Becoming Nocturnal (Part 1)

I was once asked if I'd give being a call center agent a try. Having been a teacher for the most part of my career life, shifting to such a direction was simply unthinkable, out of place. Then my mind raced into thinking of people with dark circles around their eyes due to lack, or perhaps absence, of sleep with coffee-filled mugs on one hand and lit cigarettes on the other. I brushed the idea aside faster than I can say"No!"

Not until last year. It was a whirlwind of events, so fast that everything is now a blur. I found myself in Sykes, a call center agent.I ate my words.

The adjustments I had to undergo had been made less tougher because I was with a group of equally adventurous and daring young professionals.The rigorous and intensive financial training sessions were interspersed with fun and light interludes which almost always got us out of the way and eventually earned us the reputation of a rowdy, undisciplined, and out-of-focus pack. Nonetheless, we managed to pull it off and were permitted to man the queue.

Being on the AMPF floor was, and still is, an opportunity for me to brush elbows with self-driven and highly motivated individuals. Nowhere else in my previous working experiences had I been in a group so intent and focused that everyone seemed to be looking in one direction. The air is charged with infectious electricity to push oneself to the limits.Months after taking live calls, few of my colleagues started being recognized for achieving the goals expected of us to meet. That was when I also started to worry. I always thought and regarded myself highly that it was so hard for me to accept that my batchmates got ahead of me while I trail behind. Surely, there must be a way to the top.

Thankfully, success stories in the account were something that were not kept secret. Best practices and innovative ways were shared around making it almost impossible to get infected with the"I-know-I-can-do-it" virus. Achievers were praised indiscriminately and I couldn't wait to bask in my fifteen seconds of fame. Well, who doesn't? It was great that in those sharing sessions, the associate-on-the-spot found a way to look at success in a different perspective. Others looked at it as a means of self-realization, some considered it a result of favorable luck being on their side, while for the religious, they offered their everyday toil to God and therefore attribute their feat as a God-given favor. Soon enough, I started being counted among the achievers. It felt good to contribute to the team's achievements and to simply belong to a high-performing group, at the envy of and inspiration to others, could not be more fulfilling.

Teambuildings were also sources of insights. The camaraderie that these activities sought to strengthen was so palpable that it doesn't seem to want reconstruction. Everyone seemed to be very supportive regardless of each others' idiosyncracies. In one of the games where every team member had to be lifted to get past the hurdle, some displayed hesitance due to their size, perhaps an accumulation of months of unchecked diet and eternally-postponed exercise. The assurance that team members afforded was just so overwhelming that crossing the hurdles went without the fear of disgust and ridicule. Here is a team mature enough to mind petty concerns reserved only for the small of minds.

Then later I found that nobility of character does not solely reside on being a teacher, as I previously thought. Call center agents too can stand among the nobles. It is noteworthy that some team mates are socially-conscious and extended invitations for outreach programs. These were opportunities to connect with the less-privileged members of the community, the latest one being with the orphans sheltered at Cebu Hope Center. The experience was heartening and humbling at the same time.Heartening in that our being able to make them smile and share what little that we have with them was more than enough to fill our hearts with ineffable joy. Humbling in that the children, though they have nothing, were a source of inspiration for us, the more fortunate ones,to continue with life's challenges no matter how the going gets tough. Bon, my team lead, couldn't have said it better when she declared, "We sought you here because you have something that we do not have."

Overall, I'm enjoying the call center experience. I discovered one more side of me--that I'm able to thrive in an industry I used to distance myself from. I'm glad I found and now belong to this group. Or is it this group that found me? I can only wonder. The realization of success and self-fulfillment manifested in a job well done will always stay deeply rooted in my consciousness, wherever destiny takes me. And I will always look back to this account as the important contributory element in forging this realization.