Chronicles of Going Abroad

Hell... What a mouthful that was!

I am currently drowning in muscle pain as I just came from Manila this ungodly hour. Why? I just signed my contract for the Landmark Group. Im going to be a part of their team now. It's in Dubai, U.A.E. Why am I telling you this? Because, I wanted to share with you another chronicle in my life, that is...

How to Look for a Job Abroad(1)

What do you need when you want a job Abroad(2)

How to Process Papers for Abroad(3)

Other questions I've asked myself before going into this venture(4)

I wanted to chronicle this because while I was the eternal "tambay" (couch potato freak) for the past couple of months (by choice, of course), I contemplated on what was to become of my life. Getting old really hits you fast! Anyway, that's another topic... so I wanted to start with...

How to Look for A Job Abroad

(all these and the subsequent tales are from my personal experience)

Build an Impressive Resume

-microsoft word has a great resume wizard, pwd mamili ng mga designs etc. diskartehan nyo na lang. just remember that EMPLOYERS GET A LOOOOT OF RESUMES, SO MAKE YOUR STAND OUT! (me, I did with a little color, gray and green, para hindi boring basahin at naka categorize rin yung mga data e.g. personal background, professional work experience, part-time work experience, etc.)

Know your chosen work and your work experiences.

I am a gradutae of BS Architecture. Last March 04. I started working full-time August of the same year till September 2007. Undergraduate job experiences I did venture into. So that gives me about 4 years work experience.

*Careful to count all your job experiences, be it part/full time.

*Always, always keep certificates of your seminars, as I've learned, they were quite important (to impress the right people)

*Do add every strength you know regarding your chosen field.

*Wag gawing "chopsuey" ang resume, categorize, organize!

UPLOAD YOUR RESUME

I always updated my resume online, not believing in it, but I did it anyways. Ganyan ako nakuha sa present work ko ngayon for abroad. I was not planning to go anytime soon, but lo and behold, after updating my resume and sending some to yahoo/googled results for "autocad operator" both local and foreign, i got call backs!

Some sites I have a resume on are http://www.jobstreet.com/ ata, the one in inquirer (http://www.inq7.net/) and http://www.jobs.com/ (or ph.)

BE STEADFAST ON GOING TO THE INTERNET CAFE/GOOGLING AT HOME

Since all my house destinations (kina ate, sa bahay, sa bahay sa Baguio) have net connections, at pag laptop eh merong wireless, palaging mag net para sure.

I started fooling around with "search for autocad operator jobs" or "autocad jobs" and everything that popped out na applicable sa akin, I sent out resumes. Out of the 20 I sent out, 15 called back. I got interviewed quite a few times, I got accepted quite a few times din. But the prospect of a new chapter in my life, which is working abroad, seemed the most promising. Kaya dito ako pumirma ng contract.

Sipag at Tiyaga, ika nga ni Mar Roxas (?)

Assuming na you have found a prospective employer, gone through the interview (better kung maraming interviews para may options) and got accepted, then congrats! Now you need to prepare the following documents early on para hindi na kayo ma windang kamukha ko!

-Certified True Copy of your Diploma and Transcript

(get it stamped and certified sa school where you graduated, maybe about 10 copies, if you have a couple of interviews lined up)

-Passport

(with at least 3 years validity left, xerox the front page, and the subsequent pages that have stamps on them)

-Birth Certificate

(just in case)

-Blue Ribbon from CHED

(get your Certified True Copy from school, go to the nearest ched office, ask how to get them "blue ribboned" for abroad. sa Baguio, from where I graduated, CHED is located in KM4 Trinidad, in front of the Petron/Shell Gasoline Station sa tapat ng bahay na ginawa namin nuong first job ko :)

(they were EXTREMELY HELPFUL sa akin, kasi I asked a lot of question. They were very ACCOMMODATING and INFORMATIVE)(shoutout to them! :)

(they will get this xeroxed stamped CTC and forward it to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, which you can get after 10 working days or less)

-RESUME

-BLue Ribbon from the Embassy of the country you're going to

(from DFA, you can get the same document, and as for me, have it DHL-ed- to the UAE Embassy

that's about it, and other papers that you know of that can be important, like a marriage certificate, etc.

Remember:

*Do have extra xeroxed documents, pasobra kesa kulang!

*Do keep it in a file folder (got this from my well-organized ate) para handy

*Do bring the original papers, but in a separate file folder, and NEVER give them anything original unless nasa final steps na ng processing

*Do READ everything ESP. the fine print, on any document, before signing

*Dont be afraid to politely ask questions regarding stuff

*Do research on the company that hired you, mamya bogus pala, sayang naman

STEPS ON THE PROCESSING OF PAPERS FOR ABROAD

(after you have an employer of course!)

First, I got an employer by submitting my resume to a job posting on jobstreet or http://www.workabroad.ph/ ...

I found a great agency, CDK INTERNATIONAL and they were the one who posted the job.

Check the agency first (rambol-rambol na tong mga tina type ko, palibhasa wala pa akong tulog, its 5am already!)(Bear with me!)

You can check out the agency by loging on to the POEA website, look for the recruitment agencies there and type the name. If your chosen agency pops out, and has a good standing, like mine, well then, your good.

* I had an experience where I got interviewed for a similar job for Dubai by this agency. They have an impressive building, and a large sign with their POEA license on display. After the interview, I checked the agency on the POEA website, if their license is legal, and I was floored. Because not only that the agency wasn't listed, they had a fictitious license! hah! I never went back! They keep calling me, up until last week. I kept begging off for the final interview.

*Dont give any original documents, including your passport. Hindi Ganun ang process. You only give them the passport when they are processing your visa, after you have signed your contract

MEDICAL

My medical check-up was horrendous and funny! I got an appointment from the agency, ST.PETER-PAUL MEDICAL CLINIC in Ermita, near my agency.

Step 1: Bayad (money down biatch!) mine for Dubai was 2660

Step 2:Medical-BP,HT.WT. Anal, Breast, Puson check up (this was the horrendous part,as you are naked!)

Step 3: Piss and Poo-poo, and BLOOD

Step 4: Laboratory

Step 5: X-RAY

Step 6: OPTO (sa mata)

Step 7: Audio (sa pandinig)

Step 8: Dental-here they will fix your teeth woes for a price, much more less than that of the outside dentist, but if you have money to spare, i suggest you go to your dentist, as he/she know your teeth better!

Step 9: Psychological Exam

-Logic, drawing, about yourself, reasoning

-Mahirap for me yung logic, the others were pie.

*Do remember na magbaon ng pagkain, which I learned the hard way! I ate mga 7:30 na ata! mag fe-faint faint na ko dun sa gutom! kendi-kendi lang ako, kasi baka mawala sa pila

*Do chit-chat with others, pampatanggal ng init ng ulo, inip sa pila, chismis at kung anu-ano pa!

(Shoutout sa mga naka tsimisan ko!!!!! Thanks mga ate!!!)(goodlak sa aten!!!!)

----tobecontinued----may araw na......kailangang matulog!!!!!-------