Is joining a BPO a stop-gap arrangement for you? Or are you looking at making it your career?

What are the factors you need to take into consideration when you apply for a job in this industry? Is it the money that matters or your long term career goals? 

BPO training expert and CEO of Fitter Solutions, Nasha Fitter, has the answers. 

• Do you have a question for Nasha? Write to us!

I work for a BPO as a business development associate. I have one year of experience in this field. Is it advisable for me to change my profile to  voice-based?

I am moderately fluent in English. I am a very successful person in the company as far as my job is concerned but the pay is very less. Any suggestions?

-- Venkat

Make sure you are looking at the big picture and your career path. You are in business development -- is becoming the head of business development your goal? If so, moving to an agent position at a call centre will not really help your career. 

If you are not serious about business development, then yes, joining a voice-based process may be a good decision if the money is good. My suggestion would be that you go to a few interviews and see what different call centres offer in terms of pay and growth. 

But remember that long-term career growth is always more important than short-term profit. 

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Does the speed at which you talk matter? I speak at a normal pace, but the listener always comments that I speak pretty fast. 

For quite a few years, now I have been watching Star World, BBC, Star Movies -- all English channels. Do you think I got used to the speed at which they speak? 

-- Ram

Yes, the rate in which you speak matters very much. Watch newscasters to get an idea of what an effective rate of speech sounds like. Stretch your vowel sounds when you speak and remember to breathe between sentences. 

If you pause between sentences you will give people a chance to absorb what you have said and you will sound more confident and professional.

• Stop stammering. Here's how

What is the difference between inbound and outbound processes? And what is accent neutralisation and how do I achieve it? I am a pharmacy graduate and want to get a job in a BPO.

-- Amit Kulkarni

'Inbound' stands for calls that customers make to a company and 'outbound' stands for calls that a company makes to customers. 

Accent neutralisation means achieving an accent that is 'neutral' and therefore understandable to a global audience. 

You can start neutralising your accent by breathing more while you speak (especially for the P, K, T and TH sounds) and by bringing your tongue down for the R sound.

• All about accent neutralisation

What is the difference between a call centre and a BPO? I want to join a BPO. I am a post-graduate with an MSc in Computer Science. I have given a few interviews for BPO jobs, but have not got a job. I want to be a technical support executive but I have a regional touch in my language (Haryanvi). I got training from Akiko Callnet in south Delhi for four months. But this was not helpful for me.

-- Arun Gupta

BPO stands for Business Process Outsourcing. One type of outsourcing is voice-based -- which occurs in a call centre. 

If you have a regional touch in your accent and you have already taken a class and it has not helped, I would suggest buying a tape that may help to improve your accent. See if you can find anything from Cambridge or a similar company.

You may also you may want to focus on improving your overall English skills by reading more and watching English shows on television.

If all this does not work, you may want to apply for a non-voice based technical support job at a BPO. 

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Do you have a question for Nasha? Write to us!

Nasha Fitter operates Fitter Solutions, a communication and training organisation with expertise in public and interpersonal communication and private training.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier