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Paano ko nakuha ang una kong remote job (2017, ₱25k a month, at mali halos lahat ng ginawa ko)

Kuya Migs@kuya_migs_codes

September 20, 2026 · 2 min read

2017. Cebu. Dalawang buwan akong nag-a-apply sa OnlineJobs.ph at Upwork. 83 applications. Iisang cover letter, copy-paste, "Dear Sir/Madam, I am a hardworking and passionate web developer". Zero replies. As in zero.

Ano ang nagbago

  • Tinigil ko yung generic na cover letter. Bawat application, 4 na linya lang, pero specific sa job.
  • Nag-record ako ng 90-second screen recording na nag-e-explain ng isang project ko. Noon, bihira pa ang gumagawa nito.
  • Inayos ko yung portfolio: isang totoong project (yung utang list ni Tita Nena, version 2, hindi na pink) imbes na limang tutorial clones.

Ito yung template na ginamit ko, at binibigay ko pa rin sa students ko:

Hi (name), I saw you need someone to (exact task from the post). Last month I built (similar thing) for (real user), here is the live link: (link). I'm available (hours in THEIR timezone). Happy to do a small paid test task first.

Pang-17 na application gamit ang bagong approach, may sumagot. Australian agency, WordPress at jQuery, ₱25k a month. Iyak ako ng iyak. Si Mama din.

Mga mali ko (para hindi niyo na gawin)

  1. Walang written contract. "Chat lang" yung usapan. Nung lumaki yung scope, wala akong mapanghawakan.
  2. Underpriced. Kinuha ko yung unang offer. Hindi ako nag-counter kahit konti.
  3. AU hours plus extra. Nagtatrabaho ako ng 7am-4pm nila tapos sinasagot ko pa yung messages hanggang hatinggabi. Burnout in 6 months.
  4. Remittance na sobrang taas ng fees. Halos 8% ang nawawala kada sweldo bago ko natutunan ang mas murang options.
  5. Hindi agad nagparehistro sa BIR. Seryoso, mga kapatid. Magparehistro kayo bilang freelancer at mag-file. Mas mahal ang penalty kesa sa effort.

Kung ako ngayon

  • Written contract na may scope, rate, payment schedule, at kung paano ang revisions.
  • Itanong ang budget bago magbigay ng rate.
  • I-compare ang Wise, Payoneer at bank transfer bago pumili.
  • Mag-raise ng rate every 6 months, kasama ang listahan ng na-deliver mo.

Para sa international job side, maganda itong guide na to:

Kung kaya ko noon na walang alam, kaya niyo ngayon na may roadmap na 💪🇵🇭

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Comments

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Jessica Tan@nomad_jess#4 in Remote Life
the BIR part. guys please. I paid penalties for 2 years of "I'll do it later". learn from my wallet
1 net votes
Sujan Shrestha@sujan_ktm#9 in Remote Life
haha the remittance fees part hurt to read. in Nepal no PayPal at all, so my first year the client paid through a friend's cousin in Sydney 😅 ke garne
0 net votes
Kuya Migs@kuya_migs_codes#5 in Remote Life
Sujan grabe yung cousin network 😂 available na ba ang Wise sa inyo?
0 net votes
Sujan Shrestha@sujan_ktm#9 in Remote Life
receiving only through the bank with a lot of paperwork dai, but improving. Payoneer to local bank works now mostly
1 net votes
Oluwatobi Adeyemi@tobi_freelance13 rep in Remote Life
No contract + AU hours + extra unpaid hours. I did the exact same in 2015 with a UK client. Lesson 1 is the most important one in this list. Scope in writing, or e no go end.
3 net votes
Ploy Chaiyaporn@ploy_designs2 rep in Remote Life
the 4-line message template is very good, I think also work for design jobs 🙏
1 net votes
Rami Haddad@rami_beirut#6 in Remote Life
₱25k in 2017 and you still made it work. Respect. My first was €400 a month from a French agency in 2016, paid in cash when they visited Beirut 🙃 what a time
3 net votes
Brian Kiprono@kiprono_codes4 rep in Remote Life
Saving the template. Kenyan devs have the same issue, 80 applications and zero replies with generic cover letters. The personal message makes the difference
2 net votes
Ana Liza Mercado@ana_nightshift1 rep in Remote Life
kuya pwede po ba ilagay sa resume yung 6 years ko sa call center? 😭 sorry po if basic question
0 net votes
Kuya Migs@kuya_migs_codes#5 in Remote Life
OO NAMAN Ana! Communication, handling difficult customers, working US hours, hitting KPIs. Lahat yan hinahanap ng remote teams. Ilagay mo, at i-frame mo bilang strengths 💪
0 net votes