OFW Advisory: Secure Clearances for the Christmas Holiday. POEA Office Will Be Open On Peak Days

Care of the OFW guide, Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) planning to go back to the Philippines for a vacation this December are advised by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to secure their exit clearances early. This can be done by going to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in their respective host countries before their flight back to the Philippines.


By taking care of exit clearances even before arriving to the Philippines, you don’t need to go the POEA office in Ortigas to get clearances when it is time for you to return to your host county. It will also prevent long lines and crowds at the POEA so the OFWs and the government agency are spared of the holiday hassle.


Accoding to Jennifer Jardin-Manalili, POEA Administrator Jennifer Jardin-Manalili long lines at the Balik-Manggagawa Processing Center has long been a common sight at the POEA office after the holiday season.

OFWs that are going back to Philippine provinces may get exit clearance in POEA offices located in Clark Field in Pampanga and the cities of Baguio, Tuguegarao, San Fernando in La Union, Calamba, Legazpi, Tacloban, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, and Davao.

Manalili also said OFWs could use the overseas employment certificate courier system available at their website (http://www.poea.gov.ph).

All POEA offices will remain open during the peak days of December 22, 23, 24, 26, and 29; and January 9, 2009.

Top Four Things To Consider Should You Apply For A Job Abroad

Everybody's leaving the country, either as a nurse in the US or a chef in the Middle East or even just to migrate to Canada or New Zealand. Everybody is setting their minds on opportunities outside the country. Is this the course for me? Should I try getting a job outside of the country? Will it be worth it? How will it affect my family? If you're considering working overseas, bear in mind these questions.

Here are the top four things of the non-personal things that should be at the top of your list if you plan on applying abroad:

1. What type of job would you like to pursue? Of course the popular jobs abroad are medical (nursing, PT), teaching, construction and engineering jobs, as well as design and development positions. You're going to have to decide the career path you'd like to go one because this will most likely dictate what you'll be d
   



2. TOEFL test (or IELTS), people often think both exams are the same but they're not. Sometimes they're determined according to the location you want to go. IELTS is usually considered for Canada and the UK but TOEFL is said to be for the USA. I don't think that's the determining factor.
   
   As a personal note Test of English as a Foreign Language or TOEFL actually is used more often as basis for English proficiency even when people have already taken the IELTS. But just so we define it as well, IELTS stands for the International English Language Testing system. It operates on a nine point band, where a nine indicates that the student has a level of English equivalent to a highly educated native speaker, and it tests all four skills ( reading, writing, listening and speaking) in an academic context.



3. Prepare your VISA, make sure you read on How to get a VISA for the location abroad you will be relocating to. Research the area and know your way around so you don't get lost or worse yet become a victim of fraud.
   



4. Be sure your employment is sure and guaranteed before you leave the country. As best you can, work your employment requirements while still in your hometown. It will be more difficult to complete them when you're miles away. Also be wary of fake job opportunities that swindle people. Do not pay upfront for the job. Avoid sending money to your employer. If they truly want to hire you, they will spend money to get you there.

Letting The Job Find You

Sometimes it just gets tiring trying to look for a job. It feels like you will never find the right one and it's frustrating. To address that though is a strategy that will put your name out there. In my many readings about how to find the right career path. I've come across so many instances that say to the same effect - the right job will find you, if you let it.

So here's how a job applicant becomes a prey and NOT a hunter:

• Publish your work. If companies are looking for talent such as yourself then they will go to these places and maybe find you.
  
• Post your resume, or information about your work/ skills and expertise on job sites like Jobstreet where employers can search databases to find the right applicant.
  
• Network - Join communities. Make friends or acquaintances. This is difficult for me because I'm not the type. I often look aloof. I don't really like to talk to people I don't know too well. And then I get shy around people who look the least bit successful - sort of afraid to embarrass myself so I just shut up
• Improve yourself - learn more about your trade, become the best whether by taking classes or just be being self-taught it doesn't matter. The more you know the better.
• Take advantage of the internet - the internet has made the world so small that if you're at the right place or on the right website at the right time, you just might get an offer from the other side of the continent.
  

These days there are too many applicants lining up to get the job. I know it's difficult to play hard to get when you really need the job, and so go ahead and apply. But when you've got the word of mouth going in your favor then these opportunities will come to you.

John Gokongwei's Speech About More Than Getting A Job

I just read John Gokongwei's speech in one of his talks before Ateneo graduates, and what struck me was that contrary to what everybody seemed to me looking for - a job, or rather a well-paying job, John Gokongwei wanted the Filipino graduate to DO more, to BE more. It's a worthy ambition and maybe some kids (who are unlike me) will be able to attain that dream. Here's an excerpt from his talk:

Entrepreneurship is the answer. We need young people who will find the idea, grab the opportunity, take risk, and set aside comfort to set up businesses that will provide jobs. But why? What are jobs? Jobs are what allow people to feel useful and build their self-esteem. Jobs make people productive members of the community. Jobs make people feel they are worthy citizens. And jobs make a country worthy players in the world market. In that order of things, it is the entrepreneurs who have the power to harness the creativity and talents of others to achieve a common good. This should leave the world a better place than it was.

Let me make it clear: Job creation is a priority for any nation to move forward. For example, it is the young entrepreneurs of Malaysia , Thailand , and Singapore who created the dynamic businesses that have propelled their countries to the top. Young people like yourselves. Meanwhile, in the Philippines , progress is slow. Very little is new. Hardly anything is fresh. With a few exceptions, the biggest companies before the war-like PLDT, Ayala, and San Miguel-are still the biggest companies today. All right, being from the Ateneo, many of you probably have offers from these corporations already.

You may even have offers from JG Summit. I say: Great! Take these offers, work as hard as you can, learn everything these companies can teach-and then leave! If you dream of creating something great, do not let a 9-to-5 job-even a high-paying one-lull you into a complacent, comfortable life. Let that high-paying job propel you toward entrepreneurship instead. When I speak of the hardship ahead, I do not mean to be skeptical but realistic.

To Work Or Not To Work... In A Call Center

That's a question I asked myself a few years back when I was still pretty darned ambitious and all these call centers were popping up. There are even more now mind you! It seems like they're growing by the minute and they're all hiring like crazy!

In Cebu there are Convergys, eTelecare and People Support as the big three I think, but there's also ePerformax and Teletech and probably a bunch more that I'm just not familiar with.

I have met a lot of people who vowed that they would never work in a call center. Some of them call it the "last resort" and many think that it's actually a no-brainer job.

I actually respect people who work in the customer support industry. Believe me it's not easy. I have not tried myself, but I've seen how it's done and I've seen how agents are trained and I've seen how they are managed.

It's pretty rigorous and agents should get more credit for that. I for one, can never hold my patience down when somebody annoyingly stupid is on the other line.

I haven't tried being a call center agent and although there are prejudices about being one, I think it's a pretty good industry to be in nowadays. Even with the economic crisis, it doesn't seem like any of them is slowing down in terms of hiring. So that's a positive indication that the industry is still strong.

I work in marketing, where I'll probably be for the next few years of my life - God willing. But for sure, I won't turn down an opportunity to work in a call center for the right opportunity.

Keep an open mind. Call centers may have high turn-over rates but based on experience, this also accelerates growth and corporate ascendancy in the business if you just stick to it. Like all things, it's a job that somebody's got to do. If you do your job with extra effort and just shine. People will notice you in whatever industry in whatever position. You can succeed.