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Showing posts from 2014

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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How to Register to Smart's, Sun Cellular's & Talk N Text's Free Internet

Smart, Sun Cellular & Talk N Text offered FREE INTERNET from September 2014 to early March 2015 and is now again offering FREE INTERNET through Internet.org, which is a Facebook-led initiative. Internet.org aims to make internet accessible to countries like Colombia, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, India and Zambia. Interested subscribers will have to text the word INTERNET to 9999. Who can avail of this promo? All Smart, Sun Cellular & Talk N Text subscribers with at least one peso in load (airtime) are qualified to avail of the FREE INTERNET offer. Are there any limitations to Smart's, Sun Cellular's & Talk N Text's FREE INTERNET? Yes. Only the following websites can be accessed for free: *Facebook *Facebook Messenger *Dictionary.com *Thesaurus.com *Wattpad *MAMA *UNICEF facts for Life *Ask.com *Bing *WikiHow *Wikipedia *Jobstreet *OLX.ph *Pesos and Sense  *Accuweather *Girl Effect *Female Network *ESPN *Inquirer *Interaksyon *Phil Star...
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I am now a Registered Voter for the 2016 Elections

I was heading home when I decided to drop by the mall. When I got there, I saw a sign that said: COMELEC Election 2016 Registration. I remember seeing something about this on the news on TV. The news report, however, said that it is only for those who are registered in Mandaluyong. I assumed that this meant that it is for people who are reactivating their profiles with COMELEC and were registered in Mandaluyong. I remember feeling disappointed upon hearing this bit of information from the news report. So when I saw the sign at the entrance of the mall about the election 2016 registration, I didn't pay too much attention to it. When I got to the registration area, I decided to explain to them my situation anyway and was pleasantly surprised when they told me that I could register for the 2016 elections right then and there. I used to be a registered voter in Zamboanga city and voted in the 2006 elections. Because, I have not voted in two consecutive elections since then, my rec...
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Bucket List of 17 Things To Do in the Historic District of Zamboanga City

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Vigan is best known for Calle Crisologo, a street dotted with numerous Spanish-era houses. For years, I had been trying to plan a trip to that very historic and romantic place, but I realize now that in my hometown, we have our own Calle Crisologo . Zamboanga city's Calle Crisologo stretches from Plaza Pershing to Fort Pilar. In that stretch of pavement, one can find several commercial, civic, religious, government, and residential edifices that boast of architecture from the early 18th century to the early 20th century. Traveling through Zamboanga city's historic district can be done and is best done on foot. Here is my bucket list of 17 things to do in Zamboanga city's historic district. Don't forget to click on the photos to enlarge them . 1. Marvel at the Unique Architecture of the City Hall  source: https://heritageconservation.wordpress.com/   2. Order some Cheeseburgers from McDonald's   3. Watch the Sunset at Paseo Del Mar 4. Say a P...
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The World's Most Pristine Pink Sand Beach: Santa Cruz Islands

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Have you ever heard of pink sand? There's white sand, and yes there are also pink sand beaches. Source: journeyingjames.com There is a reason you most probably have not yet heard of a pink sand beach. That is because pink sand beaches are very rare the world over. In fact, if you google the keywords: Pink Sand Beaches, you'll come up with only a handful of search results. The more known ones can be found in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Greece, and the Carribean. In the Philippines, we do have a pink sand beach, and it can be found in the Santa Cruz Islands (located in Zamboanga City, Philippines). Source: http://beachresortphilippines.net/ The Santa Cruz Islands are actually composed of the Great Santa Cruz Island and the Little Santa Cruz Island. The former one being the pink sand beach and the latter one being a white sand beach. Source: http://www.promdingchamimay.com You're probably wondering how the sands here became pink, right? Well, as with white...
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The Defiance of the Color Yellow

At around one in the morning today, I woke up from a dream. My dream was about a political rally in support of the current president. Everyone was, of course, wearing yellow. My immediate reaction upon waking up surprised, surprise that I would dream about politics. Have I been watching too much news programs lately? Do I love this country so much that I even dream about her? When it was announced on TV that the president was going to give a televised address, I naively thought that he was going to resign. I was so disappointed when he made all those defensive and defiant remarks. I felt like the current president has become too proud and stubborn just like the previous one used to be. I was really hoping that the current president will resign because it will set a precedent for future leaders to resign whenever they do something tainted with doubt and suspicion. It will also plant the idea in people's minds that every government official who does something similar should resig...
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7 Tips on How to Collect Debt from Friends and Family

The title of this post is how to collect a debt from friends and family, but in reality the tips found in this post can apply to collecting debts from just about anyone, your cousins, co-workers, tenants, you name it. It often feels awkward to collect a debt from people whom we love; we often think that doing so will mean that we are putting money above our relationship with them. The aim of this post is to help people recover monetary loss derived from loaning money to friends and family in a very gentlemanly manner. How to Collect Debt from Friends and Family Tip #1- Express Your Intention to Collect the Debt The most important part of debt collection is deciding to collect the debt. Most of the times when a friend or a family does not pay their debt, it is due to noncollection (in the debtor's part). In other words, when your friend or family does not hear from you about the debt, they usually assume that you don't need the payment. While you may think that this is n...
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Lessons From The BDO Financial Wellness Seminar

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The entire seminar was basically a differentiation between mutual funds, UITFs, and VULs. When it comes to costs of operation, mutual funds are at a disadvantage. Since mutual funds are corporations, they pay a lot of fees relating to their entity; this is probably why they have front or back end fees. Both mutual funds and UITFs, however, have management fees. These fees, however, are already incorporated into the NAVPS or the NAVPU, so investors don’t feel them anymore. Have you ever wondered how the NAVPS or the NAVPU are being computed? These two figures are computed using this formula: total money (assets) of the mutual fund/ UITF – total expenses (such as management fees) divided by number of shares/units. When it comes to disclosures, mutual funds are required to be more open whereas UITFs are not. You can even demand information such as the CEO’s age from the mutual fund you invest in. One thing that I learned from Ffren Cruz is that earnings from UITFs are strictly speaki...
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Sun Cruises' Corregidor Tour Review and Itinerary

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It is that time of the year again when I feel restless and bored, and what better way to cure this than traveling. This time I chose to go to the historic island of Corregidor. My research told me that only Sun Cruises offers ferry rides to Corregidor island from Manila, I wasn't worried though as all the reviews I found about them on the web were positive. So I went to their website and checked out the different rates and packages that they had. I was initially tempted to take the package that came with lunch but backed out when I read that the food that came with the package was not good. I decided to take the package which came with a walking tour instead primarily because I was scared of not knowing where to go when I get there. Shortly after, I called Sun Cruises to ask them if guests were allowed to bring food to the island as this was one of the suggestions of a blogger who did not find the food sold at the Corregidor island good. Now I had a pretty good impression...
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Differences Between COL Financial and Philstocks

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I decided to write a review and a comparison between COL and Philstocks to help people who are shopping around for the best stock broker in town. If you’re wondering why I chose to compare these two, it is because I have an account with them. READ:  13 Tips on How to Save Money One of the good things that you’ll hear about Philstocks is its fast speed. Day traders like speed, and you’ll find that a lot of them use Philstocks. When good news or bad news comes out, a day trader wants to be properly positioned to be able to make his trade profitable. READ:  A Guide on How to Start Saving Money Personally, what I love about Philstocks is that they allow you to withdraw money from your account without signing any forms. I’ve always hated the fact that I’d have to fill up forms and scan them every time I make a withdrawal from my COL account. When I emailed COL about this, they just said that it is a security feature that they have to prevent unauthorized withdrawals. If you...
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How to Say Yes in Different Philippine Languages

I was in Pampanga the other day and heard somebody say Wa repeatedly. Since I recognized his body language, I knew that he was saying yes multiple times in Kapampangan. As there are so many Philippine languages, this made me wonder about the ways that we say yes in the various Philippine languages.  Kapampangan- Wa Pangasinense-  On Cebuano- O, Oo Ilonggo-  Hu-o Chabacano- Si, Ho-o, oo, o-on, mm-mm, hmm-mm Ilokano- Wen Tagalog- Opo, Oho, Oo Waray- Uu As you can see, I was able to list a lot of 'yes words' for Chabacano as this is my mother tongue. I think that it is truly amazing that we have all of these different ways to say yes even though we live so close to each other. It can be observed though that these words are similar to each other in one way or another.
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Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar Review and Travel Itinerary Guide

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I wanted to go somewhere historical and so I chose the Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar . It's not your typical historic site, but it features historic houses which were painstakingly transplanted from their original locations to Bagac, Bataan. I started planning the trip by checking blog posts on Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. My research told me that there were buses at Cubao leaving every thirty minutes. My friend and I met at Nepa Q- Mart in EDSA and walked until we found a Genesis bus heading for Balanga, Bataan. I was very impressed with Genesis since they left on the dot at 6 AM. Their buses are also new and very comfy. The fare is 200 pesos per person and travel time is about three hours. There are no buses going to Bagac from Cubao so you'll have to pass by Balanga, which is like the biggest city (I think) in Bataan. The bus will take you to the Balanga terminal which has jeepneys and buses going to different parts of Bataan like Orion, Abucay, and, of course, Bagac...
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