Are you planning to work overseas? If yes, then where do you plan to work? Or the more appropriate question would be where do you find work overseas?
Strolling along Taft Avenue in Manila where tons of recruitment agencies are located is one way to find OFW recruiters. Unfortunately, not all of the agencies you will find are legitimate and licensed ones. In fact, there is a possibility that the agency who seems so legitimate because they showed “proof” from POEA is an illegal recruiter.
Don’t worry. The good news is you can find legitimate recruitment agencies that won’t waste your money, offer you a legitimate job abroad, and process your OFW status accordingly.
Where can you find them? Here’s where:
1. POEA Verification System
Look no further. If you are unsure of the status of a particular recruitment agency, then there is no better way of checking them than going directly to the agency responsible for approving licenses of recruitment agencies. In this case, it is the POEA or the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
POEA is the government agency mandated to provide licensing on agencies that recruit Filipino workers abroad. All you have to do is to go to their website and type the name of the recruitment agency on the landing page. You will immediately see the status and if the agency has license, including its contact information. POEA also lists recruitment agencies that were forever banned, delisted, cancelled, or ceased operations.
You can also download the POEA app on your mobile phone to verify the status of the recruitment agency you are eyeing for. The POEA app is available in App Store and Google Play Store.
2. Online Job Portals
POEA may be the safest option to find OFW recruiters, but don’t underestimate online job portals. There are legitimate ones like Jobstreet, Kalibrr, and OFWguru, which feature not just legitimate recruitment agencies but also job opportunities overseas.
The good thing about online job portals is that you get a one-stop shop, thereby hitting two birds at the same time. Plus, you don’t have to knock from one agency door to the other to check work opportunities abroad since you can do that at the comfort of your home. This includes submitting your resume online, which is another convenient feature of online job portals.
READ: Tips in Writing Your Resume
3. Recruitment Agencies Reviews
This is not exactly where you can find job opportunities abroad, but there are few sites dedicated to reviewing placement agencies.
One website that you can check is Recruitment Advisor website. You will find ratings and reviews on recruitment agencies operating in the Philippines. The good thing about this website is that agencies were reviewed by OFWs themselves who transacted with them. You will also find information about recruitment fees, employment contract, and processing documents among others.
Before you commit to a particular agency, make sure to check Recruitment Advisor first. You can also look for your preferred agency’s Facebook page and read reviews there to give you an idea on whether or not they are legitimate.
What about Facebook?
Unfortunately, there are several illegal recruitment instances that stemmed from Facebook transactions. Even the POEA warned the public about overseas work offered on this social media platform. Many victims recounted that they got a message about a job opportunity overseas and they were encouraged to apply. Some illegal recruiters would say that no application process needed since you are already qualified, thereby enticing you more to give it a try. Once you gave them the money as payment for recruitment or processing fee, they will disappear.
Don’t easily fall for these tactics. Make sure you check out this post to know more about illegal recruitment as well.