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Showing posts from April, 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...

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...

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.

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...

A Simple Retirement Plan for Young Filipinos

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One of the tenets of personal finance is retirement planning. Retirement planning is setting aside a fixed amount regularly with the hopes of it growing over time and benefiting from it upon one’s retirement. While retirement planning has always been in the minds of people in developed countries, it is a fairly new idea in our developing nation that has gained ground very recently. To most Filipinos, much like death, retirement is something that shouldn't be planned ahead. The accepted practice in this country is that parents, in their old age rely on their children heavily for financial support. While it is often a noble idea to rescue one’s parents from destitution, it puts a lot of stress on the children of these parents. I should know because I work in an office and I have heard a lot of stories wherein children pay for their parent’s past financial mistakes. To make matters worst, Filipino popular culture would always romanticize the idea of the hard working children helpin...