Tips for getting your first job in the Philippines

I assume you mean for a foreigner looking for a job in the Philippines.
It is very difficult and your education, no matter how good it is, will count for nothing here. I have been living here in Cebu for 13 years and I have never seen a foreigner working in any job. I know this sounds bleak but any foreigner hoping to come here and find work, or indeed a profession needs to know that the possibilities are not good unless you were born in the Philippines

i am agree here in philippines it isn't o better it is impossible to find a job,

I am sure it isn't that bad.  Getting a job should be easy, if you can also speak the language fluently. But the wages offered may make any foreigner totally disinterested in taking one. Average of 15,000 pesos per month for a 6 day a week decent office job.

I agree with the above.. particularly with Ccchapo.   The solution I DO Have ->>  Live in The Philippines and work for a foreign company.   Using the Internet and telephone we run modern offices here in Manila and Subic Bay, Olongapo.. employing Australians, New Zealanders and English people alike.

We get paid in Australia from an Australian company.. tax paid, all fully legitimate.    We are not earning Peso or taking any jobs or money off the native Filipinos.  Just bringing money in and spending it here, while enjoying the advantage of more affordable living.

You can get a job in the Philippines, very easily, if you volunteer (work for free) or spend lots of money on work visa just to get paid local salaries. Philippines is a good place for young people to serve for free and get confused about the reason why humanity exists. Other than that, go to other country: Thailand; Taiwan; Singapore; Malaysia. If you insist to work/ live in the Philippines (I am not sure why would you want to do that), you will have the choice of getting disability pension from your country for being "crazy" (wanting to live in the Philippines is clear evidence that you lost your sanity), find a job with foreign company who is welling to locate you in the Philippines, or find online source of income, which is not so easy to do if that will be your only source of income.

Philippians, is also getting very expensive, unless of course you live in the country-sides (provinces) away from the cities, and where there are definitely no jobs and no internet for you to work online.  But you can go there and start your career as a fisherman in a sea already emptied from fish. Good luck.

I've lived here for a year and it took me MONTHS to find a job.   Here's what i recommend:

--  Have a resume PROFESSIONALLY prepared.  i did, paid for it and its worth it.

-- Go on line and google what you are looking for.  I simply googled "CEO/PRESIDENT/VP jobs in Manila"
and there are three websites that always have jobs there.

-- Plan on sending out LOTS of resumes and receiving few replys.  I sent out 110 resumes and received only
4 replys.   Rejection is part of job hunting!   

-- Looking for a job is a FULL TIME job.    Plan your day for it.  I work out in the morning and then, spend 2-3 hours
on line sending out emails and resumes.   

-- Get the Sunday newspaper, there are always jobs there.  Be aware that there are about 100 applicants for EACH job, sometimes more than that.   

-- Be patient, if you are American, Filpino way of business and doing things is SLOW, SLOW, BE extra patient
and respectful.   Kindness will be remembered, rudeness will be rejected quickly!

Have fun!   Plan on 2-3 months looking.

I was reading the answers so far and I want to say, if you are a caucasian foreigner in the Philippines, it is close to impossible to find work in a local company. It is better to start your own business. And for what you want to work, I would suggest anything you can offer online and find clients in the Internet, preferably from your home country. I tried to work for filipino clients and it always turned out a loss. They may accept your price at first, but later come up with endless additional work they consider to be included in the price. Let Filipinos work with Filipinos. Its just a completely different way how they do it.

About what to work online, I can say it can be anything using your native language, if its other than English, any SEO and web design, any text and translation work. video, graphics and layout. Virtual assistance...

If you are uncomfortable using computers and Internet, try to save some money, come to the Philippines an build apartments or simple housing with average pricing. In city areas you will easily find renters and the monthly income can support your expenses here.

Generally speaking a foreigner will find it next to impossible to find a good job in the Philippines.  You may consider starting a business, but you need to be 100% sure you know exactly what you are doing--not just a good business plan but a complete understanding of how it works in the Philippines.

One of the best ways to make a living in the Philippines is through online businesses: blogs, affiliate marketing, etc.  Internet businesses allow you to earn dollars with very little overhead.

Hello,

If you're a native speaker of English, the Philippines can be a good place to teach English as long as you can accept low pay. Lots of Korean's, Japanese and more recently Chinese come to the major cities to study English at a much lower price than in their home countries. To do it legally, the school that hires you will need to provide you with a work permit and working visa. If you are married to a Philippine national, then you can apply for a non-quota immigrant visa (13-A) by marriage which allows you to work, without need for a working permit or working visa.

The only way to work in the Philippines is starting a business. Effectively salaries are very cheap over there related to European salaries. Vice versa if you start a business you'll pay low salaries and you'll have big incomes. Especially if you start right business. I suggest in food selling

what's your nationality

Hi sellbytel2015 > to whom are you addressing your message? Please note that this topic is on "Tips for getting your first job in the Philippines", do you have any useful information to share about this subject?

Thank you

Hi,

I'm malaysian too, and I will be moving to Davao soon. Are you in Davao?

Regards

I think the reason why you don't find foreigners working here is that they are not keen on receiving low wages. Salaries in the Philippines are relatively low, which is why many Filipinos try to find jobs abroad.

If you really want to live here and still receive a foreign-country-rate wage, find a job with a company in your country which has a branch here and ask if you can be assigned here.  If submit your resume here, expect that you will receive local rate wages even if the company hiring you is a foreign based company.

I'm surprised that people are saying that it's impossible to find a job here.  If you can speak English well, you can easily find a job at a call center. But then again, you will receive local rate wages. If you are down on your luck or if you think you'll go crazy if you don't work, getting hired on a relatively lower wage is still better than nothing or losing your sanity.

Why Philippine companies pick Filipinos over foreigners is not about racism. Employers will pick employees who are more familiar with the culture or can speak the language of both the employer and the clients. It's about who would be the more effective employee.

Best place to look for openings: job sites on the internet, job fairs.

danielkoepf wrote:

If you are uncomfortable using computers and Internet, try to save some money, come to the Philippines an build apartments or simple housing with average pricing. In city areas you will easily find renters and the monthly income can support your expenses here.

Be aware that foreigners cannot own land, so you will need the land to be held in the name of a Filipino or a corporation with a majority of Filipino shareholders. There are many laws intended to prevent foreigners from having control over land, but an attorney may offer you a solution that is intended to circumvent these laws. The ideal situation is that you are married to a Filipina who you trust completely; even then, you may want to limit your investments to what you can afford to loose. I am quite cynical, so I think that an older foreigner who marries a bar girl more than 40 years his junior and puts land in her name could tempt her to have him killed so that she would get the land.

If you have landed a job here in the Philippines and the salary that you get is not suited with your lifestyle, I think it's either you compromise with your lifestyle or your job but if you don't live a luxurious life then you'll be fine.

MaroBautista wrote:

if you don't live a luxurious life then you'll be fine.

I agree, but one problem may be defining "luxurious".

A basic pensioners (below poverty level for some) lifestyle in Australia is considered luxurious to many Filipinos

Well, they'll just have to adjust to situation here I guess. But if that is the case, then they surely will do fine here.

elmorocho wrote:

Be aware that foreigners cannot own land, so you will need the land to be held in the name of a Filipino or a corporation with a majority of Filipino shareholders. There are many laws intended to prevent foreigners from having control over land, but an attorney may offer you a solution that is intended to circumvent these laws.

Be careful anyway: the COMMONWEALTH ACT No. 108 is there to punish such circumventions

http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/comacts … _1936.html

Also, if you read Section 2-A, working in the Philippines is somehow very difficult for aliens:

" ...  or in any manner permits or allows any person, not possessing the qualifications required by the Constitution, or existing laws to acquire, use, exploit or enjoy a right, franchise, privilege, property or business, the exercise and enjoyment of which are expressly reserved by the Constitution or existing laws to citizens of the Philippines or of any other specific country, to intervene in the management, operation, administration or control thereof, whether as an officer, employee or laborer therein with or without remuneration except technical personnel whose employment may be specifically authorized by the Secretary of Justice, and any person who knowingly aids, assists or abets in the planning consummation or perpetration of any of the acts herein above enumerated shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than five nor more than fifteen years and by a fine of not less than the value of the right, franchise or privilege enjoyed or acquired in violation of the provisions hereof but in no case less than five thousand pesos ..."

MaroBautista wrote:

Well, they'll just have to adjust to situation here I guess. But if that is the case, then they surely will do fine here.

Yes, it is important to realise that to "live fine" in the Philippines it is important to know that we must drop our living standards (speaking from an Australian viewpoint only - some other nationalities would be very different)

To maintain the same lifestyle here, I spend nearly the same as I did in Australia.  rent alone is 40,000 pesos per month.

They must also realise that working here may not be an option for many people, so they may be unable to supplement their income.
Local language skills and acceptance of very low pay is an important aspect. 20,000 pesos per month is considered a good wage by many. (A$570 or US$454).  That may be OK for a Filipino, but when the average westerner (in my area) feels that $500 per month for a Condo is a cheap price, then an average local wage does not go far. (I wish i could find a good one for $500 pm )

I have to agree that it is hard to land a job in company wherein they give a very competitive wage even if you are in a staff level. Even the rich experiences money problems too whether it is a personal finances issue or business. I talked to some foreigners who decided to become residents here in the Philippines say that they made that decision because they liked it here since they could live a simpler life. I'm curious of what they mean by the simple life that they are talking about.

Hello everyone,

Please note that some off-topic posts have been removed from this thread.

To remind you of the topic, i am re posting it below an i invite you to share your views only on that :

Expat.com wrote:

Hi,

What are your tips and advice for getting a first job in the Philippines?

What are the job hunting steps to follow? Where to look for offers: newspapers, Internet, recruitment agencies, word-of-mouth?

What are the top hiring sectors?

What would you recommend to young professionals wishing to start their career in the Philippines?

Thank you in advance for your participation!

Thank you for your participation so far,
Bhavna

I am currently working in Boracay, Philippines in one of the hotels here. I've seen many foreigners working here but with a higher position. Our executive chef is an Italian National. So, if you are a highly skilled hotelier or chef, you have an opportunity not only here but also in other cities.^^

Hi I'm interested in heading over and starting up my own restaurant. I'm a chef with 15 years experience having worked in some of the top end restaurants in the Lake District uk. What sort of start up costs are there and is there a way around ownership. As being a uk national I'm not allowed to own a business in the ph.

Hello Paul

I saw your post, did your idea progress into anything?  Where is the Philippines were you looking at?

The salary here in the Philippines is very low if you'll come to work here from a different country. I can suggest that you apply into a foreign company that you can work remotely so you can stay in the Philippines while working. It's really cheap in the Philippines.