desktops and diapers

Martin sings National Anthem

2009-05-03T14:00:00.000+08:00

Amidst NHI's claim of Martin's disrespect for the National Anthem, I still think that his rendition is among the best I've heard in my lifetime. It's a changing world, musical styles change and the NHI/Congress should think about amending the law on strictly compying with Julian Felipe's original composition. Nasa puso ang pagkamakabayan.

Tanong: May kilala ba kayongnaging bayani dahil sumunod sa batas? Di ba karamihan sa kanila e pasaway (think: Pepe & Boni)

Congratulations Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, the best pound for pound fighter in the world!

2009-05-03T12:33:00.002+08:00

Congratulations Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, the best pound for pound fighter in the world!

oDesk: Bidding on a Project

2009-05-02T18:11:00.004+08:00

This post is for Mommy angel_cleopatra of SP

CANDIDATES: This means 37 providers made a bid on the project; their average hourly rate is $7.35.

INTERVIEWS: The buyer has already interviewed 4 bidders; their average hourly rate is $6.67. This is a good guess of how much the buyer is willing to pay for the job.

CANDIDATE LIST: These are the bidders, your competition. When you have already applied for the project, you will see your name on the list.

To check the status of the jobs that you have applied for, go to My JObs>Candidacies. If a buyer wants to interview you, you will receive a notification. You can view projects awarded to you in My Jobs>Assignments.

Freelancing your skills part 1: oDesk

2009-04-30T13:04:00.003+08:00

This post is for Mommy Tata and all the moms (and dads too!) of SP.

oDesk is a marketplace for employers and remote workers. Companies (or buyers) post projects and look for workers who match the qualifications. I landed my first online job in oDesk. It was a data entry project worth $8 :)

Buyers post jobs (think: jobstreet, jobsdb, jobs.ph etc..) and providers apply to these jobs like an auction. Best bid wins, not necessarily the lowest bid (lowest rate). Buyers also look at skills and reputation so start building your resume!

Creating a Profile: Your Online Resume

Like any job hunt, one has to create a profile. It is helpful to show buyers how capable and reliable you are. It took me one whole day to create my profile but once it was created, I was confident enough to bid on projects.

TIP: Do NOT leave a profile section blank if you can help it. Remember, you are selling yourself. Sabi nga ng Nestle "It's good to check the label!" and buyers do check the labels!

Skills and Tests

Make sure you take lots of Tests! They are proofs that you are really skilled. These tests are important especially if you're just starting out since you do not have feedbacks yet to back you up.

Take the oDesk Readiness Test (ORT) first as you cannot land a job without passing it. The ORT is a test of about oDesk policies and procedures to make sure that you are ready to accept jobs in the marketplace. They have a syllabus or reviewer for this so no need to worry:)

Finding Work

Once "your profile looks great" you can apply for jobs. You have a lot of options - web development, writing and translation, customer service, administrative support, sales and marketing, etc..

Hourly Jobs vs Fixed Price Jobs

There are 2 kinds of jobs in oDesk - hourly and fixed. Hourly jobs are guaranteed, fixed jobs are not. So you ask, how do they monitor the hours that I work? Answer: Download the oDesk software. Once you are assigned to a job, you log in to the software and it will capture snapshots of your screen every now and then.

Getting Paid

oDesk offers PayPal, Moneybookers, and Payoneer to withdraw your earnings.

Here are helful oDesk links that you can read:

What is oDesk?
Tips for New Providers 1
Hourly vs Fixed Price Jobs

Feel free to comment if you have very specific questions :) I will answer them here.

UPDATE: Here's the link in oDesk regarding PayPal

Paying Bills

2009-04-29T19:43:00.003+08:00

I was ecstatic upon receiving my first Smart Bro bill. It feels good to finally have a billing statement named to yourself! It gave me a sense of accomplishment, the proof of being the breadwinner of the family. And working online as a freelancer, I'm always on the lookout for ways to minimize unpaid hours away from the computer. One way of doing this is paying the bills with just a few clicks on your cell phone. So for my first ever bill, I used my Smart Money account. Here's how:

Go to SMART Menu > SMART Money > Pay Bills > Others
Key in Biller Code 03006 and your SMART Bill Account Number (found in your billing statement). Once 'Pay from' is shown on the screen, press OK.
Select SMART Money account, key in the amount of payment, then press OK. At the confirmation message, press OK.
Enter your w-PIN, then press OK. You will receive a payment transaction confirmation through text message.

I hope to find similar ways to pay my other bills. When I do so, I'll let you know. Happy freelancing!

Rastamuffin

2009-04-28T20:25:00.002+08:00

Wearing a bonnet in summer is just plain ridiculous. But who can resist putting that multi-colored headgear to this muffin cheeked baby boy!

Aki's Crying Fits

2009-04-27T20:31:00.000+08:00

I used Movie Maker for this one. (so pidgin! lol)

Alternative Ways to Withdraw Money from Paypal: Chikka i$end

2009-04-15T01:30:00.004+08:00

This is an answer to Gem's post.

I cannot wait for my Unionbank EON and Payoneer cards to arrive so I searched for ways to withdraw the money from my unverified paypal. I stumbled Gem's blog and she mentioned Chikka's i$end service. As I have been using Chikka Messenger for years, I decided to give it a try.

Chikka partners with Smart Padala to send money through the Philippines. What you need are:

Chikka Messenger v.4 (older versions don't have the i$end menu)
Paypal or Moneybookers account (I used my unverified Paypal)
Someone in the Philippines who is subscribed to Smart (my brother Justin)

Unlike XOOM, you can send money in the Philippines even if your Paypal Account is not verified. They will hold your account for 3 days and you will need to send identification papers. The recipient will then receive the money through SmartMoney.

I am very satisfied with Chikka's service. They were very prompt in answering my emails and they were able to deliver on time. After buying i$end credits through paypal, I immediately received an email asking me to send an ID for verification. After sending my scanned ID, they immediately (within minutes) called me to verify my account. I bought the credits April 9 and 3 days after on April 12 (note that this is the holy week) my i$end credits were already available for use. (Credits are available for use immediately if Paypal is verified).

I then sent P5,000 worth of SmartMoney to Justin (Chikka requires that the sender and recipient are different). Five minutes after hitting SEND, I received a call from a Chikka rep verifying my transaction. Justin then received a call from Chikka to inform him that I sent him money and verified his identity. They told him to wait for the confirmation email within 48 hours. The next day, he received the confirmation message.

Here's the best part. Justin doesn't even have a Smart Money Account. Because of my transaction, he will receive a Smart Money card for free courtesy of Chikka (card cost P200). It will be sent to him after 20 days. However, he can go to any Smart Wireless Center and withdraw the cash over-the -counter. The fee is just P50 (1%).

Now I finally got my first oDesk earnings! Weheeee! Kudos to Chikka and Smart!

How to start a career online

2009-04-15T01:23:00.002+08:00

After the adrenalin of giving birth has ran out, I wanted to go back to the office and work. But when Aki coos and smiles, I cry. I want to be the one who bathes him every morning. I want to breastfeed him as long as I can. I want to hear his first "Mommy". But when whe is asleep and I have nothing to do, I want to work. I want to be a full time mother with a full time career.

Is it possible? Yes it is!

Since my mother already bought me a laptop in college, I used the little savings that I have left for a very important investment - a DSL connection. Two days of googling landed me my first online job - a virtual assistant position.

I 've only set up my little office a month ago and I'm already working at least 8 hours a day, earning a lot more than what I earned when I was an employee.

Here are the opportunities that I grabbed:

oDesk

oDesk offers a lot of online jobs from article writing, data entry, research, prgramming, translation, and web design among others. It offers free tests and certifications which employers require. I recommend that you start with a low hourly rate and gain a reputation as you accept more jobs. What I like most about oDesk is their guaranteed payment for hourly jobs. No worries of not getting paid!

Elance

I am still waiting for my first job in Elance.

http://www.writers.ph/

If you want an online career exclusive to writing only, this is the site for you.

http://www.bestjobs.ph/

When searching for a job, use the keywords ONLINE or HOME BASED to look for online jobs. The downside of these job posting sites is that there is no guarantee of payment from the employer.

These are the sites that I have personally tried so far. If you know of any other sites, please share!

Update:

Check out the following sites for more freelance jobs:

http://www.rentacoder.com/

http://www.getafreelancer.com