By "THEY", I mean the employers and the human resources departments in every company in BPO Philippines who write out their job placement advertisements and have these published as classifieds on the newspapers and job boards/portals…
Do you sometimes wonder what do THEY mean when they're looking for applicants with 'pleasing personality', 'ability to work independently', 'can work on holidays'?
Knowing what the employers want in their potential employees can help you prepare to become their ideal candidate or give you an idea what sort of job you're applying for, the company that you're getting into just to make sure that this is the kind of employment you want for yourself…
"...with pleasing personality...", "...with good interpersonal skills...", "...strong people skills..."
Employers, executives depend on harmony in the work place to get good performance and successful results from their employees. It would be irresponsible of them if they hire someone who can cause disagreements and conflicts in the office.
Employees need to cooperate to get the job done. People who are friendly, polite, courteous, respectful of others, able to control themselves and take responsibility of their words and actions in relating with their fellow employees are what employers look for to build a team or a workforce.
Those who are temperamental, rude, untidy, bad-mannered, vulgar in words and actions will be reprimanded and if they still persist with their negative attitude causing an unfriendly work environment will get fired from the company.
"…excellent communication skills…"
To promote cooperation, there must be good communication. Mistakes and failures are often caused by misunderstandings and miscommunication. Ideas and requests are best relayed correctly, simply and directly.
Excellent communication skills doesn't mean being able to talk and write in English well. It is being able to organize and deliver the necessary information completely, correctly and competently so that there will not be a chance for error or confusion even if it means using the local language, instead of English, to deliver the message correctly.
Excellent communication skills mean also being able to determine the best medium to deliver information or requests—communication can be delivered by speaking or writing. The applicant must have experience in knowing which medium of communication serves the situation, as well as the work, best.
"...must be computer-literate...", "...with working knowledge of computers..."
Most, if not all, companies use computers in their daily business. It is expected that employees should be able to work a computer and its office applications for documentation, bookkeeping, and communication
Applicants are also expected to know their way around the Internet, how to communicate using email and chat.
"...ability to work independently...", "...with less supervision..."
Employers want their employees to have initiative: the spirit to take things forward to a positive result. Once given a workload or task, an employee should diligently complete it as soon as possible and hopefully, go beyond expectations.
To work independently also means that the employee can do the assigned work without always being told what to do by the employer. The employee can immediately figure out how the job works, and what resources are needed and what the objectives are, and meets these objectives without the supervisor always checking in on the employee's progress.
This is simply because employers and supervisors have only a limited time for training and close, direct supervision. Employers look for employees who can immediately take to the job and work effectively with the team.
"...the ideal candidate is expected to be self-motivated, pro-active, and solution-oriented individual..."
Similar to 'being able to work independently', a self-motivated employee is one who has ambition, who wants to be noticed and promoted and so he or she works diligently, intelligently to achieve the required results and goes beyond expectations by working to make the job and the company better (pro-active) and is able to handle problems and other issues quickly to good resolutions without troubling his/her employer or team (solution-oriented).
A good, self-motivated employee gets promoted when he or she prevents problems and proposes plans or performs projects that makes the company more successful.
"...ability to adapt and excel in a fast-paced work environment..."
There are companies who have hectic workplaces because of the nature of the work they do, like delivery companies (DHL, UPS) and banks. Companies, teams work on project deadlines, schedules to meet the demand of customers and clients for the products and services these companies supply. Some companies work on fast, tight schedules to meet demand.
If you're the sort of person who think you give out your best under pressure, like to think fast, move fast and work fast, this sort of work environment might best suit you.
But if you know that you need time to think, pace yourself in doing work so that it comes out careful and correct, then you better think twice in applying for a company whose advertisement states 'a fast-paced environment'.
"...can work on holidays, graveyard, and shifting schedules..."
There are companies whose workload requires operations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Like shopping malls have employees to serve and cater to customers during holidays.
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) facilities such as call centers need their agents to work on holidays, as well as night (graveyard) shifts to cater 24/7 services to callers, their requests and complaints.
To give everyone a chance to enjoy a holiday or a normal weekend, the employees of call centers experience changes in their work schedules on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. This is also due to meeting call demands on "peak seasons" especially when the workforce is low on number, one month your days-off will be set on a Monday-Tuesday, the next month these will be on a Thursday-Friday.
"...willingness to learn and improve..."
The ideal employee is someone who is eager, enthusiastic about the job and shows it by being interested to learn about it, knows how to learn from mistakes and do better. It also means that an employee wants to make the job better, to get better results that can either earn the company profit or save the company costs.
Companies are looking for employees who can be 'assets', not just sources of labor but sources of intelligence and innovation who can create a new product or propose a service or plan out a new process that the company can use to its own advantage.
Employees are valuable assets when they learn their role and responsibilities to the company and help it improve, for the long-term, for its good.
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It is to be hoped that this article helps you gain a better understanding of the language used in these job placement advertisements you read through in newspapers and job portals. This is in order to help you find the company that you feel is best for you and the bright future in BPO Philippines you have to work for.
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