POEA WorkAbroad Checklist

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the government agency that is tasked to deal with overseas employment of Filipinos, has prepared a checklist that can be used by Pinoys and Pinays when they plan to work abroad.

POEA called this as “Working Abroad Preparation Checklist”. This checklist contains a total of 21 steps, which should be followed by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). It was prepared jointly by POEA and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The steps outlined in the checklist are the following:

1. Attend Pre-Employment Orientation Seminar (PEOS).

2. Inquire about working outside of the country from experienced people.

3. Make sure that you have enough money.

4. Prepare your resume or bio-data.

5. Prepare original copy of necessary documents.

6. Visit the POEA for more information.

7. Search for job vacancies. You can do this by checking POEA's job order list. Know more about it by reading this article.

8. Verify the legitimacy of recruitment agency and job order by inquiring with POEA. Learn how to use the POEA's list of accredited agencies by reading this article.

9. Apply for your desired job.

10. Attend POEA's briefing and screening procedures.

11. Take the necessary exams and interviews.

12. Submit your documents to POEA or recruitment agency.

13. Have a medical examination.

14. Attend TESDA training or seminar, if required.

15. Sign the employment contract.

16. Pay the placement fee.

17. Apply for a work visa.

18. Attend the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS)

19. Make sure that you have all the important documents before leaving the country.

20. Take note of the contact information of government agencies and other people that you might need to contact during your work abroad.

21. Prepare your baggage all the things that you need outside of the country.

Check the images below to see the whole checklist:

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You can download POEA's checklist from this page of the POEA website.

For more information, please call POEA at telephone number 722-1144 and 722-1155. You can also email POEA at this address: info@poea.gov.ph. Please visit the agency's website.

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Do you have question about POEA's procedures? Tell us your question by leaving a comment.

POEA Job Order

In the previous article I talked about the list of accredited recruitment agencies posted on the website of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). This list is a great resource in helping Filipinos avoid being victims illegal recruiters or recruitment agencies.

That list is not the only resource that can be found on the POEA website. POEA also has a list for job orders from accredited recruitment agencies. The POEA job order list will surely be helpful in helping Filipino workers find the overseas job that they want.

What is good with the POEA job order list is that it was arranged in three ways. Job orders were arranged by position, by country and by recruitment agency.

Please go to POEA website to check available job vacancies as arranged by position. I tried to search for job orders for the position of cook. here are the results:

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To check the job orders arranged by country, please go to POEA website. I tried searching for available vacancies from Australia. Here is the result given by the POEA Job Order list:

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I also checked job vacancies as arranged by recruitment agency. Here is the result shown for ABBA Personnel Services in the POEA website:

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You can see job orders by recruitment agencies by going to POEA website.

Please note that data on the POEA Job Order list was gathered the accredited agencies. The job orders are the active job orders for the past two years. It doesn't guarantee that a job vacancy is still available. Check with the recruitment agency if the job order is still available.

Visit the POEA website for more information about job orders and recruitment agencies.

Read this step-by-step checklist that you should follow when you're planning to work abroad.

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Do you have questions about job vacancies or recruitment agencies registered to POEA? Please tell us your questions by leaving a comment.

List of POEA Accredited Agencies

Illegal recruiters and illegal recruitment agencies are the vicious enemies of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). The goal of these people and agencies is to trick the OFWs and earn a lot of money from it.

Many Filipinos were tricked by illegal recruitment agencies. Some of these agencies asked money for the “quick” processing of documents and other things. After receiving a lot of money from prospecting Filipino workers, these heartless people were suddenly gone without a trace. I saw a lot of victims crying about their lost money. Some even sold their property just to pay the illegal recruiters.

These incidents could have been avoided if the victims were more careful. The victims should first checked with the POEA if the recruiter or agency that were “hiring” them were legitimate.

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POEA stands for Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. It is an office under the Department of Labor (DoLE), which deals with employment outside of the country. All recruitment agencies are required by law to register with POEA. Thus, the POEA is the agency that can tell if the recruitment agency is illegal or not.

Legitimate recruitment agencies are duly registered to POEA. These registered recruitment agencies are called as POEA accredited agencies.

One of the important resource of POEA is its “List of Accredited Agencies”, which can be accessed on this page of the POEA website.

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A page on the List of POEA Accredited Agencies.

The information on the list is detailed. You can see the name of the recruitment agency, its address, contact information and its official representative. The important information on this list is the status of the recruitment agency. You will know if the agency has a valid license. This is the easy way of knowing if the recruitment agency that is hiring you is illegal or not.

The “List of Accredited Agencies” also has a search box that you can use in searching for information about a recruitment agency.

Working abroad is never easy, especially when there are evil people out there who are out to deceive you. Don't be a victim. Use POEA's list of accredited agencies to protect yourself and your money from illegal recruiters and agencies.

If you need more information about your recruitment agency, please call POEA's hotline numbers: 722-1144 and 722-1155. You can also email POEA at this address: info@poea.gov.ph

Visit the POEA website for more information.

Read my article about POEA's checklist for those who are planning to work outside of the Philippines. The checklist contains step-by-step procedures that all OFWs should follow.

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Do you have any question about POEA's list of accredited agencies? Please tell us your question by leaving a comment.

Tips on Looking for an Overseas Job

Leaving the Philippines and working abroad is one of the most popular options of the Filipino workers when they are looking for a job. Thus, every day, hundreds of Filipino workers and professionals leave the country to find greener pastures abroad. Aside from that, hundreds of Filipinos are being victimized by illegal recruiters everyday. Some pay placement fees and in the end illegal recruiters run away with their money. Others are sent to jobs abroad with poor workplace conditions and abusive employers.
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Because of these, looking for a job abroad is not an easy task. You should always be alert and always put the element of doubt on all the promises and offerings of recruiters and recruiting agencies. Here are some of my tips that is useful for you when you are applying for a work abroad.

1. Study the Procedures Well.

The government placed various procedures and safety nets to protect Filipino workers when applying for an overseas job. A little study on the procedures will not hurt you and may even save you money because you will know if your recruiter is asking you to pay illegal or excessive fees. You could do this by visiting the website of Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)

2.  Investigate the Agency

Always keep in mind that there many illegal recruitment agencies and the government is not able to close down most of these recruitment agencies. Some of the recruitment agencies have standing case on the courts but are still open and taking in applicants. Before applying in an agency, a little investigation is necessary. First, visit POEA's list of recruitment agencies to know if your recruitment agency is in good standing. Next is google the name of your agency to see if there are feedbacks and comments from other people about the agency.

3. Be Wary of Door-to-Door Recruiters

Many of our kababayans are victimized by recruiters who come to the barangays in the province and promising great jobs available abroad. Be wary of such scheme because most of the time, these kind of recruiters always ask for advanced payment of placement fee and other fees and then run-away with the money you paid for. Trusting these kinds of recruiters are dangerous because they use fake names and fake address.

4.  Be Wise with Your Money

Recruiters that ask for large amount money is and abusive recruitment agency. If you studied the procedures when applying for an overseas job, then you will know how much are the fees that you must pay. Always hold your money tight.

5. Seek Help from OFW Organizations

There are a myriad of OFW organizations in the country. The most prominent is Migrante International. You could ask for help from these organizations, especially if you are victimized by a recruiter or a recruitment agency.

These are few of the thing that should always put in your mind when applying for abroad. Remember that there are always evil people who are always ready to trick us Filipino workers. Be alert, be wary, and always ask God for guidance so that you will not be victimized.

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