BLOGStreet, from JobStreet.com

Pancakes, anyone, for supper?

Here's a contribution to BlogStreet by Paul Vincent:

Waking up to the smell of pancakes for breakfast is truly one of the better things one gets to enjoy in life. Luckily, for those of us who work in a call center, those of us who don't get to wake up for breakfast, there's lunch, dinner and all sorts of edible stuff you can get from the friendly convenience store around the block.

The call center industry has indeed - for lack of a more unique term - boomed to exponential proportions with all those foreign multinational corporations setting up their sites here and there. It had opened up a lot of opportunities for people to explore their potential and become a contributor to society without having to be confined to the limitations of one's educational attainment.

So how does a typical Juan dela Cruz (he has since changed his name to John once he got signed by one of the top call centers in the Philippines) spend his day? He wakes up at around 7pm (he hit the sack at around 11am earlier), eats a hasty meal and prepares to go to work. By 7:30pm he's saying goodbye to his wife and kid; then he's off to work. He gets to the office at around 8:40pm and has just enough time to enjoy a stick of cigarette before logging in. He enters the office at 9:01pm and is late by one minute.

He gets his first call as soon as he logs in to the phones. Its a sup call. The customer is so irate about the product or service that he purchased, so naturally John tries to calm the customer down while holding back his own unrelenting fury. He checks the time and he can't believe its just 11pm. To him it felt like he'd been wearing that headset for days. The hours dragged on.

Finally his day mercifully ends. He logs out of the phone as soon as his last irate customer hung up at around 6:45am. He goes down the elevator and walks amongst executives and businessmen, except that he goes the other way. Their day's just beginning. For John, he's glad to be going home. He gets home at around 8:30am. His wife makes breakfast (pancakes), and his two-year old son wants to play. He spends almost the entire morning with his family and finally gets to sleep at around 11:15am while trying to block out all the noise outside. The following week his shift schedule was changed and he barely had time to see his family awake before going to work.

Now I know this does not typically apply to everyone. Some don't get to do the things John did in the previous example. If anything, working in a call center has made me realize the value of things that I normally took for granted - sleeping, eating right, and spending time with the family. Pancake anyone?

Fatter postmen for Australia?

Would you know that in Australia, there is a maximum weight limit to their postmen and women? According to present regulations, these people who deliver letters - the Aussies call them posties - cannot be more than 90kg or otherwise it would be dangerous for them to ride on their 110cc  motorcycles. The letters that the posties carry can weigh as much as 40kg.

But Australia Post is now in the process of reviewing their weight regulation to allow heavier postmen and women on these motorcycles. They'll be upping the weight scale from 90kg to 105kg while at the same time, compensate by reducing the  workload they carry from 40kg to only 25kg.

The union representing the postmen and women said the 90 kg limit had caused recruitment headaches for the Australian postal services. By allowing heavier posties on the motorcycles, more people may be attracted to this type of work.

An Australia Post spokesperson was quoted as saying that they had talked with the motorcycle manufacturer and their tests showed that a rider weighing up to the maximum 105 kgs would not significantly affect the stability, handling or safety of their 110 cc motorcycle.

So there you are ... if you have previously failed in your ambition to be an Aussie postie because you are kilogram-challenged, here's the chance for you to reapply.!

Importance of team work

Remember the story of ants being able to move objects many times their weight? Well, it's true and I've got a picture to share with you. I spotted this dead catepillar recently, and it was being swarmed all over by ants.

How the caterpillar met its unfortunate death or how long ago it had died was not known but the ants had already discovered it and was trying to carry it away.

Unfortunately, they weren't making much headway. Yes, they were able to move the caterpillar but they were uncoordinated and disjointed.

I stood nearby to watch the progress or should I say, the lack of progress. For all of 30 minutes, the caterpillar's carcass had hardly moved an inch from where it previously was. For most of this time, it was simply being turned clockwise or anti-clockwise. The ants were moving it, but it was being moved only in circles and not in any particular direction.

It wasn't so much that they did not know where to carry the caterpillar. Instead, I would put the ant's inefficiency down to a lack of team work among them. These were all workers ants, all tuned expertly to foraging for food and bringing it back to the nest. For simple tasks that could be broken down into discrete jobs, the ants were probably very proficient. But for a more complicated task that require leadership and team work, it was beyond the ants' abilities.

Without a leader to organise them properly and show them where to go, all they could do was to go around in circles.

We can learn a lot from the ants. In our careers, the importance of effective team work cannot be over-emphasised. There are probably many simple tasks which an individual can do exceptionally well but team work becomes especially important when you progress to complicated tasks. If you have team members all working independently without a concerted goal in mind, jobs can get out of hand and budget can be over-run. And that's where good leadership comes in too, to guide the team members and ensure that there is a focus and the job gets done fast and well.

Don't keep your ambitions to yourself

How do you see yourself 10 years from now? Do you often dream of being the Top Dog in whatever career you're in? For example, one day, you are looking at being the chief graphic designer or head of the legal department.

But don't make a mistake of not letting your manager or your bosses in on your ambition. After all, when you are working yourself up in your career, you'd want to make it pretty clear to people that you have the ambition to grow.

During interviews, people are often asked how you would see themselves in their careers in 10 year's time. That's an indication that the company wants people who can be motivated to do the best job possible. It also means that you have signalled to the company that you are a candidate to train to take the place of others as they move up.

So you see, these are good reasons why you should always be thinking of your career growth, how you want your career to progress and then tell your bosses about your vision of your career path. Of course, all talk and no activity will not get you anywhere. You'll have to make sure too that you put your plans into action.

Holiday cheer

it's going to be a rather slow week here in Malaysia, Singapore and many other places in this part of the world. Reason's because of the huge exodus home due to the coming Lunar New Year that starts on Thursday.

As I wander around the office, I notice that some desks are already empty as many of my colleagues whose families are outstation have already made their journeys home. It's also apparent that the JobStreet office is not the only one that is a bit quieter than usual. Around town, many businesses are also in the holiday mood and only a skeleton staff is manning them.

Not so the shopping malls. I see the malls filling up with people as the evening draws near. People making last-minute shopping. The festive cheer fills the air.

With people in such a holiday mood, it is no wonder that the thought of bettering one's career is on a back-burner for the time being. But I'm sure it's only temporary. Once the festive period is over, people will get back into the groove and the whole job-search cycle will start again in earnest.

Let me end this short post with a quotation by Benjamin F Fairless. A lot of people will not know him but from 1935 to 1953, Fairless oversaw the world's largest iron and steel producer, the United States Steel Corporation. He was talking about achievement, and this was what he said:

“What is the recipe for successful achievement? To my mind there are just four essential ingredients: Choose a career you love, give it the best there is in you, seize your opportunities, and be a member of the team.”

Wonderful quote.