We Are Like a Box of Crayons

"Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises." -- Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Tips on Successfully Getting a Job at a Call Center

Business Process Outsourcing has become a trend in the business world nowadays. More and more call centers have been sprouting rapidly in Asia particularly here in the Philippines. If you are a fresh graduate, you might be thinking of trying your luck at one of these BPO companies. Being one of the call center agents for 3 years now, let me give you a few tips on how to successfully pass the Job Interview.


A call center screening process has typically 3 stages:

First Stage: Initial Interview
Second Stage: Examination or Assessment
Third Stage: Final Interview with the HR Manager or Account Manager


Initial Interview

It can be conducted either in person or over the phone. If you're applying online, most likely, you will receive a phone call for an initial interview over the phone. Usually, the interviewer asks a series of questions (like 3-5 questions) about you.



Most Common Question on a job interview:

“Tell Me about Yourself”

At this point, the interviewer is looking at your resume, thus, there’s no need to repeat everything you wrote on your resume.

Tip: Give answers that would say more about your character as a person like…

Basically, I’m the kind of person who enjoys working with different kinds of individual. I think the thought of working with different kinds of people of different characters and how one would adapt or adjust with each other is very challenging and I like/love challenges. I enjoy variations and can appreciate individuality.

Common Mistakes: Beginning the answer with “I am and I live in . In other words, please stop telling what’s obviously written in your resume.

Continue reading more tips about Passing the Initial Interview through this link.

Please click here to read on how I answered the Final Interview: Interview with the Account Manager

Flu Vaccine, Skin Allergy and Tags

I got tagged by Bluguy, Lovely, Mizmean and Neex.

Part 1
Eight things I’m looking forward to:
1. Go back to Kawasan Falls this month.
2. Get an internet connection at home.
3. Watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
4. Learn how to drive a car.
5. Learn how to drive a big bike (motor).
6. Date someone by the seashore at sunset.
7. Get a new physical therapist for my scoliosis.
8. Get back to the gym and work out soon.


Eight things I did yesterday:
1. Woke up at around 9:00 am. No, I was not in my spongebob boxers. LOL
2. Exercising - Stretched, bent, jumped, and jogged from around 9:00 to 10:00 am.
3. Watched MYX while eating breakfast, perhaps around 10:30 am.
4. At around 10:45 to 11:30 am: Bathed and got dressed.
5. Arrived in the office at exactly 12:45 pm. My work starts at 1:00 pm. Yey! Early bird ako! =)
6. The other day, our company clinic blasted an e-mail to all employees asking to confirm their registration for flu vaccination. So yesterday, I went to the 5th floor to have myself vaccinated.
The nurse was kinda cute. She reminds me of Maja Salvador and Kim Chiu rolled into one. LOL

Nurse: “Are you allergic to anything?”
Me: “Yes, I hate to admit it but I’m allergic to needles.” *sabay smile, nagpapa-cute kahit di naman!* LOL
Nurse: “That’s quite common. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna use a needle. It’s called syringe.”
*she smiled back! at biglang parang narinig ko ang kanta ni David Archuleta...*
...U got me hypnotized so mesmerized and I just got to know...
Me: Cool! Okay! Let’s bring it on!
*abot tenga ang ngiti.*
And just when she was about to pierce me with the syringe, buti na lang natauhan ako. Aside from the fact that the syringe has a needle, I remember I have skin allergies pala.
Me: Wait! I have skin allergies pala. Bawal sa'kin ang eggs, crabs, balot, prawns, at kung anu-ano pang seafoods.

LOL. I’m not sure if it made you laugh. Haha.



7. Worked til 10 pm.

8. Went home at 10:15 pm.

Eight things I wish I could do.
1. Drive a car.
2. Get a good and knowledgeable physical therapist.
3. Fly. Literally, I wish I could fly like a bird.
4. Swim like a fish in the oceans.
5. Run very fast like a cheetah.
6. Keep everyone who really matters to me.
7. Have the courage to tell someone how much that someone means to me.
8. Stop myself from falling for the wrong person.
~~~


Like what I always say, it's not compulsory guys! It's all up to you. No pressure.
PS: Thank you Lovely and Bluguy for the blog award! :) I appreciate it so much, beyond words.

Spongebob Boxer Briefs

Today, I had a very bad morning. I woke up at exactly 8:00 AM because it was extremely hot. I felt like I was on fire. No, I felt like I was in an oven. I checked out my electric fan and I could see that the dial is in the ON position. I pressed the light switch. Then the light came on.

“Geezzz! I need a new electric fan!” I blurted.

I went outside and stand along the alley as it was very hot inside our house. I whistled to summon the wind. “Wheoooooooowwww!!” And the wind was obedient. As I was enjoying the morning sunshine, the fresh air and the pleasant music created by the tiny birds, I noticed that every passer by would stare at me for like 2-3 seconds and smile. Then I smiled back. Then they would turn their head away but the silly smiles are still on their faces. Some would crinkle their nose or shake their head while smiling. So, I was like, “Hey what’s going on?”

Then a pretty 19-year-old-girl-next-door shouted, “Hey spongebob looks good on you!” Then, that’s when I realized I got no clothes on except my skimpy spongebob boxer briefs. OMG!!! Geez, what a way to jumpstart my day!

Lesson learned, humarap sa salamin bago lumabas ng bahay! LOL

***


Tagged for the Nth time

I got tagged again. *sigh* *Feeling sikat na'ko ngayon sunod-sunod na kayang ang tag sa'kin* LOL.

This time by a very pretty nurse named Shel to list down 5 facts about me. I wonder what will I have in return for doing this tag. Hmm.. Kahit vaccine man lang against Swine Flu. Ayos na. Hehe.

I already had a post pretty similar to this and it was also a tag entry. It’s entitled Ten Random Things About Me. Therefore, let me just copy and paste some facts from that post to this entry. Hehe. I hope you don’t mind.

1. I was born in Valenzuela City, Metro Manila. We moved back to Cebu when I was 5.

2. I used to be a mommy's boy when I was younger. But as I was growing up, we've had conflicts which created a slight gap between us. But that does not alter the fact that I love my mom so much.

3. I stand 5 feet and 6 inches. I have always been unhappy with my height and I am so obsessed of gaining more height until now. Too bad, CHERIFER is no longer working for me. Please help me!

4. I have a mild thoracic dextroscoliosis 25 degrees. My back looks a little uneven but no, I’m not a hunchback. For more information about scoliosis, visit Wikipedia.com and enter “scoliosis”. Hehe. *wink*

5. One of the movies that made me cry in a movie house was Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence (2001). The movie is basically about a story of a boy robot. It's like a modern Pinocchio movie (as if di nyo napanood, hehe). I was saddened by the fact that he went very far but was not able to accomplish his goal, which is, to look for the blue fairy who can make him a real boy. And that scene wherein his "mom" abandoned him in the woods because they thought he might hurt their real son, oh it's just so heart-breaking.

That would be all for today! Have a great day guys!

We choose how we see people. When we want to like someone, we can be so tolerant. When we want to be irritated by people, we focus on their faults. It's not other people's behavior that determines how we feel about them - it's our attitude. - Anonymous

What’s Eating You?

It’s been almost a week or a little over a week since my last post. Actually, I already have made two rough drafts for my next entries. And what’s taking me so long to publish them is that I have been a little ambivalent on which entry should I publish first. And until now, I have still yet to decide. Thus, to make a halt on the increasing gap between my last post and my next post, I hereby, publish this “mema”-entry. Note: I got the term from ChaosPilot’s blog entry entitled “MEMA”. (Derived from “May ma-“ like memasabi lang or memapost lang. hehe)

I got tagged by Bluguy. According to the rule, answer each question in just one word. I’ll try.

Where is your cellphone? locker

Are you currently in a relationship? No

What's the color of your hair? black

Describe your work. chatting

Describe your sister. supergirl

What's your favorite thing? cellphone

What's your dream last night? mystical

What's your favorite drink? milk-tea

What's your dream car? Porsche-Panamera

The room you’re in: office

Describe your shoes. leather

What's your greatest fear? falling

What do you want to be in ten years? rich

Who did you hang-out with this week-end? cousins

What are you not good at? breakdancing

One of your wish list items: Sports-car

Where you grew up? Cebu


Last thing you did: bloghopping

Your pet: dog

Your computer: laptop

Your life: gift

Your mood: dizzy

What are thinking about right now? future

Your favorite color: olive-green

Last time you laughed: a-while-ago

Last time you cried: last-week

What do you think about school? cool

Describe love: crazy

Describe the person who gave you this tag: cool

Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment. - Grenville Kleiser 1868-1953, American Author

“What’s eating you?”

My 12-year old cousin was asking me, “Kuya, what’s eating you?” I was a little startled with her question, so I was like, “Huh?” Then she said, “Dugay na man ko wa kita nimo… what’s eating you?” (I haven’t seen you for a while, what’s eating you?)

Instead of answering her, I ran to the nearest computer and I made a little research about it. I googled, “what’s eating you?” (Akalain mong mas marami pang alam na figure of speech yung bata, kesa sakin. Tsk tsk!)

I learned that, “What’s Eating You?” can be interpreted as:
* What’s consuming your time lately?
* What’s bugging you?
* What’s making you busy lately?

So, what’s eating me lately?

Basically, these are the things that's currently "eating" me aside from my regular job:

• Blogging and Bloghopping - I am having fun, aren't you?


• Pet Society / Facebook
  Do you have a facebook account? If you do, and if you’ve heard about Pet Society, then yes, that’s one of the online games that’s currently consuming my time. Feel free to add me up. Simply search Ray Bajan on facebook and add me up. Thank you.

• DOTA: Defense of the Ancients is a custom scenario for Warcraft III, based on the "Aeon of Strife" map for StarCraft The objective of the scenario is to destroy the opponents' "Ancient". The two teams' ancients are heavily guarded structures at opposing corners of the map. Players use powerful units known as heroes, and are assisted by allied heroes and AI-controlled fighters called "creeps". As in role-playing games, players level up their hero and use gold to buy equipment during the mission. Source: Wikipedia.com

• Reading Awake! Magazine: Awake! is a general-interest magazine published by the The WatchTower Organization. The title comes from Mark 13:33 and Luke 12:36. It is considered a companion magazine to The Watchtower which focuses mostly on Bible study and doctrine. Awake! has a wider scope than the Watchtower, publishing articles on science, nature and geography, usually with a religious slant.


• Chatting with friends online. Most of these online friends are young OFW's. I have always dreamed of working abroad that's why almost every once in a while I give these guys a buzz on YM and ask them about how is it like living and working abroad.

On my next post, I will be featuring some young OFW with a glimpse of their stories.

Does Our Handwriting Tell a Story?

Have you ever felt like you were cursed to carry a heavier-than-the-planet-Earth kind of responsibility that lasts a lifetime unless you do something about it like passing the curse to someone else? That’s the kind of feeling that I get every time someone got me tagged to do a task. Haha! Of course, I’m just exaggerating.

Anyways, for the third time, I got tagged to do something and that something involves writing something and take a picture of it and display it on my something… uhmm blog. At first, I was worried about accomplishing this tag because I never liked my handwriting. But if there’s one thing that this so-called blogosphere has ever taught me, that is to never turn a blogger-friend down especially if that blogger-friend is the ever gorgeous and beautiful Ms. Winkie. Yes, it’s her again for the second time, she got me tagged. I just realized I’m her favorite when it comes to "cursing" err tagging a blogger-friend. But that’s okay, at least that means she acknowledges my existence as a blogger.

And so as I was doing the task, I was wondering who started this kind of tag-game so I could ask him/her what really the purpose of this tag-game is. Is there a moral lesson that one can get out of this game? And then I realized just like any other tag-game, maybe (just maybe) this can strengthen the “bond” or develop friendship among the bloggers.

In what way? Well, Aristotle once said, “Handwriting is the visible form of speech.” In other words, our handwriting can tell a lot about our character as an individual.

"When you pick up a pen and begin to write, everything that ever happened to you coalesces and travels down the nerves from your brain, through your arm, into your hand and out onto the paper in the flow of ink from your pen," wrote graphologist Sheila Lowe in her book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Handwriting Analysis,". (O ayan, may libreng plugging pa…^_^)

In fact, graphologists also believe in the connection between handwriting and personality. And since I am not good at describing myself, I think showing my handwriting to you guys is one way of telling a little bit more about myself. (Naks! As if you would care to know more about me. Haha!!)

So without further ado, here are the rules of the tag:

1. Write down who tagged you.
2. Answer these:
- your name / username / pseudo
- right-handed or left-handed?
- your favorite letters to write?
- your least favorite letters to write?
- Write “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
3. Tag five persons.

Pardon my penmanship guys!

Yes Dencios, Lovely (of AnakngPating), Bluguy, Zyra and Payatot (of Lahat dito Chubby)! I got you tagged. Heheh!! You have to get it done within this week or else something "bad" will happen to you. Just kidding! It's up to you guys, this is not compulsory but we'd love to see your handwritings.

By the way, I took this "What Does Your Handwriting Say About You" quiz. And this is the result.

Your Handwriting Says You Are Somewhat Traditional

You are a fairly energetic person. You know how do pace yourself, and you deal well with stress. You are very extroverted and outgoing. You are loving, friendly, and supportive. However, you are also manipulative and controlling at times. You are balanced and grounded. You know how to get along well with others. You need a bit of space in your life, but you're not a recluse. You expect people to give you a small amount of privacy, and you respect their privacy as well. You are somewhat traditional, but you are also open to change. You listen to your head and your heart. You are a decent communicator. You eventually get your point across, but sometimes you leave things a bit ambiguous.

What Does Your Handwriting Say About You?