Before J came over, we didn’t really worry about him finding a job here in the Philippines. Sad it may be to say, there is still a bias towards Caucasians. You’re white, you get a lot of things that may not be available to the locals. We thought that he’d get a job in the blink of an eye. Boy, were we wrong!
We didn’t consider the fact that he needed a working visa or a work permit. While companies do sponsor foreigners for work permits, J had a hard time getting one to sponsor him. He had several major call centers give him a verbal promise – some even went as far as to give him some papers. When the request reached beyond the immediate HR person who hired him, though, things got murky. Suddenly, they were giving him the run around. Pretty soon, we gave up on this.
We also didn’t consider the fact that J doesn’t have a college degree. How could I have overlooked this fact? In the Philippines, we have a glut of college graduates; young people who have gone to one college or another; young people with no jobs. Practically any job here requires a college degree of some sort.
You want to work at McDonalds? You have to be a college graduate (or at least college level). You want to be a barista at Starbucks? Show your diploma. Many times, J faced rejection because of his lack of a degree.
We didn’t consider the cultural difficulties. J is a very nice guy. He does have some issues with authority and his temper, though. He likes to speak his mind. He has this sarcastic (American?) sense of humor that some people just don’t get. He has had to learn to adjust in so many ways – we didn’t realize this in the beginning.
It has been a long and hard road to a good job opportunity for J. He has had several. Some of them he didn’t like – low pay or sucky hours. Some of them just didn’t work out – the company closed. Now, he is with a company that looks promising for him. Am crossing my fingers that this one lasts.
For those of you who are looking into staying and working in the Philippines, do consider the implications. There are jobs to be had but it might not be that easy for everyone.
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Hi, N! Is it okay if I ask what job opportunities J did get? *shy*
Hi Tarie! Mostly with call centers and online English schools. Korean schools are always on the lookout for Caucasians…
Thank you so much for the info, N.
Anytime, Tarie. Oh, and goFLUENT hires “native speakers” as well
I just realized it was you…haha.
Hi, how easy is it to get a job teaching English…..
Hi Roy! There are a lot of English schools here, especially online. It is fairly easy to get a job with the Korean schools, especially if you are a native speaker. We have European companies as well. One important requirement (normally) is a college degree. Are you planning on coming over?
i like working at a call centre having prior experience to working at a call centre hoping for a reply and im just 21 only,
Hi Im just visiting the Philippines for the first time. Im in Davao actually. I really like it here and I would love to stay, live and work here. Can someone tell me what I can do in order to start getting information on what to do, what I need , what are the requirements. I studied human resources and most of my experience is in airlines. Please if someone can tell me how to start looking for a job opportunity pleas let me know. Thank you!!
Jose Luis – glad to hear you’re liking your stay in the Philippines. It is something else, isn’t it? First thing you can do is to look at companies that are willing to hire you. If they really want you to work for them, they will help you with your work permit. In order to get this, you need a company/business to sponsor you.
If you are married to a Filipina, you can apply for the 13a visa (residence visa via your spouse). This comes with a special order allowing you to work without the conventional work permit.
Try looking at Jobstreet, bestjobs.ph, and jobsdb for job openings throughout the country.
Hope this is helpful.
Hi, I would like to know if procuring a work permit for him was easy? My fiance plans to work in a call center after we get married. However, upon looking at the DOLE requirements, the “Copy of Employment Contract” which was one of the documents being asked, was not clear to me. What employment contract are they asking when the very reason he’s obtaining a work permit is to “seek” an employment that would be willing to give him an offer?
Hi Nadia! Thanks for dropping by. That was exactly our problem when my husband first started looking for a job. Most of the companies he applied at would “hire” him, and then change their mind when asked for the papers. The law requires that foreigners have a company to sponsor them before issuing the work permit – at least that’s what we were told. There are some companies, however, that do this. My suggestion is for your fiance to apply for work as early as now and make arrangements with the company to sponsor him for his work permit. Luck!
Thank you for getting back to me right away. In addition to my query, if he will be issued a work permit, can he use the same permit obtained (i.e. using the Contract of Employment from a particular company) when he wants to apply to other companies thereafter? I just feel bad because Call centers don’t really sponsor foreign workers and my fiance happens to be really good at this kind of industry
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You’re welcome! I am not sure about being able to use the work permit with other companies. We didn’t have to go through this route, so I really wouldn’t know. If your fiance is int he call center industry, then he will have an edge.
Good luck to you both!
Hi N, your site is really a big help especially to those who are in the planning stage of “cross-cultural marriage”. Reading your previous entries, I think we would go straight to applying for 13A because you mentioned that this comes with a special order which allows a foreign national married to a Filipina to work without the hassle of a work permit. I assume this is the route you took? How hard was it to obtain one? I believe that you get a one year probationary period in the first part. I wonder if my husband then would be be allowed to work already even on probationary status?
Thanks, Nadia. With the 13a visa, the spouse can work even on probationary status. You just need to get his passport stamped and then go to DOLE for the letter of exemption from the work permit.