ALT-23 Nonprofit Service Sector
I was a call center employee myself at one point in time.
Pros
If this is your first job, it's a good place to learn about the way things really work - besides the distorted world on TV.
You get to learn things that you never knew existed, like how the company you're in works. You learn a corporate culture.
You learn to speak properly - in "English". Very important. You learn to converse properly and communication skills improve.
Depending on what kind of call center you are in you have different kinds of knowledge that you gain. If you're in a technical call center you learn all technical stuff that you can use to get a better non-call center job.
The interview you attend now is a good procedure, because you now can communicate better and you also have a much better way of presenting yourself and the things you have learned so far. This also applies if you happened to be a "techie" guy working in a non-tech support center like me.
Non-tech stuff helps you develop more business-related and people-handling skill, and it gives you an added edge of knowing what your peers or someone else, like an interviewer, is trying to understand from you. You will also be better prepared to handle serious business logic problems at some point in time by just applying what has been learned if you were very observant and remember how things function in a business atmosphere.
Cons
Firstly - switching from the call center/BPO to a non-call center/BPO organization is very, very tough. Very few make it out. It's not impossible; you have to be able to convince them to take you for what they need and not push you back into their own call center area.
The knowledge you may have gained by experience might not always be considered as experience in some places.
Ending up in a BPO which deals with something totally unrelated to what degree or education you have can cause a setback when you try to switch.
Most companies nowadays just see your previous experience and dump you into their own support staff, instead of giving you the chance of giving you what you are looking for. Ask them about the job that you are wanting to switch to and try convincing them. If it does NOT work, then DON'T accept the deal. You are just sealing your fate.
Wait a while and you should get a job. If it's not paying well, it's something that is much better than the call center.
Just weigh the options and don't bend over too much. Be as demanding as the companies are and take the first better opportunity that comes. Don't always look to get into the best of the best of companies like Infosys or Wipro or the likes on your own.
Good luck.
