Overseas Filipino workers are known for hard work and dedication across the world—whether they are vworking as skilled laborers or professionals.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that there were around 2.3 million OFWs around the world as of 2017. Many of these Filipinos in the middle or senior management job levels are motivated to pursue careers abroad because of the international corporate culture, better career opportunities and lucrative pay and benefits.
However, given the chance, these modern-day heroes would opt to come home and work in their home country.
This was the case of Mary Joy Tagle who worked as a professional in Singapore for the last seven years. Her husband recently set up a business in the Philippines, which motivated her to return to the Philippines.
Tagle couldn’t help but be concerned though of the stigma among OFWs that coming back home would mean settling for less.
“One of the top concerns I had upon moving back home was whether I’d be able to earn sufficiently to maintain my current standard of living,” she said. “Being unaware of the salary trends in the Philippines, I was worried that the salary I would be offered in my new role in Manila would be too low, compared to what I was receiving in Singapore.”
Arlene Magsombol, an accounting and finance specialist in Dubai for 11 years, shared the same sentiments. Magsombol and her husband decided to start their own family, which was her motivation to start anew.
“I had reservations of coming back—I was afraid of not getting a comparable compensation package to the one I was getting in Dubai,” she said.
While the local government created programs and packages to help repatriated OFWs get settled and start livelihood anew, support to drive local talent back in the Philippines is also being pushed by Robert Walters Philippines.
Robert Walters Philippines is one of the world’s leading specialist professional recruitment consultancies, leveraging an international network of offices to connect with Filipinos overseas who may be interested to move back home.
Featuring the Balik Bayan outreach program, Robert Walters aims to target OFWs and share market research and insights on the possible careers available for them and assist them in securing a job back right here in the Philippines.
This outreach program provides a dedicated international candidate manager for Filipinos looking to come back home, providing advice on the current work situation in the country, and with opportunities for permanent roles in diverse industries, including accounting and finance; banking and financial services; human resources; information technology; and sales and marketing.
Tagle was thankful for this program that gave her a clear picture of the career opportunities that she can pursue coming back home. “I was highly impressed with the international candidate manager, especially with the way she addressed my concerns and of the vast amount of professionalism and knowledge she displayed with regards to the job market in the Philippines,” she said.
“While the first job offer I got via the Balik Bayan campaign didn’t pan out, the international candidate manager persisted in finding me another role, until two months later when I landed this role that was tailored to my skills, experiences and expectations.”
Tagle is now a senior business intelligence analyst at OLX, a global online marketplace which connects local people to buy, sell or exchange used goods and services.
Magsombol was just as thankful to her Robert Walters international candidate manager, especially since she didn’t have any idea on the salary trends and accounting processes of companies in the country after being away for quite some time.
“Thankfully, Robert Walters did a great job in briefing me of the things that I had missed. Speaking with them helped me get rid of some of my reservations about moving back home. The consultants have been very supportive and made a special effort to understand my professional needs and preferences and made those possible,” said Magsombol, who is now the chief finance officer of ISport Life Inc. (Fila Philippines).
“We would like to guide our OFWs about their possible career path in their home country,” said Eric Mary, Robert Walters country manager for the Philippines.
“The present couldn’t be a better time to come back, with the Philippine economy continuously booming, and with many international companies establishing businesses in the country, providing employment opportunities for Filipinos especially for those with international exposure,” he said.
