Entries from July 2008 ↓

Industry outlook

Call center is one of the fast emerging sectors in the employment market at the moment. Research indicated that the market will grow and surpass the $5 billion mark this year.

The growth of the call center operation is mainly attributed to the outsourcing initiatives by companies which decided to focus on their core business and let a third party to handle their support function.

Best call center growth is seen in Asia, where 3 of the countries in the continent make up the most attractive destinations – China, India and Malaysia. With China considered a manufacturing haven, India a source for IT expertise, Malaysia emerges as one of the best call center outsourcing destinations in the world.

Malaysia’s major strength in the call center jobs lies mainly in its diversity of cultures and languages.

Job & career profile

There are different types of call center operation, with each requiring different skill sets. However, for someone looking forward to a career in call center, knowing that the job involves a high degree of customer service and interfacing will be the good first step. Now, handling difficult customers may not be a cup of tea for everyone, so for some, it will be one stressful job.

While customer service is considered a core skill and a foundation for a good call center professional, different companies would require additional distinguished technical skills, depending on their service. Some of them include telephony services, operating systems (e.g. Windows, Linux), database (e.g. SQL, oracle), network (e.g. Cisco) and so on.

Growth opportunity

When mastered correctly, a call center job can be fulfilling and satisfying, both mentally and financially. Competent call center executives will find themselves quickly climbing the ladder to a team leader, supervisor, operations manager, problem manager, and higher ranks.

Many companies also adapt the approach of promoting their employees from within the organization. Only when there is no suitable internal candidates, they will pursue to get talents from other companies. Some of the very successful call center managers went on to set up their own company and provides high profit margin call center business and provide jobs to others.

For a woman, taking a part time job or business as a car washer, delivery person, gardener, handyman, carpenter, and other physically demanding jobs would be seem as too overwhelming.

You will need something moderate. Something relatively easier, manageable, and yet can generate enough returns.

Here are 10 part time business ideas or jobs that can be done right away.

1. Jewelry and personal accessories

Yes, women crave for jewelry and personal accessories. They can just talk about the topic all day long. Why not turn the hobby into something that can churn out profits? For those who want to take it to another level, go for customized accessories and play around with beads, pendants, crystals, earrings and so on. It’s time to use your creativity to the limit, come up with something extraordinary, and raised some eyebrows.

2. Emceeing or Deejaying

If your work colleagues find you too talkative, you are possibly half way from being a deejay! Surely a good deejay not only need to be vocal but must also know to use the right words at the right time, possess calmness, composure and all other qualities. If you are not sure whether you have the desired skills for an emcee, fret not. There are many companies holding courses and seminars on this and it’s time to make your presence felt.

3. Freelance writer, blogger

Perhaps one of the most popular part time jobs around. Most likely half of the books sold in the bookstore near you were not written by full time authors. Coincidentally, more than half of the best selling books out there were written by those whose full time jobs are estate agents, financial advisors, teachers, lawyers, pilots, entrepreneurs, consultants and so on. Let’s join the bandwagon.

4. Handicrafts

Something similar like jewelry business. The best of handicrafts of course come with uniqueness and rarity, i.e. something that people can’t just simply find it in the hypermarket across the street. It must also be beautiful. You can work with handbags, hats, flowers, baskets, cloths and many other items. If you love travel, craft and souvenir shops are must visits. You will be surprised to find how weird and unusual some of the stuff are.

5. Accounting work

This work is obviously relevant with those who have strong background in finance and accounting field. Other than streamlining accurate monthly consolidation of your company accounts, make use of your skills to offer similar service to your friends, neighbors, sisters, mother in law and canteen operators. Approach your favorite small grocery store owner and convince him how good you are at managing his accounts.

6. Teaching, tutoring and coaching

Another popular part time job. Everyone must be good at something, and that everyone, including you, can teach a thing or two. Are you a piano six grader? Do you hold a black belt in karate? Do you swim? Can you make a bunny appear from a hat? Are you an actor? A singer maybe? Can you teach maths for a first grade student? Can you coach a high school basketball team? The list is endless.

7. Grooming service/image consulting

Grooming service can cover practically all fields and elements. Pet care service, saloon and kids grooming are just some simple examples. Image consulting is also an overlooked field, and with people are now embracing faster and faster change in life, many forget there is a niche that can make everyone happy. So, help people to make them look fabulous, and get paid for it.

8. Fund raiser

At first, fund raising can sound like a sales job but really, you must look it from another perspective. Fund raising is a charity, and as long as you do it right, people with good conscience will be more than willing to contribute. The job involves you representing a certain legitimate company, make calls and approach professionals, managers and the public, create awareness of the activity,and collect donation. Your earning can be hourly paid, or some percentage fees agreed with the company.

9. Cooking/catering

Yes, culinary services can take up a lot of resources, but not for those who have deep passion in cooking. Those who love cooking will consider it a labor of love. Where catering is concerned, it does not need to be a major function with thousands of guests, but handling the service for a small reception, house warming and barbeque events would be good enough for a start. If you find catering too overwhelming, why not settle down for teaching young women cooking? That does not sound like a bad idea at all, does it?

10. Interior designing

For years I have been meaning to find a good interior designer that comes with affordable prices. There are many professional designers out there who can do the job at cost but there are also amateurs who have this fantastic knack of interior designing. Sometimes, these amateurs can do an equally fabulous work, but with much difference in price. Perhaps, you are one of them?

Mixed and conflicting requirements for teaching job have drawn a flak among graduates who are now becoming less keen to pursue career as teachers.

Presently, a few channels are made available to make way for graduates keen on the teaching job in Malaysia.

However, different channels would require different qualifying criteria. For those who are completing a degree in university or colleges, a min grade of CGPA 2.75 is needed to be met by the graduates.

And with the attainment of the stated CGPA, they would still need to sit down for an assessment, and a round of interview before being accepted for a teaching job in assigned schools.

On the other, if an applicant enroll into teaching training institutes (and colleges), they will be placed in school right upon completion of their studies.

The move is seen by public universities and tertiary institutions as a way to discredit education provided by lecturers in the universities. The Ministry of Higher Education will be holding meetings to iron out the issue.

Am I very much into my career right now?

Perhaps watching Just Like Heaven can shed some light to this question.

Just Like Heaven is a charming romantic comedy film, blended with the elements of fantasy, surprises, supernatural and twist of plots.

While the obvious goal of the film is to show how two mismatched characters in different worlds bonding, another important lesson possibly overlooked by many is how we need to look back and realize that sometimes we have not been treating our life fairly.

Dr. Elizabeth Masterson (Reese Whitherspoon) is a young medical doctor whose life was revolved around her career. She was so indulged in her job as a medical practitioner that her other aspects of life have been neglected and were almost left in total abandonment.

Elizabeth has a terrific work ethic, often putting others before her.

One day, while she was going to enter her 24th consecutive hours in the hospital, her boss turned her down for more work and asked her to return to home instead, and take a rest.

On her way back, consumed by all the exhaustion, she was involved in an incident that saw her life being taken away. And so the fantasy began.

Later, a young guy named David (Mark Ruffalo) decided to rent the apartment Elizabeth used to live, thinking it was not being occupied.

As fate would have it, a chance encounter that started with a dramatic argument slowly grew into friendship, and eventually romance.

Now in different world, Elizabeth started to realize, through the snapshot of her life, and with David’s help, that she had overlooked many important things that she had wanted to do. All she cared much was her work, work and work. She had obviously been a workaholic all along without her realizing it.

Friends had been recommending her to take some break, and find dates but she simply could not find time to do that.

Now she knew she had been longing to have someone by her side but apparently she had always been in the state of denial thinking that she was not lonely. She wanted to get all those things she missed now and return back for her unfinished business, but then it was probably too late for her.

Moral of the story: It’s pretty much sensible to ask yourself the same question – I am very much into my career right now that I have forsaken other things I need and want to achieve in life?

Ask before it’s too late.