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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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This is How Real Money Looks Like

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  Click to enlarge This was one of the gemstones I found at Yuchenco museum the last time I visited it. This used to be the paper money under US occupation when paper money was convertible into gold and silver.  Paper money was basically a certificate for gold and silver deposited into the state's coffers.  I don't know how they were able to deceive the people into accepting paper as money but even during the 1950s, paper money still had reminders written on it that it was legal tender, a clear indication that people back then still knew that there was something funny about using paper as money. Today, I am hearing more people getting interested in gold as money. Is a gold standard comeback looming? Lettering on the paper bill: TREASURY CERTIFICATE BY AUTHORITY OF AN ACT OF THE PHILIPPINE LEGISTATURE APPROVED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 13, 1922 THIS CERTIFIES THAT THERE HAS BEEN DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS TWO PESOS PAYABLE TO THE B...
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Is The Little Prince a Book about Spirituality

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I have been listening to a lot of podcasts lately about spirituality almost everyday. Five years since I translated Le Petit Prince, I am belatedly realizing that the story of The Little Prince could have been about spirituality all along. One thing that I heard from a recent podcast that stood out for me was how stars are portals and that is where we all came from. And where does the little prince live? On an asteroid! When the little prince arrives on earth, he is greeted by a snake. He tells the snake that he wonders whether the stars are placed as guides so that one day we can come home again. Lately, whenever I am feeling tired, weary, and lonely, I find myself thinking that I'd like to go home... One of the remarkable things that struck me from the story of The Little Prince was how the little prince had to die in order for him to go back to his planet and his rose. This is how a lot of NDE experiencers talk about death by the way, a homecoming.  When my aunt died, I felt ups...
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Debunking a Misconception About the Cause of Autism

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  Yesterday, someone shared this post in Facebook. I found it amusing because I remember having a conversation with my friend about the cause of autism and its rise during the 1980s. I postulated couldn't it have been caused by something that we began routinely administering in the 1980s or even in the 1970s to children? Of course, just like in the the Facebook post, she said that oh they were simply not getting diagnosed but there were already a lot of people with autism even before the 1980s. I didn't say anything but in my mind I was asking myself why was she spending so much on speech therapy and special classes if this were the case? I mean if I knew that undiagnosed cancer cases would still lead normal lives, why in the world would I ever have the need to be diagnosed?  Or why would I ever need to spend money on interventions if I knew that everyone with a cancer diagnosis would turn out just fine?  If our parents turned out to be healthy and productive and some of ...
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Discovering a Different Perspective on Sulu's Struggle for Independence

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When I was still working, I remember reading an article about how people from Sulu wrote to the Philippine congress, opposing being part of what was about to become the Philippine republic. I recall sending it to my coworker, who told me that the Moros were correct to oppose being part of the Philippines. Today, I tried looking for that article but couldn't. Instead I found several articles about the Carpenter-Kiram treaty and how a group in Sulu (as well as the Sulu Sultanate) is calling for the revival of the said agreement through a congressional act. https://tribune.net.ph/2024/12/31/group-pushes-to-revive-us-statehood-movement-for-mindanao-and-sulu According to this article , the US actually governed Mindanao and Sulu separately from Luzon and Visayas. This brings to mind the UK where (if I'm not mistaken), the king governs scotland separately as well. I remember reading about this several years ago and this is the reason why the king has a different title in Scotland.  An...
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Revisiting Booksale: A Trip Down Memory Lane

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Last night, I saw an ad in Facebook from Booksale that they were having a Valentine sale. Today, I decided to give them a visit. The caption reads buy books with your date which you will never read Booksale is a bookstore with branches across the Philippines specializing in used and cheap books. Booksale is very memorable for me because when I was new in Manila, this was where I would buy books. Yes, back then, I still bought physical books. I even had a monthly budget for books and DVDs in my notebook (no spreadsheets yet).  I remember always behaving like a kid inside a candy store whenever I visited Booksale because their store at Mindpro  (recently gobbled up by SM), which used to be the lone mall in Zamboanga city wasn't very well stocked and did not have great selections. Of course, I'm pretty sure that this was not the same booksale in SM North that I bought books from between 2007 and 2009. They had probably changed location within the same mall over the years. At the ...
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The Little Prince Street Kohi Festival

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Last February 1 and 2, The Little Prince Street Kohi Festival brought together fans, collectors, and enthusiasts in a first-of-its-kind event in the country. It was a memorable two-day event as fans of the French novella had a chance to meet each other and become friends.  There were several activities featured at the festival centered around The Little Prince such as watercolor painting sessions, book readings, and book signings. Visitors could also browse shops selling unique Little Prince merchandise and trinkets. For entertainment, there was a Little Prince musical and storytelling as well as various other musical performances. They even had some Little Prince paintings commissioned specifically for the event! Little Prince Art Exhibit Little Prince Philippine Editions I had a wonderful time meeting fellow translators of The Little Prince and sharing experiences and insights with them. We had very interesting conversations. I also got to meet Dr. Lilia Antonio who was the first...
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