The Grass Is Always Greener Everywhere Except Where You Stand

Hi Se7en,

Im Jake, 25 yo, Management graduate and a licensed Professional Teacher (took units in Education). Been with the industry since 2009, joined multiple companies and i considered myself as a hopper but also a high performer. Not until with my current which I’m staying for almost 1.5 years now(which is a rare feat).hahaha Been out of your blog for almost a year and a half too and It’s my first time to visit your blog again. Im sorry.  Now, i need your expert advise as I’m planning to resign in this Industry 1st quarter of 2014 for good.

I have several questions in mind before handing my resignation letter to them. Is there life after working in BPO? What are the possible industries that you can recommend which can be a good place to start? Do i need to declare all those job experiences I’ve had which is irrelevant to the position I’m applying in? What is the best way to defend gaps in your employment?

I need a brand new start. A totally new start without me depending on BPO/ITO. I’ll wait for your response. Thank you and more power.

Sincerely,

Jake

Hi Jake. I admire your desire to ask questions and conduct research before filing for resignation — that is the correct course of action. Before I answer your inquiries, I’d like to know why you stayed on at this position for more than a year. How is your scorecard looking? What types of accounts do you handle? What is the reason you stated that you need a fresh start? You also stated that you want one that does not rely on BPO/ITO? I’m not sure what you mean. Are you starting a business?

I will wait for your response.

Se7en

With regard to staying on this job, Are we talking about in general or with my current? Generally speaking, its because of the high compensation and other benefits. If its about with my current, i would say an accomplishment and a challenge for staying that long. By the way, thats the longest in my 4 years next is 8 months, 5mos and others just barely after 2mos then i went awol.

Scorecard: No problem. Agent of the month for months, no tardiness and absenteeism issues.

Account: customer service for B2B account. In house. We manufacture and support our own products.

The reason why i wanted a new start because of the ff: its get boring, routinary and no longer challenging. Sorry for the term. I dunno what right term to use. I dont mean to be rude.  I feel like my professional development is getting stagnant. No upskills training. Promotion is slow. Though my managers keep saying “you have a bright future ahead of you.” In my head Until when i will wait for promotion?

About the BPO, what i meant was i dont want to depend on working in BPO/ITO industry alone. Looking for an industry that is different where im used to.

Thanks,

Jake

Hi Jake. Thank you for visiting my blog and for leaving a comment. When I saw your post, I immediately thought that it deserved a post in my blog. There are a few issues that I’d like to respond to, and in the process, answer your question and share information with the public as well.

There are four things that I noticed from your post:

1. Your perception about tenure and promotion.
2. Your personal and career development is based on your company and your leaders.
3. It’s greener on the other side of the fence.
4. Your perception about what “challenge” is.

Let me explain:

1. People often believe that they deserve a promotion because they have held the same position for a long time, are competent at what they do (as evidenced by their scorecard), or because they make a lot of sacrifices to do more. This mentality is wrong. Being good at what you do or exceeding your scorecard’s expectation does not make you a promotion material; it simply confirms that you’re good at what you do, period.  Getting promoted is an entirely different ball game. You need to exhibit the qualities, skills, and competencies of a leader and a manager (if you’re asking yourself what these qualities, skills, and competencies are, it means you have a long way to go).
2. Many people labor in the false notion that personal development within the firm and their jobs is heavily reliant on the organization and its executives. A person who wants to be a leader (and get promoted) will not wait for the organization to provide him with the necessary training or exposure. He conducts research, watches leadership videos, discovers the concepts, skills, and competencies, and then lives them. This makes him a viable candidate; as a result, the company notices that he exhibits the skills, thus, making them perceive that he is ready for the next level.
3. Many people assume that to succeed in their jobs, they must start over somewhere else; yet, once they do, they discover another pasture with greener grass, and they find themselves hopping from one valley to another. What’s the issue? Except where you stand, the grass is ALWAYS greener. What they attain is not advancement; this is called “pabarya-barya mentality.” They don’t see is that if you stay, you develop a career, which leads to tenure, achievement, fulfillment, success, and money.
4. Finally, many people believe that once they have reached a certain level of efficiency and effectiveness in a specific function, they have reached a dead end: there is nothing more to learn. Thus, creating a vicious cycle in which, instead of continuing to improve the skills and competencies they mastered, they leave to find another skill by starting from scratch, not realizing that they were in a perfect position to begin with. People that think this way tend to be hoppers for a long time until they know it’s too late.

Let me be completely honest with you, Jake. I’m not quite sure that you lack challenge in your job; the issue is YOUR MINDSET.; you don’t recognize it. You are in an excellent position to develop the abilities and competencies, but you don’t remember it since your priority is money, not a career. You do not need to change jobs or pastures to realize your ambition; instead, you can use your existing company/work to build the essential abilities, live it, and get acknowledged. It takes some time. Leadership is not something you learn overnight.  If you can’t see this, you’re not ready. Leaving your job today will not get you anywhere, nor will it help you advance; you will become a job hopper (as you have been for the past few years). Remember that professional advancement is more than just being promoted; it is also about boosting your value as an employee to become more viable and desirable. You accomplish this by ascending the corporate ladder, expanding your understanding of the company’s business activities, and demonstrating to the executives that you are a valued asset due to your efforts.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Se7en