August 24, 2023
Photo from Unsplash by Amelia Bartlett
As soon as I graduated from college in 2009, I looked for a job to make a living. Who doesn't want to have their own hard-earned money, anyway? I considered saving for myself and my future, and becoming independent because I was aware that I had spent a lot of money in college. In addition, I wanted to do anything I could to support our family. Being the first child who graduated from college, the expectations were high. And as the eldest daughter with many young siblings, it was common sense to help even without being directly told by my parents. It's not my responsibility, but I willingly offer to help.
Just a few months after graduation, I landed in Coredata, a known company in our city being managed by the governor that accepts fresh graduates and non-experienced job seekers. Technically, a lot of new graduates in our province ended up here to gain experience before pursuing other jobs, or while waiting to pass their licensure exams. But some would stay for some reason.
There were limited choices of jobs offered by the company, and I was accepted as a Biller. Uncertain of what the work would be, I looked forward to it with the hope of acquiring more knowledge in IT-related work. When the orientation came, I found out that I'd be one of the pioneers of the newly opened department called ACT or AAA Cooper Transportation. Thus, I'll be working in a Freight Processing Outsourcing department, and I had no idea about it, lol. People from Western countries, particularly the US, have probably heard of this freight. Unless the name was changed since it was a long time ago when I worked under this freight company.
| Bad quality photo so you won't recognize me here, taken at my workplace |  |
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From the name itself, processing and Biller, we dealt with paperwork called Bill of Ladings and systems. Our clients were from abroad so we followed Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time (DST). We would start at five in the morning and end at two in the afternoon. It was quite fine for me, especially since it will give me a lot of rest time in the afternoon. Early risers would definitely prefer this kind of schedule.
It was tough in the beginning since our house is in a different province and this company is located outside the downtown area. So it took me two to three rides to reach my workplace, and I would wake up as early as three in the morning, sometimes earlier than that, just to catch the first trip to the city. Seriously, I dislike waking up so early and traveling since I am like a withered leaf after.
Then I asked for money from my mother so I could find a boarding house. Still the same though, I usually woke up at three in the morning so I could take a bath, and cook my breakfast and lunch that I would bring to work to save money.
This is probably the most exciting job I ever did in my life, as it required Quality and Speed. We process Bill of Ladings from ACT Freight Company, and any error we make would reflect on our performance and raise a bad call from our clients to our department. Perfection — that was what they were looking for. Because errors have corresponding penalties for our department and might lead to a wrong shipment on the side of the clients.
For instance, the shipment should be "Hold on Dock (SH5)", but we accidentally put a code for "Shippers Load and Count (SH9)". These two have different meanings, and any error in the bills sent by our department could cause an error in the shipment. And it's a loss of money.
To give you an idea of what we do in the system, we input shipper, consignee, and third-party details, as well as the names and special instructions for the items. We make soft copies of the hard copies of the Bill of Ladings with additional codes for special instructions. It's quite tough to process sometimes, especially when the bill is truncated or unreadable. So most of us usually get errors when receiving such bills. All inputted information will be sent to our clients' system, and items will be delivered by the courier. If there are errors in billing, the shipment will be compromised. Those who are working in a Freight Company processing the bills could understand this.
At the end of the day, we billers are being ranked according to our performance based on who billed more bills with good accuracy. There were Quality Controllers that were checking our work. As a pioneer, it gave me an advantage to easily grasp the system, so I usually landed at the top of the list. All thanks to my fast fingers for typing and bright eyes for checking the bills.
From ordinary billers, I was chosen to be one of the special billers who billed special bills from special clients. The John Deer company and Universal Studio Australia were some of them. Do they ring a bell? We also build bills for hazardous shipments from different companies that require special codes. The special bills must be billed with 100% accuracy since the circumstances are high and unfavorable. The demand from clients is high as well, so only special billers with high accuracy at work and fast speed can process.
Being the top Biller in our department, our comedian supervisor would often call me "the fastest living hand", and my closest friends would call me "Top Notcher." And sometimes, we special billers, would prank him just for fun. We would hide behind our desk once he arrived. He would then freak out not seeing us in our seats because our absence would cause too much delay in the production, lol.
When the Incentive Program was launched, we became more motivated to make our work better. Who doesn't like a thousand incentives at the end of the week, anyway? This isn't to brag, but I was the top biller in our department for consecutive years.
When some of our clients visited our production in October 2010, I was given recognition alongside the top 2 and 3 billers in our department. The Incentive Program started in July 2010. And from that month to the month prior to their visit, I was the consistent top 1 Biller. I felt grateful as my hard work was recognized. Above all, I felt happy because we received an additional bonus that day, haha.
Being on the top list of billers has consequences, though. Since we wanted to land on the top list, that means tardiness and absences are not tolerated, and our accuracy should be maintained. I mentioned above that there were Quality Controllers that were checking our work at the end of the production. So if there were weeks that I wasn't on the list, that means I took absences. This consistency was maintained until my very last day in our department.
Every weekend, I would take home Php 1,000 incentives for being at the top. So aside from my monthly income, I was also earning weekly through the Incentive Program. This may be a small amount, but it's big enough to buy some groceries for my family.
After my Saturday duty (Sunday-Monday off), I would go back home with bags of groceries, which included milk and diapers for my youngest sibling, who was still a baby at that time. It's funny to reminisce about those days. Some would think I was a young mother because of the things in my bag. There were times that I came across my classmates and schoolmates in the streets, and they would ask if I was already married. I just laughed at them and then explained the situation. My younger siblings were the happiest every time I arrived home with bags of groceries because they had presents as well, usually the food they liked.
This first job was truly the most memorable for me. I was able to purchase my very first mobile screen phone with my hard-earned money. It was truly a wonderful experience, and I don't need to deal with my keypad phone anymore. I thought I would be left behind by advancing technology. Moreover, I was able to purchase some things at home. During Christmas or special occasions, I have something to give to my family, usually food and gifts. It felt so good to know that I could already provide something for my family.
It was also when I met some of my real friends. And until now, even though we all have different jobs and some have remained in our company, our connection is still intact, and we often exchange conversations virtually in our group chat.
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On some occasions, I would treat my friends using the incentive money I got at the end of the week. We often stay in a Karaoke house. We would sing while having a feast. Some would order liquor, but I was only drinking soft drinks at those times, lol.
This job lasted for almost three years. When some of my friends opted to leave and pursue another career, I lost my desire to continue. Besides, I got tired of processing bills every day, and it's already exhausting to maintain my name on the top list. I wanted to find another job that didn't require speed and accuracy. Something that would follow normal Philippine time. Somewhere where I could be more relaxed and where no Supervisors are shouting "Faster! Check the TA (Time-Allocated)!", and no Quality Controllers checking our errors. I wanted to find something ordinary but still enjoyable and relaxing.
That's when I got my second job recommended by my former colleague who also worked in ACT. That's when I had a chance to work in Cebu, particularly on Bantayan Island. It was a real break for me! I was able to relax and unwind. I don't need to wake up at three in the morning. I don't need to be in a rush to process all my work before the allocation time ends. I can even take some work outside and just finish it at home I can even take out some work outside and just finish them at home. I may not have weekly incentives anymore, but I had a daily incentive that I used for buying food. Besides, the salary was quite higher compared to my first job, so it was like an upgrade.
However, the first is always memorable and has taught me some life lessons. The first lesson was to value time. Being in a production where time was limited and counted, I learned to value it more. I learned to increase my skills so I could perform faster while maintaining my accuracy. That was, for me, the easiest way to enable us to bill all allocated bills within the time frame. There was no room for wasting time, otherwise, I'd have to stay at work which would compromise my resting hours. I sleep on time and wake up on time. This taught me to be more punctual and consistent.
Moreover, the fact that 100% accuracy was necessary at work, this helped me become more competent and competitive. It wasn't just for the weekly rewards or to become known in our company, especially in our department, but because I wanted a change. And perhaps, I also wanted to be praised and valued. Something that I never experienced in my younger life. Well, consistency and persistence have been in my system since then. It's just laziness that sometimes breaks them, lol.
If I have a chance to go back to my first workplace, should I grab it? The answer is No. As mentioned above, I don't like being in a rush which exhausts me at the end of the day. I want a work where I can relax and have more free time. I don't want to be too controlled. Above all, I don't like working in a production where higher-ups are yelling and commanding us to double time and do our work faster. Workers aren't robots, they are humans.
Another reason is, that I'm a person who would find a job with a higher salary than my previous one, and not go back to the workplace with only a minimum wage. The world is getting more expensive and inflation is real. So we need to be practical.
But do you know what? It's the only job where I cried so much before leaving because of the present my colleagues and friends made for me. A gift to treasure containing our bonding photos and their messages, with my label "ACT Best Biller." Sorry for bragging, but it was them who made my name 🤭.
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Coredata has now a different name, and probably, different management. But I guess ACT still exists. Some of my friends are still working there. The other one was even promoted to being a Quality Controller in our department.
I may go to different places and find different jobs, but the first job is significant to my life, especially since I created wonderful memories with wonderful people in my workplace. They will be forever in my heart and mind. The firsts are always memorable, anyway ☺️.
This is in response to Hive Learners' weekly featured contest with the topic The First Job. You as well can also join here. You can check this link for more details.
Thanks for your time.
(All photos are mine)
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