Oo Odesk nga: A Pinoy's online journal

Odesk, a catalyst for change.

2011-11-08T05:17:00.000-08:00

We thank Gary Swart for making it easier to outsource jobs offshore via oDesk. We thank american corporate greed for making our lives better. For better or for worse the we are grateful for the sacrifice of every american job outsourced to us. Some of the bail out money afforded to wall street fat cats were invested to further outsource more jobs to 3rd world countries. As a citizen of the world this blogger is not insensitive to how he american middle class was screwed by the 1%. American jobs like these http://siva-ph.jobstreet.com/_ja/jobstreetAssist.asp?companyid=23625 among so many others are among the primary contributors to America's growing unemployment. That's just how the world works. Corporate greed is a part of the human condition. Corporation have no national allegiances, no sense of patriotism. Make no mistake what so ever; but Odesk too is a corporation. Never forget that Odesk makes 10% off whatever you make. The fact that I have been shadow writing with an alias on Odesk despite their efforts to bar me proves of just how uncaring the world can be.

Pinoy Odesk reads about Colnect and Gary Swart

2011-09-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

This Pinoy Odesk newbie saw this and realizes a simple fact

1. To get to the correct customer support (people further up the food chain than Ron Aquino of Manila) you really got to speak with Gary Swart

2. I am posting this because to date oDesk and it's Outsourced Customer Support Off shored in the Philippines continues to wash it's hands and has yet to offer a sincere apology for the damage they've done to the author.

this post was orignally from http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/odesk-c433747.html

Odesk

Posted: 2011-03-22 by

Collector Coin

No care for business owners

Complaint Rating:

Company information:
oDesk
United States
Full version of this complaint is here: hThe short version: after working with oDesk for 6 months and hiring dozens of contractors, oDesk suddenly suspended Colnect's account which had 26 active contracts WITHOUT even providing a reason. It took 5 days and many requests to realize that oDesk did it since bonus payment to one of the contractors was passed using PayPal and not oDesk. As I was unaware of this being a "serious violation" of oDesk's rules, I offered that contractor to get her bonus via oDesk or PayPal and she chose PayPal. About 2 months later, when we ended our contract, she decided to complain on oDesk since she didn't like the feedback she got. So basically, they lost less than $5 commission from that bonus not passing through their system and decided to suspend Colnect's account although thousands of $USD were passed on oDesk and got we got only excellent feedback from contractors.

After their support failed to answer my issues properly, I contacted oDesk's CEO Gary Swart with the story. Finally, after 2.5 weeks, oDesk resumed Colnect's account. They never apologized for the damage they've done to Colnect and 26 active contractors without a good reason and they refused to change their policies or consider any compensation to the contractors they hurt or Colnect.

This is the reason this post has been made - to warn employers relying on oDesk.
ttp://blog.colnect.com/2011/03/odesk-warning-for-employers.html

Lucky for Colnect they were able to reach Gary Swart, guess this is why lots of people read my blog still.

Odesk Profile in the Old Days

2011-08-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

oDesk upgrade causes providers to loose their hard earned earnings

2011-06-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

Recently it appears that an ODesk upgrade has caused all it's providers a great inconvenience due to a bug which they have been unable to fix. If you see this error message popping up in your screen, then that means that you are unable to bill time and whatever work you do while this remains unresolved will not be credited.

oDesk customer support headed by Ron Aquino based in the Philippines has yet to comment on this blog or post a resolution. The question remains:

1. will providers be credited for lost hours due to this bug
2. Will contractors be the one made responsible to credit for lost time or
3. will odesk be the one to credit lost billable hours
4. Will oDesk ever recognize the hardship they cause the providers by their sheer incompetence?

ODesk Providers please do share your experience concerning this disheartening news.

Just wanted to share

2011-06-06T01:53:00.001-07:00

In Search of my Soulmate Slideshow: Jake’s trip from Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines to 11 cities Hong Kong, Macau Peninsula, Boracay, Makati, Cebu City, Palawan, Tagaytay, Tacloban, Samar, Corregidor Island (near Cavite, Luzon) and Pagudpud was created by TripAdvisor. See another China slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

Pay Pal

2011-03-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

I miss the good old days when I could lay back have a sip while watching my team remotely work on their assigned tasks. I miss the time when I was searching for and screening candidates for a post and fulfilling their dream of working from home. I miss the seemingly boundless opportunity to learn and grow.

But what I miss the most I guess was being able to inspire people to achieve.

It's more of sentimental reason why I hold on to an achievement which oDesk customer service staff now censors.

I earned a prized, coveted and valuable reputation for my sacrifice of blood, sweat and tears. Literally I worked for months feverishly pursuing a goal, a a dream an obsession.

In spite of how oDesk's remote customer support refusal to reinstate my untainted 5 star profile I pray that the truth shall prevail!

My blog's metrics.

2011-03-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

This Pinoy Odesk Newbie finds metrics... amazing. It appears that somehow the science of customer management have crunched everything into numbers as if it alone could properly measure an agent's complete contributions to any particular organization.
Call center agents live and die by the numbers. You got Average Handling Time, Customer Satisfaction Ratings, Calibrations, Abandon Rates and a hundred other numbers. There's even an allowance provided by your account (if humane enough), we call Bio-break or Bathroom break.

Sure talking on the phone is easy work, but dealing with the stress and rigid schedule is not. I mean it's not the first time we've heard of people having a heart attack with on the operations floor, or getting married with the love of your life in the morning then taking calls instead of going to your honeymoon. I even heard of someone literally peeing in their pants cause workforce's forecast went bonkers.

But since we're on the topic of numbers, the writer thought it might be discuss about this site's Matrices as revealed by Google Analytics.

I thank who ever may gave the time to read an old memoir of my experiences when I was still a Pinoy Odesk Newbie.

I am speaking my truth if Gary Swart finds it distasteful then please, acknowledge the mistake, set things straight and restore my old profile. I had sacrificed far too much blood, sweat and tears for the five star reputation worthy of note only to be white washed by your customer care agents in the Philippines.

Looking Back

2010-12-08T07:42:00.000-08:00

My boss at the time had me working as a project manager, photoshop artist, and head hunter. I had logged in several hundred hours several jobs with an impressive five star rating and more than a thousand dollars in provider earnings. I had built my own provider company and it was growing fast... until odesk customer support messed things up.

I called oDesk customer support for help and instead i was dumb founded at how oDesk treats it's providers.

I had high hopes on oDesk back then. I realize that I am still bitter and resentful at oDesk's cold and insincere apology.

I had worked like a mad man establishing a five star reputation and a reputation worthy of note. In the interest of covering up their mistakes oDesk customer service exerted great lengths to cover up the TRUTH and wash their hands of this mess. They had even banned me from the user forum and blocked my account. In effect oDesk customer support now led by Ron Aquino (who previously was with security assessment) deprived me of free speech.

oDesk had recently invited me to try online employment again through their facebook group. However since they refuse to reinstate my oDesk hours and profile, I find their invitation unacceptable.

I am currently running my own Icafe, web-publishing and web hosting business. I offer my services through Elance, Freelancer among others.

Lies Deceit and Censorship.

2010-06-09T23:55:00.000-07:00

If there is anything Odesk Customer support EXCELS in doing, its this: Lying, Deception, Censorship and passing the buck.

This Pinoy newbie has had some free time to visit Odesk lately and it has become apparent how much Odesk customer support sucks, and why a lot of Odesk Providers like me have fled to Freelance.com, and Elance.

Here's one of their responses concerning WHY ODESK PROVIDERS are unable to withdraw their EARNINGS from paypal:

Odesk refuses to claim responsibility that they fucked up and ans such A LOT of providers will go hungry due to ODesk's incompetence. This is exactly what happens when an outsourcing solutions business outsources it's own staff.

Odesk customer support yet again passed the buck to Paypal.

A vast majority of the poor providers really dont have the facilities to contact PayPal to sort things out, but as one of the birds and the bees reported:

That is not true I just got off the phone with paypal and they say that they are not experiencing any type of problems with any Odesk accounts. The Rep at paypal said that if it was a problem on their end it would give us the error on their site. But we are getting the error on O'desks website therefore the problem is with Odesk and not with paypal. I need my money to pay bills today! if my money is not made available to me asap I will go to the proper authorities on this. Odesk needs to reply to us ASAP with a solution not lies or excuses. Paypal says they are not having any problems at all with Odesk or otherwise so we are being lied to and that upsets me very much I will be calling my boss so that she can retrieve the money she has sent Odesk to pay me so that she can send me a check instead or find some other means to send me my money which I have already worked for!!

BUT dont take my word for it, if your one of the Odesk providers who's half past crazy cause you can't feed your family or pay your bills, call Paypal yourself.

I'll be ranting again. Its stupid that Odesk Customer Support, prefers to fight and censor providers like me instead of working together towards a solution.

A post of interest.

2010-03-27T01:08:00.000-07:00

I am very happy for you. I read your blog and I found it inspiring, candid, truthful. It was funny at times and a tearjerker depending on your mood.

I was because of this that I believe in your words and I must say that I admire you for your courage.

Your story is one of courage, perseverance and persistence and sometimes outright stupidity but insightful nonetheless.

I feel sorry for you as I know that you have been blocked from the forum. I am afraid that my post will be deleted as well.

You are David fighting Goliath. I realize you will no longer be able to post and share your story, your thoughts, and your sentiments.

I see that you have earned a great degree of trust from your current employment. Hard work, perseverance and an unfailing faith in your abilities does pay in the end.

I thank you for your sincerity and generosity, I understand that you have recently created your own provider company with the intent of helping newbies like me. It is a shame that you had run into a brick wall customer support. That you had contacted the support staff directly through chat with the intention of expressing your exasperation with the intent of resolving the issue so that your suspension would be lifted.

It is alarming that instead of being provided with specifics on how your provider company's suspension would be was lifted, people fearful of their own wellbeing, decided to terminate your privileges.

Such is the risk of success my friend. I am grateful for your effort to bring this to the attention of those concerned.

I have never heard of a case of suspension automatically escalated to termination. I find this unduly harsh and I empathize with you. Every organization of oDesk's size has issues.

Please correct me if I understand your concern correctly.

1. You feel that you were unsatisfied that odesk failed to reply to your email concerning an inquiry?

2. You were were not directed to a supervisor when you found that your queries to the chat agent were not being satisfactorily met?

3. Your distressed even further by the fact that oDesk has yet to extend the courtesy of returning your phone call?

4. That your efforts to resolve the issue had instead resulted in your suspension not to be resumed?

5. That your efforts to bring this to the attention of the public has resulted you from being banned in the forum without due notice or process?

6. That this issue has affected everyone in your team?

7. That further customer service has refused to respond to your further queries?

8. That oDesk has failed the courtesy of returning your phone call?

9. That you are a loyal and long standing member of the oDesk community who feels betrayed and neglected by the very people who were supposed to lend a sympathetic ear and help you.

10. That you are now concerned about your employment which you is now feel under threat and coercion that oDesk will simply pend your earning indefinitely?

I see that despite of this issue you continue to persevere in your effort to maintain your long standing relationship with your current employment and as a results oDesk makes a 10% from whatever you make.

You have a big battle ahead of you. I pray that someone from higher up in the food chain would be able to read this and reconsider lifting this act of injustice. I wish you luck in your endeavors.

Fear not my friend for in the end the truth shall prevail. Hold steadfast as this issue not only concerns you but the entire oDesk community.

SUPPORT ISSUES WITH ODESK. I have an existing 60 hour/week assignment through oDesk

2010-03-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows the business of customer support realizes that there are certain standards of quality which must be met. In addition protocols must be followed. Most important of all is that the main objective of the Job Function is to HELP people.

There are also certain conflicts of interest that you need to keep in mind. It appears that Odesk has outsourced it's own Customer support team. Is is so hard to imagine that outsource oDesk support members have also created their OWN individual provider companies. Further it isn't hard to imagine that under the tight competition these freelance provider companies working as support reps would USE whatever resources to they have to muscle out their competition.

I had a CHAT with Odesk support to try and resolve issues as my account was suspended. IT was my intention to resolve the issue and vent my frustration.

SADLY, instead of having support point out exactly WHAT I need to do to resolve this ISSUE odesk support team Off shored to the Philippines DECIDED to terminate it.

NOT only did they terminate my account, but they HAVE locked me out of the FORUM and banned me. WHATEVER HAPPENED to FREE SPEECH.

I realize that this issue CAN be resolved. THIS issue however requires the attention of Upper Management From MENLO PARK California.

I am releasing A screen shot of the actual chat here for THE PUBLIC TO SEE HOW ODESK resolved ISSUES with BUYERS and PROVIDERS.

AGAIN anyone from US based Odesk SUPPORT people, Call me, I have left you a message on your automated voice line in Menlo Park (650) 853-4100.

update

2010-03-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

Hi this is the Pinoy Odesk newbie providing an update on my status on Odesk. I realize on my previous blogs that my pages were filled with despair and whining at how the job marketplace "Odesk" was doing. To be honest it is what it was before: A buyers market.

However as the song goes..."always look on the sunny side of the street..".

I said it before and I'll say it again ... I refuse to fail and I will persist and I will persevere.

I continue to thank the Odesk community and my fellow providers and buyers with their support. I also thank my previous buyers for their appreciation.

I promised a member of the Odesk community forums that I pledge to do my best to keep them satisfied, and I guess my feedback rating as a provider attests to my commitment to providing extraordinary customer care.

Once again this is the Pinoy Odesk Newbie thanking you for visiting my blog, or better yet HIRE me on Odesk.

PBS report

2009-11-13T17:05:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to share another video

2009-11-01T00:20:00.000-07:00

This oDesk Pinoy Newbie and Blogger just wanted to share. Mind you this is meant to BE funny. So please don't take things out of context.

Again this was the Pinoy Odesk Newbie thanking you for visiting my blog.

Pinoy oDesk Newbie's 1st buck!

2009-10-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

Home Office Pics

2009-10-28T02:44:00.000-07:00

This Pinoy Odesk neophyte recently participated in Facebook's home office wall on facebook. I thought I might share with you guys what you were missing. These are just my favorites.

Again, this is the Pinoy Odesk Newbie thanking you for visitng my blog.

Success in Bitter-sweet Baby Steps

2009-10-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

I got a job, several jobs actually with help from fellow Odesk people I met on the Boards. Thank you to all of you. More details later. I got a project to finish..

Tokwa't Baboy: The Pinoy Odesk Blogger's Meal

2009-10-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

This Pinoy Odesk Newbie got out of bed around 8 pm manila time, around 7 am CST. I just had a really weird dream. In that dream I got to visit my brother and see his project in Chicago. I was looking at a holding pen with a weird piglet wading in a dark thick liquid suspension akin to maple syrup. The piglet was probably two weeks old. What struck me most was that it's body was like sponge bob square pants. Boxy, spongy body with legs and a pig's head. Kinda reminded me of a large fried block of uncut tofu (tokwa) with legs. It was just outright weird.

If dreams, the ones you get when you’re in REM sleep, is the brains way of internalizing what we experience during our waking hours my dream could be explained by my last meal and the discover magazine I read before I dozed off. I had "tokwa't baboy" about six hours before I fell asleep. "Tokwa't Baboy", is a Filipino contraction of Tokwa at Baboy", translated pork and tofu. It's basically bits of pork, preferably the ears, and fried diced fried tofu in soy sauce, vinegar, sliced onions with a touch of salt, pepper and sometimes "labuyo", the local chili. The discover article I read right before going to sleep could have lead to that dream. Geneticists were able to grow a human ear from a lab rat. Xeno implantation was a fascinating subject when I was still studying.

It's another Friday night in Manila. The previous Friday was when I thought I'd quit from Odesk, it was Monday when I changed my mind. To date this pinoy odesk newbie has around hmmm let me check out my candidacies... 25 active candidacies, 22 inactive candidacies, 4 interviews and not a single employer. Oh my god, this is turning out to be an embarrassing feat. IF Odesk had been my agent which it is) I would fire him.

Of the four interviews, one was a god damn salesman, one was an Indian conglomerate who though I was running a sweat shop, one was my own buying company (yeah I know, more of it later), and the one was a blogger from Spain who also runs a blog.

I got to bid early for the voice over job that specifically stated $1.50 an hour to read articles for his up and coming podcast about dogs. Sigh, Odesk is going to the dogs I tell you. I managed to run audacity, created a clip and sent it via email then ftp. It has been four days since that interview and I have yet to hear from him.

I'm writing not to dissuade anyone from joining the Odesk workforce which is now 300,000 strong. I am writing to vent out my frustration and to prove to buyers out there (helllooooo, I'm for hire), that I am serious, determined, skilled, creative, tenacious and HUNGRY to get started.

At the same time, I hope that this blog, serves as a warning to my fellow Pinoy Newbie’s to set their expectations straight. I am told, and I'm finding this out, you got to be determined to make it here. Is Odesk a waste of MY time? Only time can tell. However looking as I stepped back, I see a man who is ill.

The DSM IV-tr, or whatever the current version, would describe this Pinoy Odesk Newbie as suffering from an obsessive compulsive disorder with flights of fantasies and delusions of grandeur. Oh did I mention before that I have two college degrees?

In plain English: I am stubborn dreamer who believes in my self-worth and refuses to give up.

Once more this is has been the Pinoy Odesk Newbie thanking you for reading my blog wherever you may be.

Pinoy Odesk Newbie's Failure Analysis:part 2

2009-10-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

This is the Pinoy Odesk Newbie's continuing his last post...

So what was this Pinoy Odesk newbie doing wrong and what was he doing write err I meant right (sigh still can’t afford a proof reader, and MS word sucks at it). My mistake was not filtering out the non-serious buyers. Who can blame me, I'm a newbie besides at this point it really didn’t matter if I get paid or not as long as I get the odesk hours so I can qualify for the phone/tech/customer support niche which is my primary target. Another possibility was that I was cancelling bids for unresponsive buyers. I would contend however that if the buyer posts that he needs the job done on Friday but failed to respond by Friday it was a proper course of action. (don’t you just hate it when that happens.) BTW eLance has an awesome comic segment which I would recommend to any freelancer.

What was this Pinoy Odesk Newbie doing right? Well, 15% of the buyers just chose someone else. Which means that for them, I was qualified for the job, my price and my price was reasonable. Most likely they just preferred a sexy blonde teenager to get things done. Oooops sorry, I am a guy, that was meant as a joke. What I meant was buyers most likely had a favored provider with whom they had worked with.

The first call center I worked for in 2006, Convergys - America's largest outsourcing firm shouts out that in order to succeed one needs not only to learn from failures, but to out think and out do your competitors. ( yes once I was chained to my Avaya phone too and I will again if I don’t get a buyer soon).

Odesk is a harsh global marketplace, so much so for neophytes who have yet to earn a reputation. If there is something I have to look forward to is the fact that on my candidacies 3 buyers marked me as a favorite.

This isn’t a thesis or an article for a buyer this just me the Odesk Pinoy Newbie trying to learn from my mistakes. Admittedly the sample size (n) is small. The table above represents all the data I currently have. So please don’t demand a certain a margin of error. Odesk management would definitely have all the figures in their mainframes but I doubt Gary Swart would gladly reveal the real numbers.

These are all firsthand experiences. All were painful opportunities for the writer to learn from. There is supposedly a guy who posted a youtube video from Timbuktu who’s working on an MBA with oDesk as his subject. I wonder if got a job on odesk.

This Pinoy Odesk newbie has earned the bragging rights to have worked as one of the best paid call center reps in his country, rejection like this was a humbling experience.

In times like these I have find consolation in odesk community members like you, whomever and wherever you maybe. Pulling my hair and silently screaming then fixing myself a nice tall glass of sweet tea or milkshake helps a lot too. Above all I find wisdom and comfort in the words of great men and authors.

I’d like to share some to fellow Odesk newbies and veterans:

BARACK OBAMA:

Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. it's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY:

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.

MICHAEL JORDAN:

I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

MOHANDAS K. GANDHI:

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.

ELBERT HUBBARD:

There is no failure except in no longer trying.

ELIZABETH DREW:

The torment of human frustration, whatever its immediate cause, is the knowledge that the self is in prison, its vital force and "mangled mind" leaking away in lonely, wasteful self-conflict.

These quotes were taken from: http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_failure.html (no back link seo/sem and link builders, I just wanted to credit the site somehow)

Again this was the Pinoy Odesk Newbie thanking you for visiting my blog and hoping that you visit soon, or better yet..... HIRE ME on Odesk.

P.S. here's something for all you conspiracy addicts.

Pinoy Odesk Newbie's Failure Analysis:

2009-10-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

Failure Analysis:

This Pinoy Odesk Newbie has been actively searching for a job on Odesk for the past two weeks and two days without success. My morale was obliterated and my self confidence shattered. Had it not been for fellow newbies like myself I would have lost my self-respect.

Butch, a.k.a., vjustce commented that we need to keep a positive outlook at all times and learn from out mistakes. Well that’s what I’m trying to do right now. I’m taking a step back and trying to determine what went wrong and hopefully correct my mistakes. I do not intend to whine or point my finger and pass judgment Mr. Vitale. I am merely trying to sort out the facts. Numbers have their failings. Statistics, Caluculus, Quantum Mechanics are all based on approximations. Statistics relies on "N" or the number or samples, Calculus merely describes a curve and Quantum mechanics states of an uncertainty principle. I hate numbers. Because despite popular opinion these number systems are not absolute. In a third world country this Pinoy was taught by his elders that such systems were absolutes rather than approximations.

None the less let’s look at the numbers. To date (10/21/2009, 5:00 am Manila) I have 36 candidacies of which 20 are inactive candidacies and 16 remain active.

to be continued.....

Odesk Community Forum 15 hours to post?

2009-10-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Odesk Forum 11:08 pm Manila time

As a Pinoy Odesk Newbie I wonder what’s up with the Odesk community forum. It looks as if all the recent posts were 15 hours ago. I’m not a part of the Odesk staff; I haven’t even gotten a job. However Pinoys are by nature very inquisitive and Odesk's universe is a rich environment.

I love conspiracies. In the a third world country Pinoys are famous for uzis. Not the Israeli submachine guns. The Pinoy Uzi's I'm talkinga about are "tismosos" or rumor mongers. I think that’s the reason why Dan Brown’s made so much money from his amazing novels like Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons among others. Come to think if it next to basketball Pinoys would probably consider chit chatting with nosy neigbhors as the national past time. It’s fun to speculate some times. Right now I’m guessing at least two scenarios are going on.

First scenario is that they are implementing a new ID system on the forum. This would be great news for everyone. It would mean Odesk management is actually trying to weed out those pesky pinoy scammers like that guy recuiting for a pinoy call center agents on odesk.

On the other hand, Odesk staff moderators could be screening individual posts. While it is true that newbies, pinoy newbies in particular like me are finding it impossible to find a job and are hurting because of it; the Odesk community forum would be violating fifth amendment rights if they to censor valid grievances by newbies. Regardless of our natinalities, pinoys, chinese, americans or indians we all have rights too. Would oDesk management deem it necessary to screen out or censor provider posts to maintain it’s interest. This Pinoy Odesk newbie really wouldn’t know. I’m just a newbie who happens to be a Pinoy trying to get a job, Praying that a lucky buyer would find me and value what I have to offer.

(This article has been modified an enriched for SEO purposes)

continued from last post

2009-10-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

I decided to go to the office to pass along my resume Friday afternoon manila time.The weather was fair. It was as if Ondoy never visited the metro and caused so much misery. I rode my ever trusty bike to the bus station and locked it a nearby client’s office. I helped build that office two years ago and today I dropping by to make sure that the SOHO was working and to check on the technician I had hired for them. Twenty desktops, four laptops, three network printers were buzzing merrily without problems. Not so long ago I worked feverishly to complete the project to so I can sign up with one of the largest American telecoms firm free from any encumbrances . As I left my buddy, the CEO (Child Employee of the Owner) handed me a small envelope, my retainer's fee and asked me to visit another site. He still wouldn't entrust my endorsed tech with the passwords. Trust and a reputation was something I had earned from friends and neighbors. It was something I had yet to earn Odesk. I'm still waiting for an employers to take a chance on me.

I boarded the bus at four pm relieved that I got seat. The AC wasn’t working and it was getting worse. The person sitting beside wouldn’t stop yapping on his phone. I managed to take a snooze on my commute. I woke up suddenly anxious if I had missed my stop. I was horrified. Not because I was sweating like a hog, not because the Bumbay seated next to me started to stink. It was because an hour had passed and we weren't even still halfway to Libis! I couldn’t imagine how I was able to stand this routine day and day out.

Libis, is one of the sprawling call center capitals in the metro. There must be two dozen offices within the complex. Dell, Amberbase, Accenture, IBM, Aetna, Erickson among others. I checked in my ID at the receptionist desk at looked at the clock it was 7:30 pm. Another two and a half hours of my so called life down the drain. It reminded me why, more than ever I wanted to work from home.

Again I did some Math. Three to four hours a day. Fifteen to twenty hours a week, 60 to 80 hours a month, 720 to 960 hours a year was what the cost of working at that office. Thirty to forty days a year spent sitting on a stinking bus in the sweltering heat and maddening traffic. I sighed and told myself it was the price I paid for the job. A job that provided .6 vacation leaves a month and paid a net of $2.2 an hour. My job was one the highest paying jobs in Manila.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw my former team mate. Ecstatic we said out hi's and hellos. She updated me on the situation. The entire team of 23 agents were already terminated for not meeting the metrics. It was something that I foresaw, one of the reasons why I decided to pursue Freelancing. Call centers were shaving costs by denying agents tenure and cutting benefits. She wasn't just someone of the streets. My was teammate, a fellow alumnus, was a magna cum laude from UP Diliman and held a Masters.

I turned around and walked away stunned. My human resource professor was right. Job security was a mere illusion. It was insane for me to walk back in there to ask for my old job back. I didn't want to go back home. I tried to cheer myself up and indulged in a buffet at "Something Fishy". Something Fishy was a favorite hangout for call center agents. Their midnight "eat all you can" buffet costs Php115 or $2.25. As I sat alone on a table waiting for midnight I noticed this hot chick checking me out. We ended up talking about how her friend's website was able to achieve 75,000 hits on her website. That wasn't made me smile though, it was because she ended up asking my number. I declined and asked we just exchange facebook accounts indeed. I never thought I'd get to use the old push pull technique. I went home with a smile on my face and a her email and cell written on my fore arm.

I went home and found myself in front of my screen reading my profile and the community blog. I guess there's always room for improvement. I had 13 active and 13 inactive candidacies but no interview invitations. But I did see something. I was bookmarked as a favorite provider by 3 buyers! In addition I checked official oDesk blog and they implemented a change in policy. Josh and the odesk team were working on the issues. I realized something. My failure is also Odesk's failure. Odesk never stopped trying to improve itself, neither should I. Out of the kindness of her heart someone from the Coffee break forum pledged to endorse me on future projects.

A couple of days ago I wrote "I want something out of this but WHAT?"

The answer was failure. Painful, embarrassing and powerful. I did get something of it. It wasn't dollars and cents, but they invaluable none the less.

1. A lesson in humility: I am competing with a global workforce and not just a local population.
2. A lesson in patience: Providers can only view ten at people a time of which nine are spammers.
3. A lesson in perseverance: It was exhausting, tiring, but I can't give up now.
4. A lesson in learning: I learned to do cloud computing on Blogger and put up widgets.

That tormenting bus ride to work today reminded me why I wanted to work at home and why the two weeks I spent shouldn't be considered expenditure but rather an investment. I realized that I had worked hard for what I wanted and I deserved to give myself a second chance. I deserve a chance at this. I refuse to fail. I DESERVE to give myself another chance. I want this I WANT this and I wanted it BAD.

Friday

2009-10-16T12:11:00.001-07:00

It’s Friday. I should be smiling relieved that the week is over. But that's not how I feel. I'm miserable and ashamed. I gave myself two weeks, two whole weeks to get a job at Odesk but failed. I cleared 14 days on my calendar making sure I was free from all distractions. I was confident that two college degrees, years of experience, and a Brainbench certification would be worth something... I was an arrogant fool who believed that the market would find some value in what I had to offer. I was blinded by my ego failing to realize that Odesk is a different marketplace.

It has been two weeks since I started to take the Odesk readiness test and authorized Odesk’s spyware on my PC. I spent 14 days taking exams, browsing through jobs, writing individualized cover letters, reading provider written blogs and participating in the community forums with a singular purpose: get hired.

I am in despair because I failed to achieve a personal goal. A goal which I thought was Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reasonable and Tangible. I guess I'm not that SMART. I hate it when I fail.

Numbers despite their failings have a story to tell. One hundred twelve man-hours is what I've spent trying to achieve a single goal - get hired. If was earning $2 per hour it translates to $224. Two hundred twenty dollars in Manila would be enough to pay for utilities, groceries and 2 rims of cigarettes.

I marked this day on my calendar and told myself I would would cut my losses and move on.

But something happened that made me reconsider.... abangan ang susunod na kabanata.

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Blog Action Day 2009

2009-10-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

I’m JakeCastle, the PinoyOdeskNewbie supporting Blog Action Day 2009.

If you feel left out, Blog Action Day is held every October 15^th. It’s an opportunity where ordinary people who blog like me and you unite to write about a single issue on a single day. This year’s topic is climate change, and it is an honor to be part of the 4,000 bloggers from 123 countries who are participating.

I’m sure anyone from Manila would agree that this now is the best time to discuss such an issue. The recent flood caused by the typhoon Ondoy affected Manila based Odesk providers. I wasn’t one of those who was unable to meet the deadlines since I still haven’t found a single buyer.

I was however disgusted by this guy who was begging for money because he was affected by the floods. Did any one get to see his pathetic plea on Friendster and the Odesk community forum? Hey man your not the only one whose trying to get back on your feet after the flood. I mean I woke up at around 1PM wondering why it so darn cold only to realize that MY room was already knee deep in floodwater. It was a good thing that most of my electronics was elevated. Leave some dignity for the rest of us Filipino Newbie Freelancers who are at our wit's end trying to get our first Odesk job.

http://johndave23.blog.friendster.com/donate/

I offered to help you try to retrieve files on your HDD but you have yet to reply. I vehemently disapprove that you are now BEGGING for money when THIS has happened to so MANY.

I apologize for digressing. The topic is on climate change and freelancing on odesk. Here are a few tips that we can all do.

1. Turn off all unnecessary lights when not in use.

2. Use the stairs instead of the elevator.

3. Walk or ride a bike when on quick errands.

4. Print on both sides of the paper when printing those draft documents.

You can register your blog here.

In addition to joining thousands of other bloggers, you’ll also be supporting the work of the dozens of leading nonprofits who are also participating – including Oxfam, 350.org, The Nature Conservancy, Greenpeace, The United Nations Foundation, and more than forty organizations affiliated with the TckTckTck campaign.

You can learn more about the issue of climate change and see sample topics you might write about at www.blogactionday.org. There you can also find additional ways to get involved by taking action with leading nonprofits and posting a snazzy widget to your blog. (like the one I got on my side panel :) )

Cartoons

2009-10-14T11:12:00.001-07:00

I attached this design for one of my job applications to demonstrate my skill. Its an overkill for the task he posted. I have yet to receive a message from the buyer.

It's been 9 days and 6 hours since I started looking for a job on Odesk. I have 9 inactive and 12 active candidacies which amounts to 21 freshly written, concise and targeted cover letters.

My profile is at 100% with several Odesk exams and a Brainbench certification. I'm tired, hungry and sad. The only response I got was from a Nigerian scam artist and a Bangladeshi spammer.

No one ever wants to become a failure. I don't want to give up. I just don't. I'm close to tears now realizing that all my efforts have come to nothing but dismal rejection. I want SOMETHING out of this but what?

The ODesk member community has been great providing me with encouragement and support but I got to eat. I need to pay for the bills and without a day job and no social security benefits for unemployment in my country I will be left with no other choice but to smooch on my parents.

My last meal was breakfast 16 hours ago before I went to bed. Oyster mushroom in butter and lemon juice I had prepared for myself. It was the only thing I really enjoyed today

God damn it! At least when I get to one those speed hiring events for talented agents they serve free coffee. In fact the last monthly speed hiring event at my previous day job would had a buffet and a mini concert.

I have reason to believe people are cheating their reviews and creating buying companies themselves with the aim of providing fraudulent buyer feedback. This is sooooo aggravating.

On the bright side I got to chat with EMZ. Emz replied to my post and apparently he lives just nearby (small world indeed) me agreed to meet eye to eye soon. That guitar playin', you tube poster is one lucky bastard. He's got so many prospects that he admits he can't do them all anymore.

I guess even a top notch diploma from an Ivy league university isn't worth anything around here.

Himas Batok Himas (Pat, Slap, Pat)

2009-10-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

Philippine management style calls this : Himas, Batok, Himas. (Pat him on the back, a slap in the back of the head and another pat on the back). Earlier today I posted on the forum if I was violating Odesk policies by playing around with the Odesk logo. I've yet to check that post but I was surprised to hear from Ms. Doreen M. of Odesk administration about my cover letter . I think I read about disintermediation, but I was just approaching sheer desperation. It has been a week and I have yet to make a single dollar or peso (thats like a quarter) from my efforts. Shame on me though. I violated something before I even started a job, but hey I'm only human.

On the bright side of things I got this new banner :). It took a while for me to figure out how to post it on the right side of the blog. I never studied HTML/XTML or whatever code used to write these webpages. Turned out that I could just go ahead and delete the script and cut and paste the darn thing. I'm kinda excited though cause it looks like that she actually read excerpts of this blog. Sigh how I wish I could afford someone to proof read this blog on Odesk but I just cant afford it till I get a job myself. Yup, I'm running a one man show like most folks.

It's 6:22 AM Manila time, the sun is coming up and I'm about to call it a day.

Again Odesk Management my sincerest apologies. I'll email you a copy of the letter where I got the lousy idea of putting my contact information on my cover letter.

2009-10-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

Pinoy Odesk Newbie joins the forum.

2009-10-13T09:18:00.001-07:00

It's raining outside and I couldn't help but remember the flood caused by Ondoy. I woke up at 3pm Manila time fixed myself a typical Filipino breakfast comprising of an egg fried sunny side up medium raw, rice and tuyo (dried fish or sardinas secas). I'm still trying to rebound from my disappointment last night. I was hoping at least an interview from one of my candidacies but alas I found none.

On the bright side I did manage to browse though the community forum . To everyone I apologize having posted such a question when it's already on the FAQ. MY exact post was:

"How long does it take for a total newbie like me to get a job? I initially signed up with Odesk several months back but didn't actively look for jobs. Recently however I've been out of a job. I'm getting frustrated trying to get a buyer. I know that I am a total newbie at this so to earn trust I even offered this particular buyer to transcribe a 5-10 page handwritten PDF document for FREE, but my offer was declined. I'm really doing everything I can to build my credibility. I Even posted a Brainbench cert for Adobe InDesign (I do Photoshop but its wasn't free) and even started posting on Blogger to try and generate interest.

WHAT DOES A GUY LIKE ME need to do TO GET A JOB here?

http://odeskpinoynewbie.blogspot.com"

I was offered a warm reply which gave me a gleam of hope who happened to be a fellow Alumnus. Her reply:

Hi Jake,

Really sorry to hear that you've been having difficulty. If it is any consolation I think I get an offer once every 7 applications and I've already filtered those! What are you really good at and passionate about? Merge those with jobs that are abundant in that area and relatively low priced. Those are usually simple projects that are usually given to newbies. Take what I did at the start. I was an English teacher for 8 years then a training supervisor for an American company for 2 and a half years. I knew I could write articles but had no odesk experience in that area. So I started with copy writing. It was a downgrade of sorts but I was a newbie with no feedback so it was worth a shot. I was able to secure one project and things got better although not as fast as one would expect. Also and this is very important, start with fixed projects. Since you don't have hourly project experience buyers will usually by-pass you for others who've already worked hourly projects. Hope the tips help. - triciapascual

What does one say to someone who's been so kind? I have no idea if my thank you note was appropriate:

I thank you for your sympathy Tricia. It really is kinda hard to plaster your profile for the world to see hoping that it's worth something only to realize that no one was willing to pay a dime. I guess it's just that I'm not used to getting rejected this this. It had high hopes when I started looking for a project. I guess I'm gonna have to take an 8-5 job while trying to build my rep, but I'm not gonna give up the dream. I just hope I live long enough to see it cause this is really so damn depressing.

Once more Trish thank you for your words.

Brainbench Certifications

2009-10-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

I really haven't used this app not once. What I do use is PhotoShop so I guess you can imagine questions inside my head. Do these certifications really help me get a job? How accurate are these certifications? It's 8:05 and I guess I'm disappointed cause I still haven't got a buyer. This is not good at all. The good thing though is I got all my laundry done and I've printed a hard copy of my resume.

my o desk portrait

2009-10-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

Played around with the Odesk logo and my portrait. Hope this helps cause everyone is saying that I got to spruce up my Profile. Sigh its almost two in the morning and still no invites for a single interview Another candidacy just closed a couple of moments. Is it me, is it the recession or am I just being impatient. Geeeze I got bills to pay. I can't wait forever. There's got to be an easier way to make a buck.

10/12/2009

2009-10-12T05:49:00.001-07:00

It's Monday morning on the east coast and 8:53 PM manila time right now. I'm just about to check Odesk. I have seven current candidacies. I'm hoping, praying and just dying to see if one of them chose me for an interview. I am giving myself until Friday this week. If nothing comes up I'm going to apply for a call center job in Manila. I can't afford to sit here staring blankly hoping that someone is going to recruit me.

day 4

2009-10-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's the weekend. It's a weekend.. someone's bound to respond by Monday U.S. hours. Sigh, It's satruday today and instead of going out I up stuck here... sigh.. My dad was commenting about my work and was suggesting that I just review for the NCLEX. He also forwarded me USCIS reply that they were reviewing my immigration case.

On the bright side my mom finally got her laser surgery for her eyes. I guess they were in a bright mood considering that they (as parents never stop worrying about their children) lovingly provided me with a tirade.

One of the topics was on trying to help out Leonie. MY dad was telling basically telling me that since I was "idle" that I might look into possible business opportunities in our property in Nueva Ecija. Nothing high tech over in Lupao, just rice land and onion plantations... then again that land is part of my roots. It is where I got the very rice I've subsisted on since birth.

Anyways the illustion shows my current job applications. So like mom if you acutally read this.... I am looking for a job right now. It's just that I'm not looking for a traditional office work okay.

2009-10-10T02:10:00.000-07:00

10/10/2009

2009-10-10T02:03:00.001-07:00

I woke up at 2pm hungry and I couldn't understand why cuase I did have a meal before I went to bed. After last night journal entry I realized that Odesk must have several bots data mining job postings and then reposting these jobs to the higher bidder or worse yet there must be an operator or several operator harvesting jobs information and possible candidates. I went outside to go grab breakfast and my eyes were hurting because of the sun. It's a beautiful afternoon, the sun was up and everything.. it's just that my eyes were accustomed to the dark. I dad a cup of rice and "sinigang na baboy" at the corner carienderia. The diner's owner asked me if my bike was stolen. Hello, my Yamaha mio was stolen three months ago and told him that yes I was still waiting for the insurance to cough up the money so I can buy a new one. Well, actually I think I'd get a used bike instead lest it gets stolen again.

My last job posting last night before chatting with Edwin was to do surveys. I really am hoping to get this job. It pays $5 an hour. I'm sure I am qualified for the job. I just know I am far more than qualified for the job. I JUST wish they'd read my God Damned resume. Sigh, it's a Friday night right now in the US whoever posted will hopefully reply by Monday.

I problems booting my pc a earlier and just couldn't get online. It was good thing I had two operating systems running on separate hard disks. I basically booted the BIOS and switched to Vista. I then did a hard reset on my DSL modem and finally got online. I stepped outside the house to a breather. I Was anxious about the job application and I really am worried if I can make this work. I browsed over other providers and realized that there really were a lot of competent people out of work. I had no reason to be mad at the Odesk website. It's a tool I just had to learn to learn the ropes. I was just curious though, there was this candidate who claimed to worked for Linksys as a supervisor and I looked over her Odesk test results. I don't mean to be mean or anything, but I never really bothered to work as a supervisor but my test scores was head and shoulders over this supervisor. Sigh…

When Edwin logged on Yahoo messenger I promptly told him that I already hooked up Skype. The voice quality better than GIZMO project. Edwin, my long time friend, was the section chief of The Medical City in Ortigas who opted to work as a researcher for a Laboratory in Japan. He was bragged about a pair of Kenwood speakers he bought at a bazaar a couple of days ago and I told him about the 32" LCD TV I got . I think he's doin really good although he still needs to get used to the cold.

I checked Odesk for a reply still no luck. On face book though I was pleasantly surprised that Alex also added himself as an Odesk fan. Hmmm I didn't realize that some people were really curious about me. Mommy Cel said she looked over the pictures I posted about the Ondoy floods in Sampaloc and how her car just floated. What really interests me now though was Joy. Joy said she "just wanted the hurting to stop". Joy used to be my office mate for this American Credit and Charge card company. Yeah she openly admits she's gay. We had a crush on the same communication trainer. I couldn't help but wonder why she was hurtin. A couple of days before she posted a quote from Paulo Coelho "A no with pain is better than a yes with regrets" and Nikki commented "You nailed it"…. OMG!!! What is going on here.

Anyway better get back to trying to figure out why I couldn't boot my XP machine and then tidy up. … Sigh, it's Saturday and all my friends are either overseas or married with kids.

Angst

2009-10-09T14:14:00.001-07:00

I'm just freaking outright angry at Odek right now. It's either my Ego is just too big for my own good thinking that I am a better, smarter, person who is literally willing to work for peanuts just so that I can get some buyer a feedbacks and experience on this online job market place OR the workforce is just so vast that I'm not getting enough attention. IT SHOULDN'T BE THIS HARD TO GET A simple jobs that a trained monkey in Timbuktu can do. Aaarrgh, I'm just about pulling my hair right now. I just looked at my competitors. For a simple email sorting job, there was like a hundred respondents for a single job offer. It's a nightmare for me. It must be even worse for whoever is hiring because they could just be hiring someone who'll freaking report the job offer and make another commission. HELLO WORLD I AM HERE, I am a real person with a real degree who speaks your language. Hire me. Hire me now.

2009-10-09T12:39:00.001-07:00

It's been two days and I filed seven candidacies. Of which two were rejected because I lost the bid and four others which are still under consideration. I'm really worried that this might not work out for me. I was bidding a low $2.50 an hour for one job to at least get my feet wet and hopefully get a positive review s. I checked on the blogs and found a compatriot who had posted her o desk blog and was able to send a message through facebook. She told me that it took her two weeks to get her first job and after that jobs just kept on coming. I am just so hungry for a job today that I had even offered to transcribe a ten page hand written scan to word for free in the hope that I could do repeat business with that buyer. This is driving me crazy. I told myself, with my current experience I could just walk up to the nearest call center office and get a job contract the same day. But I just so badly want to be able to work at home. My mom's visiting the country by January and there is no way any company's workforce or team lead is going to give me two weeks off the job even without pay without firing me.

So here I am refining my resume for Odesk buyers in the hope of getting a job. I photoshopped my portrait and turned it into a logo of sorts as well as converted my resume from .docx to a .pdf file. Later I'm going to have to edit my blog and try to proof read them. It's just that when I wrote some of them I was just writing thinking no one would ever bother reading them. Now that I'm selling myself to Odesk buyers I realize that I can't afford not to run spellchecker at least.

Day 2 posting in Blog

2009-10-09T12:37:00.001-07:00

My Odesk Journey: A Filipino online worker’s journey to earn a decent buck.

2009-10-08T15:33:00.001-07:00

I’m writing my experiences as newbie on the online job market place Odesk. If you get the chance to google Odesk on wikepedia it states:

oDesk allows employers (“buyers”) to create online workteams coordinated and paid through the company's proprietary software and website. Prospective employers can post jobs for free, and freelance workers (“providers”) may create profiles and bid on jobs, also for free. The company puts potential providers through “a rigorous screening.”^[6] The company collects 10 percent of the payment. Payments are made through oDesk, which handles many bookkeeping tasks for the transaction. In addition to the marketplace aspect and the payment/bookkeeping services, the company uses collaborative software, “oDesk Team,” that allows employers to see a provider's progress while he or she is billing time

My journey began several months ago actually. At that time I was happily working as a representative for a top American credit card company who had partially outsourced their call center workforce to an Indian company. This Indian company I worked for then further outsourced it’s talents to the Philippines. Yeah I know it’s a lot to swallow, then again that’s the truth about the global economy.