Category Archives: Work Abroad Tips

If the children of an Overseas Filipino Worker is going to visit the OFW’s host country, what are the travel requirements?

They would need the regular travel documents required by the Bureau of Immigrations.

1. Valid Passport 2. Valid Original Visa for port of entry 3. Return tickets for tourist

If they are minors, they will need to get a clearance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

For minors under a custody dispute, there must be a court order that allows the children to travel to one of their parents.

Reference: The Bureau of Immigration Travel Requirements

Some of the reasons of Filipinos for working abroad are to be able to send the children to school, to have their own house, or to fulfill their dreams of getting wealthier.

But as often the case we find that “expense normally rises to meet our level of income”. The higher our income, the more we spend. And so there are people who find themselves exactly the way they are while they were working in the Philippines. They still find themselves short of cash.

What seems to be the problem? How can we solve this?

I found this article in the inquirer that we can use as our guide to solve this problem. You just have to practice a lot of discipline.

refer to How OFWs can Solve Debt

Let me also add another suggestion. Whenever you spend, try to minimize pure expenses and put your money where it can grow. An example is setup a store , invest in apartments if you can afford it, or put up a small business (like t-shirts, selling tocino’s or longganisa).

Recently, Reader’s Digest published an article about “Getting Hired Not Fired”. In the article they interviewed several HR managers regarding their experiences with job applicants.

Let me add my personal comment on the things that stood out to me.

“When it comes to getting a job, persistence does not pay off. Checking in once or twice is fine. But if you call and call and call, you’re not going to get the job, because you’re annoying.” –HR manager at a medical-equipment sales firm.

“Never call a company after an interview, HR manager’s hate that. If you must have your recruiter do it for you”. – Recruitment Specialist.

I had a recent experience regarding this when we were searching for someone to do a project. One of the candidates was really persistent. I contacted him for his portfolio and gave him simple questions to give me an idea about his personality. The next day, he emailed his portfolio and some questions to my questions. The next few days, he sent me several emails. He then called the office to arrange (more like demand) for a personal interview.

His portfolio was actually good but I decided to drop him from the list all together.

Why?..

Personally, I was looking for someone who seemed independent and could work with least supervision.

But he gave me the impression that he needed to be baby sitted and he would also require a lot of attention.

Reference: What HR People Wont Tell You About The Job Interview

It is important for job seekers and employees to have a positive attitude. Particularly, you must be confident, you must be a self starter, and you must be a person who regularly takes initiative.

Whenever employers think of hiring, it is always to solve existing problems in their company. Often they add people so that someone can do the tasks that existing staff are not able to do because they lack the time.

We employees maybe thinking of a paycheck and providing for our families but always remember that employer always hire to solve a problem.

That is why it is important to have a positive attitude. Nobody wants to have an employee who becomes a burden – those who takes up more of the boss’s time (or other employee’s time) more than they are able to free up in order for the boss to do more important tasks.

Between two job seekers with equal years of experience or someone with even more experience and the person with the positive attitude, the person with the positive attitude always wins the job.

And you can usually sense a person’s attitude during the series of interviews.

If you are not yet this kind of person, try to develop yourself into one.

These three traits can also help you to quickly get promoted.

Employers are always looking for opportunities to get to know a potential employee. If you have a friend that already works for the company that you are targeting, you have an advantage. Your chances of employment are improved because your friend can personally attest how you are as a person and a worker. And employers generally trust recommendations made by their own people.

But if you do not have this advantage, you can do the next best thing. That is keeping your own blog. In the past, I have kept a technical journal where I shared tips on how people can solve common computer problems. To my surprise, I received several inquires asking if I will be available as a resource speaker.

I turned down these request because I was already busy with several projects. But this example shows that you can demonstrate your expertise through a blog. And people can sense if they will be able to trust you through the things you write in your blog.

If you are an automotive technician, you can share your expertise through a blog. If you are an artist, you can post sample images of your art.

A blog can be a great marketing tool. I recommend that you always include the address of your blog when passing your resume.

The following are free websites where you can start blogging:

www.blogger.com www.wordpress.com www.multiply.com www.livejournal.com