Getting Hired on oDesk Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Whenever people find out that I work from home and that I work through oDesk, their first question is always how I got hired. It's not an easy task, nor is it easy to explain. Let me give you more details why.

First of all, I got my first job on oDesk after months and months of applying. I went through tons of rejected applications due to the fact that I did not have any feedback on my profile, and I guess some clients just didn't like the thought of working with a newbie. So what did I do?

You should make sure to write a killer cover letter. State in your cover letter why you'd be a good fit for the job as well as any related experience you may have for the job, or any special skills you can put to use. It's also a good idea to attach samples of related work, or offer to create a sample, especially if you're applying for a writing job.

I think one of the things you have to keep in mind is that you should apply for jobs you actually like doing, as well as jobs you know you'll be good at. You shouldn't apply for writing jobs if you're not into writing, and so on. You'll want to build your online reputation and doing things you can and like doing is the best way to go.

Patience and perseverance also comes into play. You'll get rejected a lot of times, but then there's a chance that someone in the far side of the globe will take the risk and hire you. Once that person does hire you, make sure to give it your best so that they won't look for another contractor and keep giving you all of their projects.

That's pretty much all I can think of as of this time with regards to how you can get hired on oDesk. Feel free to leave a comment below in case you have any ideas or suggestions you'd like to share.

Amalayer Thursday, November 15, 2012

So this is the very hot and trending Amalayer video (Amalayer = I'M A LIAR). I can't really fairly judge the girl in this video because for starters, we don't know exactly what happened and I wasn't there personally when this scene happened. So please note that my opinions will be based solely and only on what is seen on the video and nothing else. In this light, do note a couple of things:

1. This is my blog and I'll write whatever I want in it.
2. If you don't like it, don't waste your time leaving me a lengthy hate comment - all comments on this blog are moderated and I'll just simply delete yours without any hesitation. In short, you're wasting your time in doing so.
3. This is MY blog. Read something else if you don't like it.

Without further ado, here's what I think about the Amalayer video:

1. I gotta hand it to modern technology - it's very easy to capture anything and everything that happens, and sharing it in social media sites makes it viral in an instant, like this video. (Is it just me or are you also reminded of Carabuena and the MMDA?)
2. Making a scene in public is always a big no-no. There are more civilized ways in resolving problems and this is definitely not one of them. Besides, people should have learned from what happened to Carabuena - anyone can pop their phones out and record you having a tantrum in public. Not to mention the fact that videos on Facebook spread REALLY fast.
3. I noticed that the girl in the video speaks in Tagalog whenever she's talking to the male guard, but keeps speaking in English to the lady guard. Hmmmmm...
4. It is never a good idea to brag about your education, especially if you're acting like you didn't get any. And no, speaking in English doesn't equate to having an education.
5. Guards are there for a reason. If you don't like following security procedures in public transport systems, get your own car and get a driver to drive you where you need to go. And then when you're old enough to drive on your own, make sure you don't throw a Carabuena - that will definitely make you famous all over again. I wonder why the girl in this video is the one demanding an apology from the guard when for starters, according to a news article online, she was the one who did not follow security procedures. If the lady guard was strict, that's her job - to make sure everyone complies to the inspection and security procedures for the safety of everyone.

A New Look Friday, November 09, 2012

At a spur-of-the-moment decision, I decided to change the template of this blog. :)

I've always liked the contrast of black against other colors, and this template gives me exactly that. So for the time being, this is how my blog template will be.

I Love Twitter Thursday, November 08, 2012

I am really beginning to like Twitter. It's like a search engine by and for Twitter users, and I'm getting to meet and connect people who share similar interests as mine.

For instance, since I wasn't able to attend the oDesk Contractor Appreciation Day, I was able to view pictures that other attendees uploaded, as well as read about what happened during the said event.

At first I thought Twitter was about tweeting what you want and that was it. I guess I was very wrong. You can do a lot of things on Twitter and it's just up to you on how you will maximize making use of it.

oDesk Contractor Appreciation Day 2012 Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Today I was supposed to be at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman for the oDesk Contractor Appreciation Day. However, yesterday was also my scheduled visit to the doctor for a vaccine. I thought my arm wouldn't hurt as much from the vaccine and I could still make it, but now I can barely move my arm. :/

From reading the emails sent plus other blogs and tweets about the oDesk Contractor Appreciation Day, I realized that the invitations were only sent to the highest earning contractors active within the last 6 months. Ugh. So I was very lucky to have received an invitation but I couldn't make it. :(

I also got an invitation for the oDesk Meet and Greet last 2011, and I also did not attend. Ho ho ho. I'm terrible at attending events. I really do hope that oDesk will be back in the Philippines sometime next year, and that time I'll make sure to attend.

Happy Halloween! Thursday, November 01, 2012

Yay for Friday! Friday, September 07, 2012

Need I say more?

It's Raining Wednesday, September 05, 2012

It's a rainy Wednesday. :/

The weather people said there's no storm or anything, but the rains are quite hard. I hope it doesn't flood, especially since the country just came from severe rains the past few weeks, and the soil is still saturated from all the earlier rains.

Shakey's Mojos Supreme Tuesday, September 04, 2012

So the kids and I finally got to try out the Shakey's Mojos Supreme with its 3 different dips. As a big mojo fan I have to say that all of my cravings were indeed satisfied with this bucket. The dips were OK, but I still personally prefer their Zesty Caesar dip.

3 Months??? Monday, September 03, 2012

Wow, I just realized it's been 3 months since I posted anything here. :/

Blogging is something I really love, because here I can write and express whatever I want to, but work and a lot of other things in life got in between the things I enjoy doing.

Here I don't have to worry about word count, keyword density, and a lot of other things, LOL. I really hope I can put in more time for blogging, to help me unwind and de-stress somehow. A full work schedule sometimes get the best of me.

On the Raymart Santiago and Mon Tulfo Fight Monday, May 07, 2012

My comment is for Claudine...in the YouTube video, did anyone notice how "clean" her legs were? In the interview, she showed what looked like smeared mud on her leg, but this is nowhere in the video. So if the YouTube video is the 2nd incident as Claudine and Raymart claims, when did she get the mud on her legs? On the 3rd or 4th incident? If she got it from the 1st incident, why is it not in the YouTube video and why did it miraculously reappear during her interview after the commotion was over? 

Also, Claudine said that Mon Tulfo should have stopped what he was doing, because she had her kids with her during the incident, and it was not a good sight to see for her kids. Having said so, is her verbal abuse to the airport crew (which was verified to be true by Cebu Pacific in the news earlier tonight - 2 employees suffered from verbal abuse from Claudine) and the fact that she and her husband beat up an old man something her kids should see?

It's more fun in the Philippines! What the fuck.

A Funny Chicken Saturday, April 07, 2012

Now this is a live Angry Bird, lol. It's my husband's uncle's chicken, and I just can't help but laugh at it's head every single time I see it.

How I Wish Thursday, April 05, 2012

I've been with oDesk for 3 years, and I still come across clients who want to pay ridiculously low amounts for complicated tasks. Even if you already gave them the lowest amount you'd be willing to accept to complete their project, they still try to negotiate half off. I mean, if you're going to be so cheap, do it yourself! Second, be prepared to hire monkeys if you're only paying for peanuts.

Part of Me by Katy Perry Tuesday, April 03, 2012

My kid Keisha is a big Katy Perry fan, and I never really gave her or her songs any attention until we played her songs in the car on a long drive, and I actually liked her! I especially like her Firework song, very inspiring plus this one too. :)

On A Long Break Friday, March 23, 2012

Every Monday to Thursday starting at 2pm, my husband and I have been watching the Chief Justice Corona's impeachment proceedings. Don't get me wrong, as trolls might suddenly flood this post and comment on the guilt of the person in trial - I reserve my right to a final decision until the defense has finished presenting their evidence. I am not saying that the Chief Justice is 100% innocent, nor am I saying that he is guilty. The case here is that all people should be considered innocent until proven guilty, and it's the job of the prosecution to prove that he did the things they filed in their impeachment complaint.

Well, so far, things are looking in favor of the defense in my opinion. And since the senate is taking their Lenten Season break, the trial is suspended until May 07, 2012. Till then, I'll miss seeing all these people on TV and my 2pm routine.

I sincerely hope that the break will help the senators of this country in making the right decision. May they mull over the evidence presented by both sides and decide not because of their party affiliations, but on the evidence presented. Otherwise, our country will be in deep shit.

My oDesk Experience Monday, March 19, 2012

I joined oDesk back in May 30, 2009 and to date, I never looked back.

In 2009 I had a job as a Quality Assurance Specialist in a call center, and had almost 5 years of working as a call center agent under my belt. This job was my main source of income, and I liked how I get paid regularly. This was very important for me since I had two kids and a lot of dogs who were counting on me. Of course, not to mention the bills to pay that waited every single month too.

While my husband and I worked, my mom in law took care of my kids. So, when she migrated to Hawaii, I didn't have a choice but to stay at home. By then, I was already keeping this blog and writing my thoughts in it, but I never thought I could actually make money online.

Like most people, I was very skeptical with the thought of making money online. I couldn't imagine how a client would want to hire someone halfway across the globe and then actually pay for the work. I mean, it's a piece of cake to just disappear online and not pay what's due, right? So I had my doubts, like everyone did. But I wasn't going to stay at home and not do anything either. With life and the economy as tough as it is now, only one person in the family working just wouldn't cut it. So I Googled and came across oDesk a few months before my mom in law left and before I officially resigned from work.

I applied to literally hundreds of jobs and got declined hundreds of times as well. I used up my weekly limit of 20 job applications every week, and got very disheartening emails about how my application was denied or rejected. But that didn't stop me, as I was determined to find work while I was at home. I worked on improving my oDesk profile and I made sure to include samples of relevant work whenever I applied.

Just a little background on myself, I was the Editor in Chief of my high school newspaper, and writing has always been one of my hobbies. So I made a bunch of sample articles on topics that ranged from everything under the sun to parenting, travel, etc. and submitted those along with my applications. I finally got my first job two (2) months after I joined oDesk. The wait was well worth it.

I was very decided to get a 5 star rating from my client, so I did everything exactly as they wanted, and submitted articles way before the deadline. I wanted to work, and I wanted to be great at this new venture, so I really gave it my best. That same client who first hired me kept re-hiring me because she was so pleased with my work, and the new assignments added valuable feedback to my profile. Soon enough, I was getting hired in most of my applications and I was able to make money out of my online efforts.

About a year later I received a job interview to work as an email support specialist. I passed the exam and interview, and I was working 20 hours a week. I wanted to keep this job, so I did my best. My boss was very happy with my performance and gave me a full time position - I was working 40 hours a week. I was very happy and I wanted to make my boss happy, so I worked even harder. Now, I'm their customer care supervisor and I train new email support specialists. I have unlimited hours of work each week, I work my mornings, and I get paid the hourly rate I want. I was making more than enough to the point that I let go of my other clients who didn't pay as high, and skip other job interviews.

Why am I sharing this to you? For starters, you shouldn't be discouraged - nothing is easy to begin with. But when you get the hang of things mixed with perseverance and a desire to do good, you'll be able to succeed. That's my oDesk experience. :)

You can view my oDesk profile here: https://www.odesk.com/users/~~278f49d6e1640e14

March Means Vacation Sunday, March 18, 2012

The month of March means vacation...well at least for kids here in the Philippines who are going to school. My youngest already finished her fourth quarter exams, and my eldest has a week left to go. I'm excited to be spending a lot of time with them since they will be with me all day. :)

So I'm going to be thinking of things we can do for the summer...maybe enroll my eldest in a badminton class or something, and my youngest in a reading camp.

A Review of New Chapter Products Sunday, February 26, 2012

As I stated in an earlier post, I received complimentary New Chapter products this month and I wanted to write a review on them. Well, to start off, my entire experience with getting chosen to write the review and receiving the products was nothing short of amazing. We're in completely different time zones so I expected about 24 hours for my inquires to be responded to, but it always took just a few hours to get things clarified. Also, when they said I'll get my samples within a week, I did get them within a week, just like they said. That alone earned major points for me, but my experience did not end there.

When I received my complimentary products, everything was nicely and neatly wrapped, and I also noticed that the boxes the food supplements were in were actually made from recycled products. If a company wants to promote 'natural' products, it should take the extra effort to take care of nature - and one of the ways you can do this by using recycled products. New Chapter does exactly just that, and they are committed to  environmental integrity.

I received complimentary samples of Perfect Prenatal, Whole Mega Whole Fish Oil, and Zyflamend Whole Body. I began taking the Whole Mega Whole Fish Oil, and my husband took the Zyflamend Whole Body. I didn't want to write a review in a matter of days after taking the supplements, but we already noticed changes in our bodies and how we felt.

My husband used to work as a tour guide, which meant hours and hours of standing and walking and very little rest. Years of this kind of work took a toll on him, since he always complains about how his feet hurt. Since he also gained weight, so the extra weight must have been hard for his feet too. Within a week of taking Zyflamend Whole Body, he has noticed he feels much better.  He was also able to resume playing basketball and basically become physically active again, where he is slowly and surely losing those extra pounds.

As for me, I took the Whole Mega Whole Fish Oil. I work online from home, so I'm sitting in front of the computer for more than 10 hours every day. I know it's not the healthiest lifestyle, and I've been to my optometrist several times. The Whole Mega Whole Fish Oil contains omega fatty acids which nourish brain, heart, kidney, and eye tissues among other healthy benefits for our bodies. No, my eyesight did not improve (I"m still wearing glasses) but one of the things I did notice is that my eyes do not get tired as quickly as they did before. Hopefully, I can still keep my right eye free of any grades. :)

I have two kids, and don't plan on having a third one anytime soon, which means no one is going to take the Perfect Prenatal supplement. I do remember when I was pregnant, my doctor gave me prenatal vitamins which must be taken immediately after meals, and whenever I burped I kind of tasted the medicine. Ugh. I was surprised that the Perfect Prenatal supplement could be taken on an empty stomach, and I believe one of the reasons why is that it's a whole food multivitamin supplement, unlike those which have been synthetically processed.

All in all, sampling New Chapter products has been a very rewarding experience for me and my husband. We love the products and we love the company we're dealing with. We look forward to more positive experiences with New Chapter. :) Cheers!

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. 

Excited About New Chapter Thursday, February 16, 2012

Last week I received a package from New Chapter, and I must admit I am very impressed. First of all, the package came within a week just like they said, and the packaging is wonderful to say the least.

I love nature and recycle everything as much as I can. When I saw and opened the boxes the bottles of medicines came in, I immediately noticed that the boxes seemed to be made out of recycled paper, and confirmed it at the bottom of the box. Big points for me. :)

I received three different sample medicines (expiring in a very long time btw) but I don't think I'll be able to use the pre natal one as I'm not expecting. However, my husband and I were very happy to receive a sample of Zyflamend Whole Body as we've been suffering from back and joint pains and have been looking for something natural to help us.

So far, we've only been a week towards sampling the food supplements, and I'll be posting a more detailed account of how things went for me and my husband.

It's 2012!!! Monday, January 02, 2012

I better practice typing 2012 more often. It's going to take a little getting used to, lol. May this year be a better year for me and my family, and for everyone.