OFW Speak

The very reason why we, online workers from the Philippines work is to get paid, correct? That's a given obvious. As much as we want to earn makes our very own ego gripping us down holding us back from getting paid well.

The common mind set of Filipinos is: "I should quote a lower service fee to beat competition and enticing for the employer".

Mind you this, if you think you are that smart having that mindset or tactic in quoting and negotiating your service fee, well you are not.

Employers or outsourcers does not have a single-phased criteria in selecting their candidates for the job, and being 'dirt cheap' will help you close to nothing.

I quote my service fee based on the general average Filipino pay. Basically an entry level white collar job would normally range between 12,000Php to 15,000Php. Quote something in between.

If you think you need experience and training, you should be considerate enough to quote your fee somewhere below the spectrum.

And if you think you are that well-trained and expert enough, then quote higher than that.

Do not forget to reason things out why you have such quotation for your service fee.

I am not so thrilled with the categorical service fee rate scheme going on. I mean, for examples, entry level writers are paid 'dirt cheap' price-of-peanuts rate while programmers or coders are rated with over-the-top.

I mean seriously? What if I am a programmer and I am the worst programmer to record, should I deserve to get paid with such pay according to what's currently trending?

Say I am a writer, inexperienced online, yet have written lenthy white papers and have proven myself with perfect grammar and writing cognition, should I also deserve to get a rate of way below average pay? No way!

I think we should aside what's trending and start evaluating what the worker's worth according to his or her ability and skills.

With my almost 3 years of experience working online, I take pride in saying that not even once did I AWOL or disappear without prior notice from my job. I do have known tons of workmates who disappeared from work after few days of being hired leaving my boss and team mate not only headaches because of the courtesy of leaving us behind without prior notice, but also headaches because of the job tails that were left hanging.

I also had experienced talking to some online friends who happened to have experienced AWOLing in their jobs after few days being hired. And below are the major causes why Filipinos, in particular, disappear from their jobs.

1. Unmet salary expectations. I think this is the most common reason so far. When being interviewd, Filipinos, including me, have this habit of NOT ASKING about the compensation, and so leaving us clueless of the pay rate. Now the disappointment comes after receiving the first salary, and before you know it, their IM's are unreachable, they have unfriended you in Facebook, and no response to your emails anymore.

2. Unsettled Work Issues. I should say, Filipinos are very very tight-lipped people when it comes to conveying their grievances to their foreign bosses. When their boss reprimanded them, I included, take it hard and seriously. The end result, they better leave you and the team right away than feel bad of themselves.

3. Under Pressure. I would say some for this one, cause I personally love challenge and pressure(no boast). When employees are challenged and put under pressure, some just might duck and remain strained, the result? A conclusion of leaving the company for good, since they already have the idea of 'i can not do it' mentality at the back of their brain.

I should say, may it be a lesson to all my fellow Filipino online workers that hiring someone is not an easy job. I had been on the 'hiring-man' position before, and it is extremely difficult to choose from a pool of talented individuals and see potential in them.

The moment you are chosen and hired, it only means, people who hired you saw a potential. Do not throw it all away in just a snap. Speak up and let them know your grievances. After all communication is the key to a successful working relationship online.

Keep in touch all the time even if its a senseless matter. You see, seeing you communicate frequently online gives your foreign bosses a sense of security that you are interested enough to work. It might soud crazy but yes, since you are working online. And it's way different from working in a traditional office where chit-chatting is sometimes intolerable during work hours.

Give yourself a sense of dignity too, if you felt that you are not receiving the proper pay, then make sure your boss knows your feelings about it. Email him if you can't talk to him online. It's easier that way.

And lastly, putting you under pressure is a way of telling mediocre from solid worker. That's how things are done, even diamonds can't shine without harsh polishing. So if you think you are up for something better, then prove it. Don't just jerk when things go terribly wrong or you are put under cold waters.

How do you consider yourself working online? Are you a long-term-relationship type or the contractual-freelancing type?

Basically, any of the two works and earns online, but the thing is, as the name implies, the duration of their employment contract.

Few outsourcers highly consider short-termed freelancers to work for them. The rate is usually hourly or daily with over-the-top rate higher than their counterpart online workers. Yet the ETA or the estimated Time of Accomplishment of a project is damn shorter, for example a coding project might be done in a week or so, and that's it, end of contract.

While on the other hand, startups looking for solid team are in great lookout for talents who wants to work with them full time and long-term.

I, for example, consider myself a long-term online worker. I have been working for my current boss for a year now.

I wish to correct the notion that all online worker is equated to freelancers. I can not say that I am a freelancer since I have a premeditated list of tasks to be done. I work in an office (at home in front of my PC) with pre-eminent work hours, which is 8 hours a day 5 days a week.

Freelancers on the other hand have no boss but a contract to answer to. They have all the time they need but needs to answer for the deadline set.

I was asked by a former classmate of mine in Highschool about the difference between Bio-Data, Resume, and Curriculum Vitae and what should be the one preferably to be submitted for an online job posting.

The difference between the three mentioned above are:

BIO-DATA is more of a person's biological background, and it comes with a pre-made form. It is like a slum book, but way too formal. No crushes and favorite songs of course, just important details about yourself and how the person employing could tell the kind of person you are.

RESUME is a more compacted way of summarizing your skill-set and job qualifications. Though it doesn't have pre-made form, but minding the suggested way of presenting it is very much appreciated. It must be brief, concise, and coherent nicely fitted in 1 to 2 pages max. In a way, it must be brief enough to summarize your strengths, concise enough to sell your self, and coherent enough to persuade you are the best fit for the job.

CURRICULUM VITAE compared to RESUME is quite longer. It is a detailed enumeration of your professional working experience. It is like a bullet form of the things you have done based on your experience.

Now, preferably offshore companies or outsourcers want a quicky when it comes to shortlisting candidates and that's how important knowing the type of self-marketing you are going to device. Resume's then are the best choice for online job search.

Basically, RESUME's for online jobs must be tweaked accordingly. Since talking about online jobs entail that you must be at least a computer literate to be considered for the job. Try to be more creative and techy with your resume. Try online resume presentation, that way you can give the employers an initial impression that you are not only computer literate but also the one who sweat things up.

For some of the readers who have no idea what RescueTime is, it is basically a time management tool that tracks down your computer activity and how long you spend on it.

For example I am watching a movie on my PC while RescueTime is on. It will log that I am using a media player and the amount of time I am using it.

It has become a topic sometime since Rescuetime has been a deal breaker for most Online Workers when their prospective clients require them to use Rescuetime. Some consider it as a breach of privacy, since it also logs your browser's history and how long you spend on that particular page.

Let me tell you what I thought. If a person hires you and pay you to do certain tasks for a specific period of time, that person (your client or boss) has the right to know your activity, especially when you are paid hourly. Isn't it?

If you have no modus operandi going on, you have nothing to hide, right? I personally use rescueTime for myself t track down my productivity for the day.

How about you? What time-management tool do you use? Do you thing using one is violates one's privacy?

It's been a while since the Sotto-Plagiarism issue made a wave not only to the citizens of the Philippines, but also to all netizens especially Filipino bloggers who look-up to him as a senator and a pro-life advocate against RH Bill.

I am a practical person, so by all reasons, I am pro-RH Bill and I believe in responsible parenthood. And that God gave us not only the ability to procreate, but also the intellect to properly control it.

My opinion of Sen. Sotto's plagiarism has nothing to do with my opinion with RH Bill. Stealing is stealing. And plagiarism is a form of stealing.

In my blogs, I take pride in giving the original authors credits and linkbacks. It is imperative that once you base your article or blog from some source, you must give it a credit at least a backlink.

For Mr. Sotto's case, he even refused to apologize and instead he arrogantly say "blogger lang 'yon". Do you think that makes you a better person Mr. Sotto? Do you think it is so wise of you to utter those outrageous words?

What is this person smoking and he thinks his ignorance would turn on his advantage? Damn. And so here I am standing for his resignation.


"in MOVE UP hereby call for the immediate resignation of Senator Sotto. We believe that Sotto should never exempt himself from this by virtue of the position he holds. Furthermore, we believe that his multiple acts of plagiarism and subsequent denial is breach of his office’s mandate to provide honest and credible representation to his constituents.

We deserve better."

That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind. ~Neil Armstrong

(CBS News) Neil Armstrong, the Apollo 11 astronaut who became the first human being to set foot on another world, has died. He was 82.

Let us give our sincere condolences to the family of the man who served as our Prometheus ushering the knowledge we had in lunar exploration.

You have heard us recommend that you outsource your work to the Philippines.  So, why the Philippines and why Filipinos?

I may not be the best person to write about this.  No wait, on second thought, I think I am.  Shameless promotion of my country, race, and trade aside, I seriously believe that the Philippines is the best country you can outsource your work to.  And why do I think that?  Let me count the ways…

Filipinos are the best English-speakers in Southeast Asia – I even daresay that Filipinos are the best English-speakers in Asia.  The Philippines was an American-administered territory from 1898 until 1946 and was the site of American air and naval installations until 1991.  Because of this, the country is heavily influenced by the American culture and language.  English is the primary language of instruction in schools.  It is not difficult to find a Filipino that speaks very good English with little to no trace of a native accent.

Most Filipinos are well-educated – College education in the Philippines is relatively cheap and since you can never find a decent job in the country unless you graduate with a degree, a lot of Filipino students go to and finish college.  The educational standard in the Philippines is also competitive with other more developed countries and in fact, the country is seeing an influx of foreign students from neighboring Asian countries like Korea and China.

Filipinos love to please other people - Sometimes, to a fault.  Filipinos will put other people’s needs over their own.  If they have a guest in their home, they will give the guest the best room, the best linen, never mind if they end up sleeping on the floor.  Seriously.  Filipinos are weird that way.  Maybe that’s what our ancestors hammered into our subconscious.  We reserve the best china for guests and use cheap, ordinary dinnerware the rest of the time.  My point is, if you hire a Filipino, they will do what you ask them to do to the best of their abilities because they would want to please you.

Filipinos are very loyal – Treat them well and you will have a worker who will be willing to work with you until they are no longer able to.  Hiring a Filipino will lower your worker turnover.
Filipinos are familiar with Western business practices – Business practices in the Philippines are very similar to Western business practices, it is almost eerie.  However, being an American colony for almost 50 years, it is hardly surprising.  And did I mention that our accounting and legal systems are similar to America’s as well?

Filipinos have lower wages – I did save the best reason to hire a Filipino for last.  Filipino wages are, on an average, only about 12% of American wages for the same area of practice. That in itself is reason enough why a lot of work is being outsourced to our country and perhaps, you should too.
Now, it’s time for my shameless promotion:  Whenever you decide to outsource work, do think of Filipinos and the Philippines first.


This article was wittingly written by Ms. Honey Amabelle D. Young of Easyoutsource site entitled Why Outsource in the Philippines. I just impressed by how well she lifts the Filipino spirit by her simple yet compelling words. Yebah Pinoys!

Ever wondered what are the things you can make in order to find a suitable and satisfying job online? Because of lack of knowledge and out of connections, most people land in paid to click sites, scamming review sites, survey sites and other scam online schemes that waste not only time and effort but also our peer job hunter's hard earned savings just for the assurance of earning.

Or as an outsourcer, do you even know the things you could delegate to your workers?

Well people, here are the list of things(for starters) that can actually be outsourced online(Addressing to the outsourcer):

• Market research – Want to collect information about your competitors’ marketing activities? Need a report on market trends over the last 3 years? How about a list of businesses in your area that could use your product or service but don’t currently have it? Hire an assistant to do the research and produce a nice report.
• Data entry – Have you ever needed a bunch of information reorganized or put into a spreadsheet? Don’t spend your whole morning on it — hire a data entry assistant and do something more impactful.
• Accounting – Hire a trained, experienced assistant to manage the books. You can even find CPAs on EasyOutsource who are completely familiar with American accounting practices.
• Writing – Blog posts, website content, reports, emails, sales materials — almost any kind of writing you need can be done by an outsourced writer.
• Personal assistants – Hire a personal assistant is like cloning yourself. Sort of. It’ll change your world.
• Lots of little things like document editing, transcription, email filtering, QA testing – All these things could eat your day, but could be more efficiently handled by letting a subcontractor do them at a good rate.
• Answering phones – Set your assistant up with Skype, Google Voice, or VOIP account, and let her answer calls for you. Many of our job seekers have been trained in Western call centers, and are probably better on the phones than you.
• Appointment setting – This can be time consuming and frustrating. Share your calendar with your assistant, and let him book your meetings.
• Sales calls and emails – You can show your assistant how to find leads and make contact over the phone and email. Give him some time to get the hang of it, and pretty soon he’ll be generating usable leads and maybe even some sales.
• Responding to customer inquiries – Yeah, I know you like to keep a finger on the pulse of your customer base. But odds are you could do your customers a lot better by spending your time improving your product or service, rather than personally responding to their every query.
• Website management – Updates, upgrades, moderation, content creation — all this is the perfect type of stuff for your assistant to take off your hands.
• Order processing – Does your website take orders, process payments, and handle shipments and delivery? Get your assistant involved to handle the routine work and smooth out kinks before they become problems.
• SEO – You know you’d make more money if your website came up in the top of search results. But you don’t have the time to figure it out, and you don’t have the cash to hire a full-blown SEO agency. Good news: it ain’t that hard. Get an assistant with some SEO experience on the job.
• Link building – The most tedious and time consuming part of SEO. You don’t have 4 hours a day to spend trying to get other websites to link to yours. But there are job seekers who are good at this and would love to help.
• Adwords campaign management – With Adwords, you pay by the click for people who have searched terms related to your business. It can be lucrative, but it takes some time to set up and monitor.
• Web design – I’m a web developer myself, and I don’t do the web design. I hire great designers in the Philippines.
• Web programming – Is your website not quite doing what you need it to? Have you thought of a cool widget or function you could put on your website to help your customer base fall in love with you? Hire a programmer.
• Progress reporting and client updating – Your clients will wax affectionate when you’re sending them handsome monthly reports showing all the progress you’re making with their money.