Christine Arcenas – Quality and Regulatory Compliance Specialist

Hi, everyone! I am Christine Louise Arcenas.

I am a graduate of Computer Engineering Technology at the Technological University of the Philippines Visayas. It is a technical course focusing on developing both hardware and basic software skills. After I graduated, my original plan was to briefly work as a Customer service Representative for a BPO company to help me fund my plans of enrolling in a bridging course, which will allow me to take up Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE) or Computer Engineering/Science. After joining the BPO industry, a lot of good career opportunities have opened up for me. I have decided to drop my plans of saving money to continue my studies. Instead, I have decided to pursue a career in the BPO industry.

I started my BPO career as a Customer Service Representative with TeleTech for their client Telstra which is a telecommunications company based in Australia. I was a Billing and Sales Specialist for 6 plus years, handling accounts, billing, sales, and complaint inquiries. Working as a CSR developed my skills in effective communication, active listening, adaptability, decision-making, and knowledge about the different telco products and services. My patience, empathy, intrapersonal skills, and technical knowledge were developed because of this work experience.

The CSR role became my stepping stone to the other opportunities that opened up for me. I have been given the chance to develop my leadership skills when I was assigned as a temporary team leader for 6 months. Handling a team with people of different personalities and upbringing was not easy. It definitely brought me out of my comfort zone, helped me see my potential as a leader, and improved my people skills.

I believe that if we want to thrive, we have to keep pushing and challenging ourselves to do things we thought we weren’t capable of achieving. This is exactly what I did when I applied for the role of a Temporary BAU Trainer which helped me develop my skills in training and facilitation. After a year, I was promoted as a New Hire Trainer responsible for onboarding new BPO employees. In my role as a trainer, I discovered my passion for learning and helping other people discover, develop and enhance their skills.

In the goal to keep challenging myself, I want to start a career as a Virtual Assistant. I believe I have the skills, knowledge, and experience which will help me thrive in this role. Apart from this, I have a lot of friends who are currently working as virtual assistants, and based on the stories they have shared, being a VA means being able to work where you want, working for yourself is a constantly evolving journey that requires you to think for yourself in many creative ways and you will feel like you’re really living. Yes, it’s hard work – of course, it’s hard work and you’ll probably work more hours than you did in employment. But it’s worth it because you’re the one in control. And even though that’s a little scary at first, it feels like you’re finally living a full life.

For a copy of Christine’s resume please click here.