Part I: Jobs: 'It's boom time for graduates'
Part II: Graduates, spruce up your skills
Part III: Hot jobs in retail for fresh graduates 
Part V: Opportunities for graduates in insurance sector
Part VI: Opportunities for graduates in the ad industry
Part VII: Hot jobs for graduates in the pharma industry

The IT-Enabled Services (ITES) and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) sectors are one of the fastest growing sectors in India, today.

They remain a popular choice for the young generation and offer numerous job opportunities for graduates from various backgrounds.

Though ITES in India has become almost synonymous with call centres in public perception, it encompasses much more. The term ITES can be defined as outsourcing of such processes that can be enabled with information technology and covers areas as diverse as finance, HR (human resource), administration, healthcare, telecommunication, manufacturing, etc. Thus, IT enabled services refer to all those services provided by companies to customers using technology. For example, call centres enable organisations to provide information and support services to its customers using voice, email or chat. The data can be moved across the organization to all its internal and external customers quickly and effortlessly.

This contracting out of non-core duties and expenses to an outside provider is done to achieve some cost savings and perhaps improve productivity.

"The IT enabled services that India provides are medical transcription, customer interaction services, technical support, Business process outsourcing, HR services, back office operations, etc," says Manish Arora, 28, an independent recruitment consultant based in Pune.

Call centres

"Call centres are a significant part of the ITES/ BPO wave," says Manish. Customer care, also known as call centre support, includes database marketing, customer analytics, telesales/telemarketing, inbound call centres, web sales and marketing, and sales and marketing administration.

The hype surrounding the industry can be explained by the fact that this segment is not only the largest revenue earner, but also the fastest growing segment in the industry. It also has to its credit the status of being one of the largest employment generators. (Source: NASSCOM)

There are two main types of call centres: inbound and outbound. Inbound call centres take incoming calls, like for placing orders or receiving customer service. Positions in this environment require good listening skills, empathy, diplomacy and organisation.

Outbound call centres, those in which the call originates from the centre for market research or direct marketing, generally add assertiveness and sales techniques to the list of requirements.

Leading players

The ITES story began in India with the captive centres of MNCs like GE, HSBC, American Express, Dell Computers etc setting up base here. This was followed by the emergence of Indian ITES firms such as Wipro BPO, WNS Group, IBM Daksh, EXL Service and HCL Technologies. The industry also has the presence of global BPO players like Convergys, ES, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Accenture and Exult Inc. Established software services companies like Infosys, Wipro, Patni, Satyam, HCL, Cognizant and Syntel have also ventured into the ITES arena.

Some of the BPO players active in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) are Firstsource (previously ICICI OneSource), EXL Service and Wipro BPO.

Job profile

A good comprehension level in English and proficiency in computers is essential. Graduates from any discipline with an aptitude for communication and interacting with people are eligible. Interpersonal skills, language proficiency, a good vocabulary, telephone skills, politeness, and sales skills are all requirements of this field.

"Applicants should prepare for role-playing as part of the interview process. Customer-service applicants are often asked to respond to potential scenarios such as responding to an angry caller or a confused caller," says Manish.

Clarity of speech and tone inflections also contribute to successful telephone customer-service and sales interactions. "Because customer representatives frequently must finish one conversation as a new call comes in, multi-tasking is another important behind-the-scenes skill," he states.

Payment structure

BPO's / call centres can be a first workplace for anyone because there is no prior experience required but there is still an attractive package attached to it.

"Salaries start from anywhere between Rs. 8000 to Rs. 12000 per month. An employee can earn up to Rs. 15000 per month within one year in service. Most of the ITES/BPOs have excellent HR benefits as well," says Manish.

Besides the salary, employees are paid incentives depending upon many factors such as attendance regularity, achievement of targets, etc. Here is a brief summary of salaries in BPOs, according to different hierarchies:

• Customer Care Representatives: Rs 8,000 - Rs 15,000 per month
• Team Leaders: Rs 17,000 - Rs 26,000 per month 
• Managers: Rs 3 lakhs - Rs 5.5 lakhs per annum 
• Trainers: Rs 2 lakhs - Rs 5 lakhs per annum 
• Training Managers: Rs 5 lakhs - Rs 8 lakhs per annum 
• Training Heads: Rs 8 lakhs - Rs 12 lakhs per annum

Job prospects

The ITES/BPO industry is one that offers a tremendous growth prospect and quick returns. It today has become one of the most sought after and highly paid industries. As a well-structured industry, it follows a strict hierarchical order.

"For example, in the call centre industry, at the entry level with an experience ranging from none to up to one year, the recruits join as customer support executives/representatives. They then rise to the next level, which is of a senior customer support executive/representative. Once they have attained an experience of about three to four years in the industry, they can apply as a Group leader assistant/ Team leader. The next stage is the Team leader after which he/she is eligible to apply to the post of Team Manager/Supervisor. Then comes Manager-Operations, the one who is responsible for running the whole show," says Manish.

"The scene is quite the same in a BPO (non-voice or back office processing) except for a change in the designation. A fresher joins as a process associate/analyst and then moves on as senior associate/analyst with about four years of experience. The next step is the Team leader from he/she moves on to become the Assistant Manager. The assistant manager can affectively move on to become the manager. The manager then can apply for the post of Service Delivery Manager," he continues.

So, there are definitely growth prospects within a BPO -- you can grow to become a team leader, a manager and a vice-president. Your growth will be dependent on your interpersonal skills and your ability to lead teams.

Thus, IT enabled services offer good prospects, with the possibility of eventually leading to self-employment. "If you are get an additional technical qualification/diploma, it might also provide a point of entry into the IT field," says Manish.

Openings for foreign language professionals

A report also indicates that the Indian ITES sector will have openings for a whopping 1.6 lakh foreign language professionals to handle language-sensitive work catering to Europe and the Far East by 2010.

As of now, the demand for German and French is the highest. Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese and Korean are also hot on the trail.

Companies that hire

~EXL

Web site: http://www.exlservice.com/

Apply here: http://www.exlservice.com/careers/apply.htm

~ Accenture

Web site: http://www.accenture.com/Countries/India/default.htm?viewType=Flash

Apply here: http://careers3.accenture.com/Careers/India/

~ Wipro BPO

Web site: http://www.wipro.com/bpo/index.htm

Apply here: http://careers.wipro.com/default.asp

~ WNS

Web site: http://www.wnsgs.com/

Apply here: http://www.wnsgs.com/careers.php

~ IBM Daksh

Web site: http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/bus/html/daksh.html

Apply here: http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/bus/html/daksh_careers.html

~ HCL Technologies

Web site: http://www.hcltech.com/

Apply here: http://www.hcltech.com/Careers/index.asp

~ I-Vantage

Web site: http://www.i-vantage.com/

Apply here: http://www.i-vantage.com/careers.html

~ Firstsource (previously ICICI OneSource)

Web site:  http://www.firstsource.in/

Apply here: http://www.firstsource.in//careers/caWorkingWithUs.html