‘Entitlement’

By Raoul Suarez

Dear Diary,

Mama went to the office today. She came in early because she wanted to have a word with HR.

I applied for a promotion last month because I believe that I am qualified for the post. I have been working in this BPO company for almost a year now. There were 4 other candidates aside from me.

I was not chosen. They chose a different person. It’s not fair. I have a diploma. I graduated with Latin Honors. I am an avid reader and a bookworm but I also like to party. They said that my attendance was the reason why I was not chosen. I am not reliable. That was just one time. I needed to take a break. I joined my friends on a beach trip and sent a message to my supervisor during the middle of the shift. I informed him and let him know that I won’t be going to work for 3 days. I did my part. I am late once in a while but it’s just 10 minutes. It isn’t my fault that my PC takes time to boot. Other than that, my numbers are good. My Quality and Customer Satisfaction scores are able to hit the target. I do not even get why they would score me down for my other indulgences.

A single mother of 2 children in her late 20’s, who was also my teammate, applied for the post. She has been working for this company for 3 years and decided to move up. I speak better English than she does but she knows about the product better than I do. That can be learned. I can learn that too. I’m more suited for the post than her. She is an undergraduate. Her grammar and intonation aren’t even top class. But she wanted to try it out too. She did not pass. It would have been a blow to my competencies if she did. I am thankful that she was not chosen. I am more qualified than she is and ever will be. She just got here ahead of me. Tenure isn’t always the measure anyway. It’s always about your competencies.

The two other candidates are irrelevant. They are just newbies.; fresh graduates trying their hand in the BPO industry. Maybe they just wanted to give it a try. They are not even serious with their work. They definitely were not chosen and were not able to pass the first screening. They lack the experience. They lack the charm. They lack the skills. They lack the track record. Things that I possess. The schools that they graduated from are not even relevant; just plain diploma mills. It’s just fitting that they were eliminated early on. They’re pretty much a nuisance and a waste of time. They deserve to be where they are supposed to be right now. Just plain agents. Just plain customer service representatives. They won’t go far. I wonder if they will even have a career here.

I find it a little weird that they chose to promote that man in his early 40’s who has been working for this industry for almost a decade. He has been a part of this company since it started. They say he is very punctual. He comes to work an hour before and leaves 30 minutes after the shift. He is used to this routine. He has no other choice anyway. He has mouths to feed. He is also an undergrad. There are no other better options for him anyway. He should have applied for this post a long time ago. I do not understand why he did it now and why he would want to compete with me. I deserve it more than he does. He should have finished school rather than waste his life working for the company for the longest time. He has good metrics, I must say. But his academic background fails in comparison to mine. Some people just come to this industry and let their dreams die as long as they can get paid every cut-off. Living hand-to-mouth with no time to party. Well, he has children. One of them is now in high school and the 2 others are still in elementary. He doesn’t even talk much with the others and just sits there and does his job. It’s a very bland way to live. Some people just make poor decisions in life. He got lucky. I didn’t.

I should have been selected. I should have been the one to sit in that chair. I deserve it more than the others. I told Mama about it and she agreed. She decided to go to the office to give HR a piece of her mind; to let them know that it is not fair and to reconsider their options. They should not be biased. They should think it over and maybe pick me. Mama will make sure that happens. I will find out in the next few days if they’ve changed their mind. I’ll write it down here again like I always do.

It’s time to sleep. I’m a little tired. Maybe I will do half-day tomorrow or just file a sick leave. I don’t feel like going to work after all the injustice that happened.

XOXO

Sweet