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Showing posts from May, 2007

14 Call Center Interview Questions & Answers

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The call center industry is one of the fastest growing in the country these days. As recently as ten years ago, there were only a few call center agents and the word call center was hardly ever used in the country. Today, almost every family has at least one member working in the call center industry. The reason for this boom is partly economics. In the Philippines, low paying jobs are very notorious and while call centers set up shop here because of the low labor costs, Filipinos decide to work for the call center industry because it pays higher than average wages. Consider this: if you are an average worker with an entry level position, you probably are getting paid seven to ten thousand a month; meanwhile, an average employee in the call center industry with an entry level position will get around fifteen thousand pesos a month, plus free dental and health benefits (HMO). Call centers also will pay your SSS (Social Security), PAGIBIG (home building fund), and PhilHealth (health ins...
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6 Ways to Write a Bad Resume

Below is a list of ways to write a bad resume. 1. Include pre school in your educational background This is one of the most common mistakes people write in their resumes. Employers do not need to know where you went for your formative years. They just need to know where you went for college. 2. Lie about your "Awards" in college There are some people who would do anything to get to get their dream job. Some would even go as far as lying about their 'awards' in college. But be warned! Lying can only get you in trouble. All lies that you included in your resume would surely come out during your interview. What if you said that you got awarded the best in debate award? Surely the interviewer would notice that you are not in fact a debater! And what about the inconsistencies you are bound to make? 3. Do not include the jobs that you resigned from and were fired from While you might think this is a good idea, it is NOT. If you will exclude these data, your po...
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The Philippine Electorate has Finally Grown Up!

Last May 14, 2007, Filipinos from all walks of life flocked to polling centers to weave their future. Around 40 senatorial wannabes vied for their votes, but only 12 will be chosen. The usual problems during election time resurfaced. Vote buying, flying voters, human errors, movie stars and posters marred the election season. Unbeknownst to the proverbial candidate, the sleeping intellectuals which we call Filipinos have woken up from its deep slumber. Yes, dear readers, we have finally grown up! The problems might have been your usual problems (i.e. voters not being able to find their names and voters names being removed from the voting list) but so far the outcome have been more than the usual. In fact, it was extraordinary. As of the latest, 7 GO candidates are making it to the top 12 with legarda on top. What is interesting in these results is that Antonio Trillanes (who practically did not campaign) made it! We can also see that the movie stars have apparently lost their m...
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An Interview with a Former Idol Hopeful

Today I got to chance to talk with Idol Wannabe Apple Chiu from Philippine Idol Season 1. Through instant messaging, Apple detailed her co idol hopefuls whereabouts. Gian (as everybody knows is in SOP), Mau, Jan, and Pow are gracing corporate events and doing gigs, Drae is under bellhouse (don't know what that is), Reymond is of course with stages, Jelli apparently is a host of a show in Channel 4. She further explains that she (Apple), Arms, and Ken perform at Shangri-La EDSA every Tuesday. In our short chat, Apple confirms that the rumours about PI 2 not happening this year is true. On American Idol, she says that she is happy to see her bet (Blake Lewis) make it to the Final 2. When asked about whether the PI contestants were still in touch with ABC 5, she says that they are still in communication with ABC 5 indirectly. Apple says that their performances (in Shangri La EDSA) are uploaded to YouTube. I found these: Apple Chiu and Ken Dingle sing Umagang Kay Ganda during...
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Lesson 1

Last night I was able to learn a very valuable lesson from the Apprentice. Keep the main objective in mind. Do not be distracted by less important tasks. When you are asked to handle a birthday party, concentrate on coming up with the food and the place first. Do not get side tracked by less important tasks such as the balloons, the clown, and the party bags. Tasks of lesser importance can be done but only if you have the luxury of time. Whenever you encounter an enormous task, ask yourself: what am I being asked to do? Most tasks are simple. The problem with most people is that they fail to see the bigger picture. In life, you have always got to remember your main objective. Keep your focus straight. That is what will catapult you to success.
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Will Spammers go to Hell?

The other day I was advertising Pinoy Penster Community  (now defunct) on several Filipino Forums. I soon got a pissed off webmaster on the Pinoy Penster Community online Forum suddenly threatening to bring down the site. If I'm not mistaken the guy was probably talking about a DDOS attack. Anyway I got pretty scared and for days I didn't spam any forum. This got me into thinking, does God think spamming is a sin? I mean a lot of people get mad at spammers. Does that make spammers sinners? The way I look at it, spamming is almost like TV commercials. You don't ask for them, but they are there showing up in between your favorite TV shows. Isn't spam the same? We don't ask for it but it is there. Besides why would you use the internet if you are sick with spam? The same goes for TV commercials. Why would you watch TV if you don't like commercials? The answer ladies and gentlemen is simple, we do it because underneath that huge pile of (possibly) senseles...
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My Vote is My Future

The following are the people I would like to serve me for the next few years: Paredes, Zosimo Jesus Zubiri, Juan Miguel Trillanes, Antonio Sison, Adrian Lacson, Panfilo Bautista, Martin Escudero, Francis Defensor, Michael Pangilinan, Francis Arroyo, Joker Cantal, Felix Coseteng, Anna Dominique When I voted for these people, I felt a bit guilty. You see it took me less than 3 minutes to come up with this list. Although Sison, Paredes, Bautista, Escudero, Trillanes, and Defensor have long been in my list. The others are just a product of a 3 minute contemplation. While leaving the polling center, I saw many people still looking for their names. I think what was wrong was the fact that the 'master list' was not in an alphabetical order. The list was according to location. But what about the people not living in a congested area? I think information dissemination was not also good. People who did not know their precinct number could very well have used Comelec...
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Phishers Hit Auction.ph

Recently, members have emailed Auction.ph reporting an email which is said to have come from the Safeharbor department of Auction.ph. The email tries to get Western Union Money Transfer forms information from Auction.ph members. Auction.ph explains that they offer safe transactions through their escrow system. Transactions outside Auction.ph's escrow system are unprotected. From Auction.ph: Here's how the Escrow system protects you: How buyers are protected: The payment you made for the item will only be remitted to the seller once you confirm that you received your item in good condition. You may request for a refund or an exchange if you are unsatisfied with the item you received. If the seller fails to send the proper item, your money will be refunded. How sellers are protected: You can ship items with confidence knowing the buyer has already sent payment to Auction.ph. If your buyer requests for a refund or exchange but fails to ship an item bac...
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One Year of being an Unico Hijo

I didn't even notice it but it has been a year since my brother left for Manila. Since then I was an only son. Let me describe the experience of being an only son. But let me warn you though, it wouldn't be an accurate one since I only experienced it for a year and at the age of 19 already. Anyway, being an 'only son' is not quite different. I feel so guilty for saying this but I don't think I miss my brother. Maybe it is the fact that I am so busy with school that I did not even notice he wasn't around. Maybe it's the fact that when he was here he was always on the computer and so was I. Maybe I am just good in coping. I am not proud of it but I can suppress myself from falling in love, feeling lonely, and all those bad emotions. I don't know how I do this but I am always reserved. I guess I don't have anything to say about being an only son. At most it taught me one thing. I am ready for a life of my own.
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Things to Remember when Writing your Resume

In pursuing your career, a good resume is always a must. Here are some important things you should remember about writing your resume. Educational Background Your employer needs to know which college you attended. In fact, some employers would altogether overlook the rest of your resume and hire you based only on the college that you attended. But don't over do it! Employers don't need to know where you went for your primary and high school education. If you are fresh out of college, you wouldn't have any work experience to back you up. Here is where you awards will come in handy. If you graduated summa cum laude then your employer will definitely be more tempted to hire you! Remember that any achievement in college which you have a certificate to back up is worth putting on your resume. You could also mention the fact that you are a scholar. Be it academic or service. Being an academic scholar gives your employer an impression that you are very intelligent or at...
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People from Gen San are Sensible

Darlene Custodio will win a seat in the Congress, that is what a survey done in General Santos says. The said survey was conducted by the camp of Custodio and thus its validity is questionable. The one who conducted the survey have reiterated though that the survey is based on scientific principles. I really do hope the survey they conducted was indeed honest as this would mean a significant turning point in the Filipino's attitude towards elections. What is wrong with this Manny Pacquaio guy anyway? I mean honestly...why would he run for the congress? All he's saying is that he wants to help the people. But for goodness sakes, you would be able to help people more if you are a Mayor or a Barangay captain. A congressman's job is to make laws. Where would he fit in the congress? Do we see this guy debating and giving speeches? Seriously! I want to help people but you don't see me running for a public office. Someday I would like to know what makes these kind of peo...
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A Sudden Nurse at Midnight

This morning at around 12:30 AM I heard loud gasping-for-breath sounds. I quickly rose up and nanoseconds later I was out of my room calling for my mom. I know I can't explain this thoroughly but during those moments (between the time that I heard my mom gasping for breath and calling her name), there was an adrenalin surge in me. And so with lightning speed and with anxiety comparable to the one I get when I am on duty, I was off to rescue my mom. Even before I got in I knew she was having an asthma attack. Suddenly I found myself looking back to my exposures in the hospital. Never mind the theories I learned in the classroom, I forgot all about them. And so I remember handling this patient in the emergency room once who had an asthma attack. I remember her blood pressure being high, her skin cold and clammy, and perspiring. The old lady was soon vomiting probably due to nausea which can be attributed to difficult of breathing. Anyway I didn't do much for my mom really. ...
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An Ode to Joy

It is 3 in the morning and sleep seem to be so far away. Anyway as usual (when I am idle), I reflect. Scenes from years ago suddenly came to mind. Those embarassing moments, proud instances, and make or break situations. I said to myself, it has been three years that I am trying to live a life of normalcy doing nursing. Three years of superficial smiles, anxiety, depression, and of course triumphs. I know that a few weeks from now I would again have to battle the same nightmares. This final year of my nursing (hopefully) is going to be very crucial for a lot of reasons. I shudder at the thought of having to complete all the cases needed for me to take up the NLE. I cringe thinking of another full year ahead of me which is surely to be filled with a lot of frustrations, depression, embarassment, adrenalin, and of course joy. I do take great comfort in the fact that I managed to survive three years of this kind of life. It was just a few years ago that I handled my first patient in...
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It's not easy...

The past few weeks I have been spamming forums and contacting blog/website owners for a link exchange. Slowly my number of visitors began to climb. From an average of around 70 per day, it reached 130 per day. My page views also increased dramatically. So after this aggressive marketing campaign of mine, I had more or less twenty very active members. This is good because finally my forum was getting posts everyday. People are commenting on works regularly. The past few days though have been difficult. I finally felt the burden of having many visitors. Along it comes deleting spam, moderating the forum, and deleting double posts. Due to the advice of an online friend of mine, I decided to change the theme of the site. The new theme was great looking. Some complained that it loaded very slowly. I agree to that as well but I couldn't do anything as the loading time was a result of the theme's feature of showing up only when the page is done loading. And then there is the issue...
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