Some thoughts on freelancing in the Philippines

Aug 19 '19 CaroleFabien 3587 clicks share

An honest opinion:

Not all with BPO experience has an advantage on freelancing. I saw a lot of people here telling about their previous years of experience in call center but asking who could help them get an online jobs.

Let's be honest...

If you have been working on a bpo, you have support, you have tl's, you have your tools.

On freelancing, you will have to privide your internet, your laptops, you'll do troubleshooting, you will answer your own problem if your boss is not around..

Bottom line is, first step on freelancing is initiative. Being able to accept that yourself is your only weapon.

It is ok to ask, but before you asked others, asked yourself first if what have you done firsthand?

13 Replies

I agree with u. I have been with the BPO industry for 11 years. And I started looking for remote job on July 24, 2019. And right now, I feel so lost and inadequate everytime I talk to potential clients. I have attended 6 interviews, and everytime it's done, I cry/feel like crying. Andami nilang hinahanap na skills na napapaisip ako, "Kaya ko ba talaga mag-homebase?"

Out of the 6 interviews, I finally passed one.

BPO - Call center experience is totally not an advantage. lol.😜😜

I agree but we who have been with the BPO industry for so many years should accept this as a challenge if we really want to succeed as a freelancer.😉

@flower That's a good motivation, to challenge yourself.. But prioritize the thought or reasons why you wanted to be on freelance.. That way, you'll really get inspired to pursue.. :)

@CaroleFabien My family is always my motivation and what I'm doing right now I'm using middleman/agencies like reva or MOD while learning the curves and apply for lead gen account temporarily while enrolled to different online courses that can help me stand alone and be confident enough to send my proposal to a client...

Just like babies before you learn to walk, you need to need to learn to crawl first...😉

Don't worry guys, when you have your own equipment, you can browse everything on Internet. Your initiative and your Internet are your weapons.

@Amymy True.. It's all over the internet :) It is really hard at first, but when you get on board, everything will go smoothly from training, to execution to upskill, everything.

Failing in those interviews is a blessing in disguise. You do have potential because you were shortlisted and interviewed.

Depends on which angle you look at it, but you can choose to use it as a tool to know more how to improve or which aspect do you think did you fail.

The reason why we lose is so we appreciate more how it feels to finally win! Keep hustling and pushing! Good luck!

I guess the reason why I, personally, asked for help is because I am totally clueless on how to start. So yeah, I agree that it is not an advantage but it helps knowing that you already have an experience.

The difference is the fact that you have to deal the concern on your own and trust your instinct. In BPO, we may have our TL's, SME's, our tools and M&Ps but in the end, you would still have to solve it on your own.

This is true. Freelancing is so so different from BPO. I came from a BPO companies and I did struggle to get a good company and client in the freelance community. I used to compare one job from the other pero hindi talaga sya possible. You need to take it from a different level and tama you need to invest on equipment and internet talaga. No one will provide you everything

Most of clients don't even know what BPO is, or what they do. Willingness to learn, being versatile and showing what you can do for the client is what they are looking. Instead of highlighting your bpo exp, why not research what are the specific niche and how will you fit in on those job. 👌

BPO experience is an ADVANTAGE but not an assurance that you can get a job. Malaki na ang online freelancing world. Grabe na ang competition. Learn how to compete.

@Amymy I wanted to send you a direct message on Skype about a job you posted. Unfortunately, I can't find your Skye name.

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