oh btw, I learned that the company searching for call center agents was Convergys. So there after my final interview, I had a recommendation from Easter and told me to take the exam at Convergys Makati (Glorietta 5). Actually, we (my mom and I) took a shuttle provided by the company so there wasn't any hassle on our part.

There I was, amazed with how huge and elegant their office was. I imagined how I would look like working there with all those amazing people! So I immediately took the exams (a total of 6) and waited for my results. After I got my results I gave it to a gorgeous guy named Gari. He was really soft-spoken and not intimidating at all. Also, the people from the testing department were really kind enough to answer my questions (yes, I had a lot of them, lol). I thought that I really was irritating already hahaha!

So there, I gave my results to Gari and he told me I passed the position required for TSR and told me to have my Berlitz/Rag assessment at Interview Room No. 3. Funny thing is that I met a fellow Sillimanian there. What a small world! :)

After taking my Berlitz exam, I went back to Gari and told me that they're offering me a position for a TSR Account in Uverse. I had this blooper moment wherein I said 'Userve' and everybody in the room was amused and laughed. It was embarrassing but they understood (cause I had no clue what I was getting into, hahaha!).

My contract. I had to blur out the other parts for privacy reasons. :)

After 12 hours of crazy interviews and exams, I was given the contract and the requirements needed for me to be able to get the job. I signed it and went to the lobby where my amazing mom waited. Yes, she waited that long and I was really sorry that she had to because I would've been lost without her.

We chilled at the canteen area (she wasn't really supposed to go there, but I didn't know what magic she had to work to get inside) and drank coffee (for free!). We then went home exhausted, but with happy faces. Thirteen hours of travelling and talking and exams was worth it! FIRST JOB!