Himas Batok Himas (Pat, Slap, Pat)

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.

Pinoy Odesk Newbie joins the forum.

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.