Career in virtual assistance : Interview of a professional
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Mohammad Polash Khan
Virtual Assistance is about working as an employee of an organisation despite being thousand of miles away. Everything is same as the traditional concept of office work. It's just that the employees don't share the same workspace. thanks to the Internet, skype, emails, video conferencing, teleconferencing, eFax etc! It is an emerging line of career and even big Fortune 500 companies now employ virtual assistants. We interviewed Subhan Choudhury - a successful professional in this line of career. Subhan Choudhury is working as a Risk Analyst at Exclusive Analysis, a UK based risk analysis company that deals with investment risks, war risks and civil unrest risks of Asian, European, African, Middle Eastern and South American countries. He looks after day-to-day operations of the Asia division desk from offshore location. He has been associated with Exclusive Analysis since September 2005. He is also involved with writing and submitting articles on military issues, business climate and political stability for several online publications including GlobalPolitician.com, Viewsflow.com and StrategyPage.com. Subhan maintains a blog 'Bangladesh Open Source Intelligence Monitors' that focuses on regional issues with a pro-Bangladeshi stand. He started his career at AB Bank in 2002 and worked in Aventis before joining the BRAC University-Institute of Education and Development back in 2004. In course of time, he taught Marketing, Economics and Business Communication at Cambrian College, The International University, Prime University and at Darul Ihsan University. Let's get to the interview part. You had the talent, exposure and reputation in diverse fields like NGO, banking and pharmaceuticals. And like so many people around you, you had every opportunity to successfully continue with the mainstream career lines. What inspired to take up a career as an offshore risk analyst? In first four years of my career, I tried to suit myself in various fields including banks, multinationals, NGOs and educational institutues. Job satisfaction was missing to some extent. When the opportunity came to work for a premier risk analysis firm, I did not hesitate to leave a 'secured' nine to five, socially reputed job. I had very little idea of offshore work stations and outsourcing at that time. But as I started working, I felt this is indeed my cup of tea and the feeling is same as of now. You worked in traditional workspace before and now you're working in your home office. What differences do you realise? Traditional workplace certainly gives the option of being expressive. Working from a home office is completely the opposite. This very point has both positives and negatives. For instance, I can give full concentration on the time I spend on my work - no disturbance, no interference, no gossiping and no office politics. Another positive I see is in extensive working hours. Office-goers lose time traffic jams everyday-- I spend that in additional workloads. Outsourcing and freelancing jobs somewhat demand a home office environment. In my case, I have to start working at 7 A.M sharp, five days a week. I work till 2:30 P.M. without a break. Then I take some hours off before starting to work in the evening for another two to three hours. These hours are not suitable for traditional work place, I suppose. I would like to mention here that working from a home office does not mean working with the TV on and spending time with the family during work time. There is a fine line between 'home office environment' and 'homely environment'. We are used to seeing people heading for offices at the daybreak. But you work from your home office. How is your lifestyle different from that of an office-goer? I adjusted with this easily but this was a big issue for my family to accept. My parents and my wife were rather reluctant on my approach and initially thought I would go back to corporate world soon. But now as they see I am happy of what I do and bring adequate cash home to lead a decent living, they do not complain anymore. Working on Fridays however remains an issue that my wife, relatives and friends do not appreciate. I work full day on Fridays and get Saturdays and Sundays off in line with my London head office. So I miss most family and friends get-togethers that are on Fridays. Also I do not get a day off on Pohela Boishak but do get a long weekend on Good Friday and Easter Monday! Was social recognition ever a problem? It is undeniably a big problem. In the initial days, no one in the family could realise what I do for living. Explaining to my Chachas, Fupas and Mamas was rather tough. The concept of VA, back office work or freelancing is still new in Bangladesh and most people do not regard it as an occupation. Till today I find it tough to explain to people that I work for a UK based company by setting at home. One of my khalas asked me recently "tui ki ekhono ghor e boshey kaaz korish, naki kono chakri paisish?" (Do you still work sitting at home or you have got a job?). To her and most of the older generation, I have wasted my career and am no match to the ones who are in the telecoms, banks or in factories. What are the major challenges in your career? Major challenge I faced in early days was in adapting to Western norms and work ethics, which are completely different than of our culture. But once I started walking on their path, things became simple. I now work for several other firms as a freelance contributor, all based in Europe and the US. Initial challenge was to convince them that I can do what they need done. Then the challenge was to deliver more (quality) than what they expected. Another challenge is that I have to compete with the best freelancers in the world while bidding for work. Competition is huge. For instance, I have been working for a Boston based research institute recently. I had to compete with native English speakers in getting the project. And of course, working in a country where frequent power cuts and low Internet speed is normal phenomenon, it is challenging to get the tasks done in time. As we speak today, there is not electricity since morning. But my head office will not take this excuse. Thankfully, I have separate IPS for my study room and two backup Internet connections, which save me in such situations. What's your vision? And where do you see yourself 5 years from now? My vision is to grow as a risk analyst and freelance consultant and to reach the last step of the ladder. It will take some time and will take some serious effort but I am up for it. I actually have two visuals of where I want to see myself after five years: a. Working as the regional head of any risk analysis firm or research institute. b. Leading a small team in Dhaka, where we will work as back office of several risk analysis firm, investment banks and research institutes. Do you think the career of an offshore VA directly or indirectly contributes to betterment of your country? If yes, how? It sure does as it brings foreign remittance. The amount is yet negligible but I am sure in ten years' time this will be one of the major contributors. What are your suggestions for those who look forward to pursue a career like you? What should be their preparations in their academic life? First and foremost suggestion is to develop the communication skills - both spoken and written. Then comes integrity. In this line of work, no excuses are good excuses. One has to produce what he she promised. I would advice interested ones to grow writing habits during academic life. The more they write academic papers, more they research different aspects - the better. Knowledge on contemporary history and world politics is a plus. And of course, one has to be open minded - there are more avenues of work than they can think of. Spending time on knowledge based sites is highly advisable. I notice most of the students those have access to net, spend more time of Facebook than in the search engines. My advice would be to make proper utilisation of the search engines and to enrich the knowledge base in topics that interests them the most. This will eventually lead them to a prospectus direction. It sure did to me. You don't have a background in political science or similar fields. Being a business graduate, how did you develop an interest in political risk analysis and international military issues? What worked for me is the Masters degree I have in Development Studies. It gave me an exposure of political and economical situations of all the continents. Since my college days, I took interest in history and world military affairs. With the help of Internet, I was well aware of all thee contemporary issues. And I guess I inherited the analytical ability that proved decisive in being a successful risk analyst. Is the government's role enough to build professionals in this promising field? How do you believe the government can patronize more to build tomorrow's professionals who can pursue a career in virtual assistance? And what would be the pay offs for the nation if they do? Well, I think the government has limitations and others things to focus on. What I want from the government or the state for that matter is to build a proper infrastructure - uninterrupted electricity, flawless Internet and a system where we can bring the fund we earn in quick time without much hassle. I would like to see the universities taking courses on freelancing, back office ventures and offshore workstations. The more the professionals we have in this sector, the better it is - for the country, for the economy, and for the students who want to break the geographical boundaries. There are 15 vocational training institutes in our country where they teach technical things to the students. If these institutes include outsourcing to their curriculum, interested students can join right after passing H.S.C examination. And they can start their career early after completing the three yearlong courses. I often meet young people who are more dynamic than most of the people of my generation. I foresee a revelation when these people will enter the outsourcing world in next three to four years. I just hope they get enough guidance to make a new history. Major Fortune 500 companies like Hilton Hotel or Xerox are now hiring virtual assistants. How do you think aspiring professionals in Bangladesh cam utilise the booming opportunities? In some nations like the Philippines and India, there are a growing number of professionals emerging in the field of Virtual Assistance. Do you think Bangladesh lags behind? Why and why not? What I know, Philippines, Vietnam and India are leading in this area and have created a reputation already. We are behind but probably not by far. The love for a traditional workplace still persists among most students and not many are thinking of becoming a virtual assistance or a freelancing professional; mainly because of the risk in getting social acceptance. Bangladeshis are generally risk-averse people so we tend to hold on to what most people do. Having said that, there are people who are willing to take the risk and becoming global professionals but the number is still small. As I said, universities need to come forward and establish the fact that there is a bigger world out there other than the local job market. Many outsourcing professionals and services complain about the absence of a proper payment channel PayPal. What's your opinion? (Do you think if BD had PayPal, more people could shine in this career and in outsourcing jobs?) It is for sure that given Pay Pal's absence in Bangladesh, many get discouraged in working in the outsourcing field including being a VA. Most of the firms prefer paying through Pay pal that is not available in Bangladesh as the central bank has not approved it yet. Even countries like Nepal, Pakistan and Bhutan have approved it, not to mention China and India. But our Bangladesh Bank thinks otherwise. Freelancing professionals can always ask the client firm to transfer the money to his her bank which is probably the safest way though expensive as banks take away a hefty amount on every transfer. Any tips and advice for tomorrow's professionals? First advice - dream big, think outside the box. To add with it, there is no road to success without developing a strong knowledge base and working hard. In the outsourcing world, even the sky is not the limit. Once a freelancing professional earns a reputation, there will be more work than he she can handle in one lifetime. Earning reputation however is tougher than it sounds. Subhan Choudhury completed his Masters in Development Studies from BRAC University. He also has a Masters in Business Administration (ADUST). He did Bachelors in Business Administration in IUB and went further to undergo Certificate on Leadership in Management in Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. Mohammad Polash Khan is a freelance contributor, he can be reached at affan321@gmail.com.
Virtual Assistance is about working as an employee of an organisation despite being thousand of miles away. Everything is same as the traditional concept of office work. It's just that the employees don't share the same workspace. thanks to the Internet, skype, emails, video conferencing, teleconferencing, eFax etc! It is an emerging line of career and even big Fortune 500 companies now employ virtual assistants. We interviewed Subhan Choudhury - a successful professional in this line of career. Subhan Choudhury is working as a Risk Analyst at Exclusive Analysis, a UK based risk analysis company that deals with investment risks, war risks and civil unrest risks of Asian, European, African, Middle Eastern and South American countries. He looks after day-to-day operations of the Asia division desk from offshore location. He has been associated with Exclusive Analysis since September 2005. He is also involved with writing and submitting articles on military issues, business climate and political stability for several online publications including GlobalPolitician.com, Viewsflow.com and StrategyPage.com. Subhan maintains a blog 'Bangladesh Open Source Intelligence Monitors' that focuses on regional issues with a pro-Bangladeshi stand. He started his career at AB Bank in 2002 and worked in Aventis before joining the BRAC University-Institute of Education and Development back in 2004. In course of time, he taught Marketing, Economics and Business Communication at Cambrian College, The International University, Prime University and at Darul Ihsan University. Let's get to the interview part. You had the talent, exposure and reputation in diverse fields like NGO, banking and pharmaceuticals. And like so many people around you, you had every opportunity to successfully continue with the mainstream career lines. What inspired to take up a career as an offshore risk analyst? In first four years of my career, I tried to suit myself in various fields including banks, multinationals, NGOs and educational institutues. Job satisfaction was missing to some extent. When the opportunity came to work for a premier risk analysis firm, I did not hesitate to leave a 'secured' nine to five, socially reputed job. I had very little idea of offshore work stations and outsourcing at that time. But as I started working, I felt this is indeed my cup of tea and the feeling is same as of now. You worked in traditional workspace before and now you're working in your home office. What differences do you realise? Traditional workplace certainly gives the option of being expressive. Working from a home office is completely the opposite. This very point has both positives and negatives. For instance, I can give full concentration on the time I spend on my work - no disturbance, no interference, no gossiping and no office politics. Another positive I see is in extensive working hours. Office-goers lose time traffic jams everyday-- I spend that in additional workloads. Outsourcing and freelancing jobs somewhat demand a home office environment. In my case, I have to start working at 7 A.M sharp, five days a week. I work till 2:30 P.M. without a break. Then I take some hours off before starting to work in the evening for another two to three hours. These hours are not suitable for traditional work place, I suppose. I would like to mention here that working from a home office does not mean working with the TV on and spending time with the family during work time. There is a fine line between 'home office environment' and 'homely environment'. We are used to seeing people heading for offices at the daybreak. But you work from your home office. How is your lifestyle different from that of an office-goer? I adjusted with this easily but this was a big issue for my family to accept. My parents and my wife were rather reluctant on my approach and initially thought I would go back to corporate world soon. But now as they see I am happy of what I do and bring adequate cash home to lead a decent living, they do not complain anymore. Working on Fridays however remains an issue that my wife, relatives and friends do not appreciate. I work full day on Fridays and get Saturdays and Sundays off in line with my London head office. So I miss most family and friends get-togethers that are on Fridays. Also I do not get a day off on Pohela Boishak but do get a long weekend on Good Friday and Easter Monday! Was social recognition ever a problem? It is undeniably a big problem. In the initial days, no one in the family could realise what I do for living. Explaining to my Chachas, Fupas and Mamas was rather tough. The concept of VA, back office work or freelancing is still new in Bangladesh and most people do not regard it as an occupation. Till today I find it tough to explain to people that I work for a UK based company by setting at home. One of my khalas asked me recently "tui ki ekhono ghor e boshey kaaz korish, naki kono chakri paisish?" (Do you still work sitting at home or you have got a job?). To her and most of the older generation, I have wasted my career and am no match to the ones who are in the telecoms, banks or in factories. What are the major challenges in your career? Major challenge I faced in early days was in adapting to Western norms and work ethics, which are completely different than of our culture. But once I started walking on their path, things became simple. I now work for several other firms as a freelance contributor, all based in Europe and the US. Initial challenge was to convince them that I can do what they need done. Then the challenge was to deliver more (quality) than what they expected. Another challenge is that I have to compete with the best freelancers in the world while bidding for work. Competition is huge. For instance, I have been working for a Boston based research institute recently. I had to compete with native English speakers in getting the project. And of course, working in a country where frequent power cuts and low Internet speed is normal phenomenon, it is challenging to get the tasks done in time. As we speak today, there is not electricity since morning. But my head office will not take this excuse. Thankfully, I have separate IPS for my study room and two backup Internet connections, which save me in such situations. What's your vision? And where do you see yourself 5 years from now? My vision is to grow as a risk analyst and freelance consultant and to reach the last step of the ladder. It will take some time and will take some serious effort but I am up for it. I actually have two visuals of where I want to see myself after five years: a. Working as the regional head of any risk analysis firm or research institute. b. Leading a small team in Dhaka, where we will work as back office of several risk analysis firm, investment banks and research institutes. Do you think the career of an offshore VA directly or indirectly contributes to betterment of your country? If yes, how? It sure does as it brings foreign remittance. The amount is yet negligible but I am sure in ten years' time this will be one of the major contributors. What are your suggestions for those who look forward to pursue a career like you? What should be their preparations in their academic life? First and foremost suggestion is to develop the communication skills - both spoken and written. Then comes integrity. In this line of work, no excuses are good excuses. One has to produce what he she promised. I would advice interested ones to grow writing habits during academic life. The more they write academic papers, more they research different aspects - the better. Knowledge on contemporary history and world politics is a plus. And of course, one has to be open minded - there are more avenues of work than they can think of. Spending time on knowledge based sites is highly advisable. I notice most of the students those have access to net, spend more time of Facebook than in the search engines. My advice would be to make proper utilisation of the search engines and to enrich the knowledge base in topics that interests them the most. This will eventually lead them to a prospectus direction. It sure did to me. You don't have a background in political science or similar fields. Being a business graduate, how did you develop an interest in political risk analysis and international military issues? What worked for me is the Masters degree I have in Development Studies. It gave me an exposure of political and economical situations of all the continents. Since my college days, I took interest in history and world military affairs. With the help of Internet, I was well aware of all thee contemporary issues. And I guess I inherited the analytical ability that proved decisive in being a successful risk analyst. Is the government's role enough to build professionals in this promising field? How do you believe the government can patronize more to build tomorrow's professionals who can pursue a career in virtual assistance? And what would be the pay offs for the nation if they do? Well, I think the government has limitations and others things to focus on. What I want from the government or the state for that matter is to build a proper infrastructure - uninterrupted electricity, flawless Internet and a system where we can bring the fund we earn in quick time without much hassle. I would like to see the universities taking courses on freelancing, back office ventures and offshore workstations. The more the professionals we have in this sector, the better it is - for the country, for the economy, and for the students who want to break the geographical boundaries. There are 15 vocational training institutes in our country where they teach technical things to the students. If these institutes include outsourcing to their curriculum, interested students can join right after passing H.S.C examination. And they can start their career early after completing the three yearlong courses. I often meet young people who are more dynamic than most of the people of my generation. I foresee a revelation when these people will enter the outsourcing world in next three to four years. I just hope they get enough guidance to make a new history. Major Fortune 500 companies like Hilton Hotel or Xerox are now hiring virtual assistants. How do you think aspiring professionals in Bangladesh cam utilise the booming opportunities? In some nations like the Philippines and India, there are a growing number of professionals emerging in the field of Virtual Assistance. Do you think Bangladesh lags behind? Why and why not? What I know, Philippines, Vietnam and India are leading in this area and have created a reputation already. We are behind but probably not by far. The love for a traditional workplace still persists among most students and not many are thinking of becoming a virtual assistance or a freelancing professional; mainly because of the risk in getting social acceptance. Bangladeshis are generally risk-averse people so we tend to hold on to what most people do. Having said that, there are people who are willing to take the risk and becoming global professionals but the number is still small. As I said, universities need to come forward and establish the fact that there is a bigger world out there other than the local job market. Many outsourcing professionals and services complain about the absence of a proper payment channel PayPal. What's your opinion? (Do you think if BD had PayPal, more people could shine in this career and in outsourcing jobs?) It is for sure that given Pay Pal's absence in Bangladesh, many get discouraged in working in the outsourcing field including being a VA. Most of the firms prefer paying through Pay pal that is not available in Bangladesh as the central bank has not approved it yet. Even countries like Nepal, Pakistan and Bhutan have approved it, not to mention China and India. But our Bangladesh Bank thinks otherwise. Freelancing professionals can always ask the client firm to transfer the money to his her bank which is probably the safest way though expensive as banks take away a hefty amount on every transfer. Any tips and advice for tomorrow's professionals? First advice - dream big, think outside the box. To add with it, there is no road to success without developing a strong knowledge base and working hard. In the outsourcing world, even the sky is not the limit. Once a freelancing professional earns a reputation, there will be more work than he she can handle in one lifetime. Earning reputation however is tougher than it sounds. Subhan Choudhury completed his Masters in Development Studies from BRAC University. He also has a Masters in Business Administration (ADUST). He did Bachelors in Business Administration in IUB and went further to undergo Certificate on Leadership in Management in Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. Mohammad Polash Khan is a freelance contributor, he can be reached at affan321@gmail.com.