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4 Things to Ready before becoming an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW)

Every one of us in the Philippines must have thought of working overseas due to the low salary for professionals in our country. It is a very hard decision to make especially to those who already have a family and kids. I am a first timer OFW here in United Arab Emirates and as a guide to those who are planning to apply abroad for the first time, here are 4 things that you must ready:

1. Documents.

Before going to any form of job hunting, whether online or on career fairs, be sure you have all your documents ready. If you are a fresh graduate without any experience make effort in making your CV or resume presentable and nice looking. Packed with all your training and seminars attended, this could be your weapon if you don’t have previous experience yet. On the other hand, for those who had enough work experience, make sure you have certificate of employments just in case recruiters will ask you for proof. On top of that, recruitment agencies for overseas work mostly ask for a copy of your passport upon submission of resumes. If you want to be prioritized, I suggest you secure a passport first before applying anywhere.

2. Money.

Applying abroad is more costly than applying for a job domestically. It will require lots of time and effort as well so you better be ready for this. Money plays an important part in applying because this is your fuel upon going to interviews, processing your requirements and many more. It would be a good idea to have enough savings so you don’t have to borrow money to your relatives and friends while on the process of applying. Mind you, it will not be a quick process. It might take 3 to 6 months of waiting even if you secured a job from an agency already. So the best way not to go nuts while waiting for your plane ticket to arrive is to continuously earn a living.

If you have current job, don’t immediately resign once you get a job offer from an agency. You can continue working until you are already sure about your flying details. I know lots of people who made a mistake about this and ended up being indebted with their relatives and friends because they never thought that they will wait for too long. So just to be sure in case worst things happen, do not resign yet if you don’t have enough savings to cover those waiting period.

3. Emotions.

Considering the application abroad is a tough decision to make especially if you don’t have enough courage to leave your family. This is one of the hardest thing to ready for me. And i know to a lot of Filipinos too. We are raised with a family-oriented culture and we all share a lot of things with our families. If you don’t have enough guts to work abroad, you better not proceed in applying. You can be excited at first but as time goes by, your psychological capacity will be challenged. You will cry a lot even you are suppressing it. You will miss home, your family, your friends. So before making the decision, ask yourself hundreds of times if you can take all the emotional stress working abroad can give you.

4. Family.

In relation to #3 you must also ready your family before applying abroad. This is not a sole decision to make even if you are the breadwinner. Working in a place that is thousand miles away could also give anxiety to the family you left in your country. They will also feel bothered whenever they hear or read news about the country you are working at. So make sure, you discuss everything to them before applying.

Working abroad also has the impression of breaking families apart. It could be your husband or wife ended up cheating because of the long distance and lack of communication. Or in worst cases, these partner took away all your hard earned money with them and left you with nothing. So make sure you know all the ways on how to communicate with your family. Let them know your location and who to contact in case bad things happen (knock on wood). We are not sure about what we are going to face abroad so better let our family be ready as well.

Above all these things i have last few advise for those aspiring OFWs. The wisest thing to do in case you are already sure about working abroad is to secure a bank account for your savings and another one for your family remittances. Our families are important but you must also think about your goals because working overseas is not forever. We will all be going back home so better have your savings on a separate account. In this case, whatever happens you got your back right?

Lots of Love, Romi