Don’t let English deter you

• Q: I come from a non-English speaking background. My friends often make fun of me when I tell them about my wish to work in a BPO. They say, “Your language is third rate as you don’t use tough or big words because for BPOs you need an extensive vocabulary.” Is that true? Does this mean that I won’t get a job anywhere? Should I mug up all the “big-big” words? Please advise me.

Name Withheld

• A: Your friends are absolutely wrong. You don’t need a tough vocabulary to work in a business process outsourcing (BPO) unit.

Outsourcing involves the transfer of some of the functions and/or work of a company to a third party which may be in the country or abroad. Offshore outsourcing involves the transfer of some work and functions to a different firm in a foreign country.

In India, there are many BPOs which perform a lot of functions and work for companies that are located abroad. Most of these companies work in the information technology, human resources, real estate management, engineering and accounting areas. They will place more emphasis on your expertise in these areas than on your English speaking skills.

A decent vocabulary with a neutral accent (no pronounced vernacular or mother tongue influence) is what is needed for international BPOs in India. The domestic ones are more lenient in their requirements.

If you are hired by the customer support cell or the call centre of an international BPO, then you may be required to communicate with foreigners. You can improve your English skills by joining spoken English classes at the British Council, the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture and other institutes in Calcutta.

Don’t let anyone deter you from what you want to achieve in life — even if it takes a bit longer.

Your interpersonal skills matter

• Q: I have a good academic record and I’m very pushy and aggressive. How can I make a good impression on interviewers? Could you please tell me what companies look for when they hire people?

Piyush Baruah

• A: The Wall Street Journal recently ranked attributes that recruiters seek in new personnel. The highest — and substantially ahead of the others — were interpersonal skills, an ability to work well within a team, personal integrity and teachability. Work experience and strategic thinking featured way down in the list of the 20 most desired traits for new hires.

The other important factor that companies look for in people is passion and enthusiasm for whatever they want to do. “Inspired” performers with drive and motivation, who are also good team players, are very popular with recruiters.

Start ‘soft’ training after placement specialisation

• Q: I run a placement agency. I would like to start personality development classes. How should I proceed?

M.K. Girodia

• A: I truly wish I could answer your query at length. Although the purview of this column is somewhat different, here are a few suggestions you may like to consider:

Don’t spread yourself thin. Concentrate on one or two segments only — both in terms of industry as well as candidates. For instance, you could specialise in first jobs, information technology jobs or BPO jobs.

This way, despite the competition, you’ll be identified with that particular segment and gain a sort of specialist status.

Before you jump on the personality development bandwagon on which every Tom, Dick and Harry coaching class is cashing in these days, I suggest you do some homework. Speak to the companies that hire your candidates. Find out the specific soft skills they seek (and find wanting) in the candidates.

You could then make a start by training the staff of those very companies and thus build an ongoing relationship with them. In this way, you would have put together a workable module with the help of experts in the field (don’t attempt to do everything yourself). Test it out through a series of workshops before “marketing” the service commercially.

Move one step at a time — give enough time for a new approach to bear fruit, be sincere to your clients as well as your candidates — go out of your way to help them, and in no time, you will have acquired an enviable reputation of efficiency and dependability in the field.

Highlighting the importance of soft skills in the current job market, Teamlease Services Pvt. Ltd said in the Jobs supplement of The Telegraph (February 20, 2007), “That soft skills can make or break a career has been proven by researchers and sociologists”. Citing David McClelland, an American behavioural psychologist, the column said that the most significant soft skills that have a positive effect on a career are “achievement drive, developing others, adaptability, influence, self-confidence and leadership”.