Are OFWs now safe in Iraq?

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Enrique Manalo told the Iraq officials that the Philippines is open to send overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the country provided that it is now safe for OFWs to work there again.

Thus, the Philippine government has sent a team to check the status in Iraq and see if the situation there improves and OFWs will be in safe hand working in the oil-rich but war-ravaged country.

“Our vast pool of professionals and skilled workers in the engineering, architecture, construction, energy, transportation, and communications sectors can help in rehabilitating the country’s basic facilities and services,” Manalo said.

According to Esteban Conejos, DFA undersecretary for migrant workers affairs, the periodic assessment of the country’s deployment bans to Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Jordan would be done in March.

Only then could the department decide on whether or not to lift the restrictions.

Mark Joseph Ubalde
GMANews.TV
01/23/2009

Local and Overseas Job Fair at Glorietta

Come and visit the 2nd National Career Fair 2009 at Glorietta Activity Center, Glorietta Mall, Makati City on April 29-30, 2009, 10AM - 6PM.

This event is brought to us by AdExhibit, Inc.

For inquiries, please call Ms. Donna Ricafrente at 672-2870 to 77 or email her at sales@adexhibit-inc.com, adex_metrojobfair@yahoo.com. You may also visit their website at http://adexhibit-inc.com/

Doha new destination for OFWs

Migrante-Qatar coordinator Jhon de Jesus said that Doha will be the new destination for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are affected by the global economic crackdown.

He said that there are still job opportunities for Filipinos in Doha. Base on his observation, due to the continuous development and booming of several industries, Qatar will be the alternative destination for laid off OFWs in Dubai since.

“Qatar is still at its peak of development while opportunities in Dubai have already subsided because many infrastructure projects have already been completed that it just needs maintenance workers,” de Jesus said.

Meanwhile, the Labor Secretary advised retrenched OFWs in Dubai to submit their résumé to the labor attaché for possible transfer to Qatar, where there are 120,124 visa allocations for Filipino workers this year.

He also added that they will provide training, if need by OFWs, for them to transfer to other countries. If they already want to stay in the Philippines for good, the Department of Labor and Employment will provide them capital for livelihood activities.

Source: The PENINSULA/ By CHRIS V PANGANIBAN
1/25/2009

How to Avoid Illegal Recruitment

1. Do not apply at recruitment agencies not licensed by POEA.
2. Do not deal with licensed agencies without job orders.
3. Do not deal with any person who is not an authorized representative of a licensed agency.
4. Do not transact business outside the registered address of the agency. If recruitment is conducted in the province, check if the agency has a provincial recruitment authority.
5. Do not pay more than the allowed placement fee. It should be equivalent to one month salary, exclusive of documentation and processing costs.
6. Do not pay any placement fee unless you have a valid employment contract and an official receipt.
7. Do not be enticed by ads or brochures requiring you to reply to a Post Office (P.O.) Box, and to enclose payment for processing of papers.
8. Do not deal with training centers and travel agencies, which promise overseas employment.
9. Do not accept a tourist visa.
10. Do not deal with fixers.

Source: POEA

Resume Writing Tip

Your resume can make or break you. Most resumes contain personal information that are not really needed; your height, weight and your skin. References are not also needed, it won’t help you in making the reader invite you for an interview.

Here are some common errors in writing resume:

• Too long or too short
• Poorly designed - crowded, small fonts, too many different fonts
• Poor grammar, misspelled words, lack of proof-reading
• Too boastful and aggressive
• Too many jobs in a short period-job hopper
• Appears overqualified or “under-qualified”
• With handwritten corrections
• Includes information such as being fired of having lawsuits with previous employers
• Includes salary requirements that are either too high or too low
• Poorly typewritten or reproduced
• Soiled with ink, perfume or finger prints
• Mailed in tiny envelope accompanied by transcripts, letters of recommendations, clearances and other unnecessary attachments
• Comes without cover letter
• Sent the same or similar resume to the same person (cunning way to follow up)
• Follow up call made before the resume was received
• Several follow up calls that make the job applicant too desperate
• Totally unrelated to position applied for
• Suspicious information
• Unclear job objective
• Use of unfamiliar jargons or abbreviations
• Uses odd-sized or extremely thin or thick paper
• Mailed or faxed “To whom it may concern”

Source: Job Market 101 : The essentials of Finding the right Job, Volume 1 Number 2

More Jobs for OFWs in Saudi

Saudi Arabia is not affected of the global financial crisis, since there are more than one million jobs available in the country for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) according to the Saudi Prince Khalid bin Saud bin Khalid.

The prince said that Saudi is looking for 6,000 doctors and nurses mostly in the cities of Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam, in the next three years. They will also need more engineers and other skilled workers.

“We will be increasing the number of Filipinos in Saudi…The global economic crisis will not affect the people of the Philippines in Saudi,” the prince said.

“We are targeting an increase of above the current one million Filipinos in Saudi and this is the first time that we will welcome Filipino doctors [to] Saudi,” he added.

The Saudi ambassador to Manila Mohammed Ameen Wali said that Filipino workers who have been retrenched in the United States and Europe due to the financial crisis are now looking for jobs in Saudi.

“Every day, we process at least 800 to 900 jobs for Filipinos here [in the embassy] for deployment in Saudi. They are the ones who have lost their jobs in the US and Europe,” he said.

Overseas Jobs Update

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Local and Overseas Job Fair

Visit the 2nd North Triangle Career Fair 2009 at Trinoma Activity Center, 10 am to 6 pm on March 3 and 4, 2009. Lots of local and overseas opportunities are open.

How to identify an illegal recruiter?

Due to the global economic crisis, many Filipinos want to work overseas and others are also grabbing this chance to swindle jobseekers. Just for your attention here are some ways on how to distinguish fraud from real recruiters.

Kilalanin ang illegal recruiter!
Ang illegal recruiter ay:

• agad naniningil ng placement fee o anumang kaukulang bayad nang walang resibo
• nangangako ng madaliang pag-alis patungo sa ibang bansa
• nagre-require agad ng medical examination o training kahit wala pang malinaw na employer o kontrata
• nakikipag-transaksiyon sa mga aplikante sa mga pampublikong lugar tulad ng restaurant, mall, atbpa. at hindi sa opisina ng lisensyadong ahensiya
• bahay-bahay kung mag-recruit ng mga aplikante
• hndi nagbibigay ng sapat na impormasyon tungkol sa ina-aplayang trabaho
• nagsasabi na may kausap na direct employer at ang mga aplikante ay di na kailangang dumaan sa POEA
• nangangako ng mabilis na pag-alis ng aplikante gamit ang tourist o visit visa
• walang maipakitang employment contract o working visa
• nagpapakilala na empleyado ng isang lisensyadong recruitment agency ngunit walang maipakitang ID
• nagpapakilala na konektado sa isang travel agency o training center
• nanghihikayat sa mga aplikante na mangalap ng iba pang aplikante upang mapabilis ang pagpapaalis
• walang maibigay na sapat at tamang impormasyon tungkol sa sarili tulad ng buong pangalan o address
• nangangako na ang mga dokumento ay ipapasok sa POEA para mai-process (lalo na sa kaso ng EPS-Korea)
• hihikayatin ka dahil nakapag-paalis na ng isa o higit pa gamit ay tourist visa

Avoid illegal recruiters!

Source: POEA