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The Freelancer With No Prior Work Experience - Interview with Julie Anne Padiernos

September 25, 2019
by Jason Dulay 
Jason is the founder and CEO of Work from Home Roadmap and VA Bootcamp. Aside from teaching Filipinos how to succeed working from home, he likes traveling, playing board games, and drinking coffee.
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Skills and experience are some of the basic things potential clients and employers look for in a job applicant. Your previous job performance usually predicts how your future will look like. But what if you are just starting out? What can your potential client use as an indicator of what you can do for them?

We interviewed Julie Ann Padiernos, a stay-at-home-mom-turned-VA. She didn't graduate from college and didn't have any work experience before she started working from home. What specific steps did she take and what gave her the confidence to try out online freelancing? What kind of challenges did she face and how did she manage to overcome those challenges?

Watch the replay here.

Notable Quotes:

  • Sinabi ko sa sarili ko “Iga-gamble ko 'tong opportunity. Iri-risk, itataya ko yung ₱2,000 para sa charger[ng laptop]”. Kasi pag ginastos ko ‘yon, win or lose ako noon eh kasi wala na akong ibang pera. Kaya nung binilhan ko siya ng bagong charger, nag-create na ako ng bagong account, tapos nag apply-apply.
  • Risky po kasi ‘yon eh, yung nag-rent ng FB mo is nag-advertise ng scam tapos nakakuha sila ng mga pera don sa na-scam nila. Yung mga costumer ikaw yung hahabulin, saka ni Facebook kasi sa Paypal mo kinukuha yung  bayad para sa advertisement sa Facebook. Hindi sila mahahabol sa sariling account mo, kasi ikaw yung nagma-manage nun although sila yung nagma-manage nung Facebook(ad).
  • Kaya yung advice ko pag mag-aapply talagang tapusin, basahin yung kabuuan ng job post. Kasi pag ako nagpo-post may inilalagay akong keywords doon. Pag hindi ko nakita  sa application sa inbox namin, talagang hindi ko babasahin idi-delete ko lang agad. Kasi ibig sabihin hindi binasa yung mga qualification na kailangan namin.
  • Saka yung advantage rin talaga, hindi ako nakapag-corporate pero ang naririnig ko, mahirap ang mag-leave pag merong events sa school. Talagang hindi makaka-attend. Pag may event kami ngayon kung hindi naman hectic yung schedule, hindi na ako nagpapaalam sa client. Pero kung sure akong may kailangan tapusin, nagpapaalam akong maayos. 
  • Actually po kanina nung nag-uusap kami ni Ma’am Anna, biglang may nagpop-up sa Upwork po. May contract na may offer, in-accept ko na. Feeling ko din po talaga may magic yung pag nag-guest(sa JasSuccess) kasi nag-aapply na akong mag-one year na.
  • Nawawalan na rin ako ng pag-asa kaya sinasabi ko, “Baka hindi para sakin si Upwork.” until kanina. Sinasabi ko sa sarili ko, “Ay hindi pala meron pa pala, may pag asa pala si Upwork”.
  • Actually, lahat ng platform meron akong account. Gumawa ako ng account tapos nung bored pa ako, nung hindi pa masyadong busy. Lahat, araw-araw ina-applyan ko talaga, nag-aantay ako ng bagong job post na magfi-fit sa skills ko.
  • Kahit nga po sa Freelancer.com before ako nakakuha ng client doon, ang naririnig ko is negative feedback na parang ang sinasabi maraming scam. Ang iniisip ko na lang na may palatandaan naman. Malalaman mo naman kung scam.
  • Since yung pag-start ko pa lang naging honest ako, walang experience. Yung mga problema ko, hindi naman lahat ng personal problem pero yung hindi ako makakapag-trabaho kasi ganito, ganyan. Hindi ako nag-pretend na magagawa ko siya kung hindi naman talaga kaya.
  • Basta ikaw mismo sa sarili mo, may initiative ka. Makakapag-isip ka ng paraan na hindi mo na kailangan ng step by step hingin kay client. Kaya nung in-offer niya sakin yung e-commerce sabi niya “Kaya mo ba?”, sabi ko “Honestly Sir, alam mo namang wala akong alam pero pag-aaralan ko”. 
  • Yung ina-assure ko lang sa kanya na pag-aaralan ko to. Hindi yung: “Okay, Sir. Alam ko yan.” Ganito. Magpapa-impress lang talaga.

Julie’s Journey to Freelancing:

  • Before working online at home, Julie Anne went into early marriage and pregnancy that resulted in her hardly finding a job due to her unfinished college studies as a 2nd-year student.
  • She also experienced being a mango sidewalk vendor for the everyday necessities of her family.
  • In 2018, her freelancer friend discussed freelancing with her but she has no interest in the idea because of negative and different thoughts when the topic “working online” is brought up.
  • Their family also transferred to Bulacan because of her husband’s new job and they also eventually got back to Bohol due to insufficient income in Bulacan to cover up their needs.
  • She stayed in Bohol for many years taking care of their children while her husband was working in Manila.
  • In 2018 when she visited her relatives  in Iligan City, she had a conversation with her high-school friends about working online. She got curious about this topic that she kept ignoring before.
  • She also came across Facebook rent schemes but it didn't hinder her dreams to start working online after learning of the impact of these scams.
  • Upon returning home, one of her friends messaged her to make an online profile at onlinejobs.ph and start applying for a data entry job as a start though she has no clue what it’s all about.
  • Half-hearted at first having internet but no working charger for her laptop to start with, she risked their ₱2,000 saved money to buy a charger for her laptop to start applying online. 
  • She was hired as a full-time researcher in October 2018 by her client from her impressive trial task research output that led to advanced payment for her as a full-time researcher. And eventually promoted to VA General Manager.
  • Around January 2019, she was enrolled by her client to VA Bootcamp as a reward of her honesty to her job as a researcher and attention-to-detail to acquire more in-depth skills. 
  • Julie then started  to experience the advantages of working online while at home with her husband from generous clients.

Q&A Highlights:

So ano ka, nightshift ka sa kanya kasi 'yun ang umaga sa kanya. So anong work mo sa kanya, VA? 

Nag-start po talaga ako sa kanya ng VA. ‘Yung unang trabaho ko sa first night, may parts nung kagamitan niya, pinapahanap niya saan mabibili tapos magkano. Binigyan niya lang akong buong gabi para maghanap. After 3-4 hours, nagreport na ako sa kanya ng ganito, dito makikita. May pinagbasehan ako, binigyan ko siya ng option na mas mura at okay na website.

Na naging honest ka naman sa kanya, ito lang ang alam ko, ito lang ang pwede kong maibigay, so anong ginawa ni client para matulungan ka niya?

Noong nag-two months na ako ng December, doon niya nakita ang VA Bootcamp. Pagka-kita niya sa VA bootcamp ako yong naisip niya. Gusto niya akong mai-enroll doon para daw mas marami pa akong malaman kasi gusto niya i-enhance ko yong researching ko. 

Saka nakikita niya naman akong determinado talagang matuto. Kasi kahit maliliit na bagay, hinahanapan ko talaga ng paraan para magawa ko yung mga daily task na binibigay niya. 

So ini-enroll ka niya dito sa VA Bootcamp nga, accelerated ka ini-enroll ni client?

Yung complete package po ‘yung kinuha niya. Nag-joke pa nga ako sa kanya, “Sir ba’t ang dami naman nitong gusto mong pag-aralan ko? Baka gusto mo lang talaga hindi na mag-hire ng iba, ako na lang lahat?”

Kasi doon sa Complete Course nando'n na lahat, ‘di ba? So inaral mo ba lahat?

Actually, hindi po. Nagpa-follow up si client, tapos ko na daw po ba lahat? Sabi ko “Sir, busy ako, hindi ko talaga ma-consume lahat ng nando'n”. Yung good thing lang talaga sa kanya hindi naman niya po ako pinipilit na tapusin lahat ng courses na nasa Bootcamp.

So yung ginagawa mong VA tasks para sa business na 'to?

Nung nag-enroll na ako sa VA Bootcamp mayroon siyang hobby, pagtitinda ng mga isda. Gumawa siya ng store sa WooCommerce. ‘Yung  nasa VA Bootcamp na e-commerce na-apply ko talaga lahat kasi ako yung nag-a-upload ng products, simula sa title. Malaking tulong po 'yung e-commerce ng bootcamp.

From VA naging General Manager, tapos ngayon ginagawa mo ang mga task ng HR. Nagha-hire ka na rin di ba? Nakwento mo sa FCC na ikaw yung tinatanong ni client kung ok ba yung iha-hire? Bago niya i-go yung paghire.

Nag-advise po ako pag kulang kami ng tao, sasabihin niya sakin, “Okay maghanap ng ganito, yung mga qualification ganito”.  Ako yung nagpo-post sa onlinejobs.ph. 

Na-apply mo pa ba ‘yung paggawa ng cover letter since may client ka na nung nag-enroll ka sa VA Bootcamp? May iba ka pa bang client aside dito kay client na naging very generous sa'yo?

Opo. Around February nagamit ko po yung AIDA saka yung e-commerce. Pero nung kumuha po ako ng another client may basbas ni client ko. So nakakuha ako ng client, ilang weeks ko lang rin sya ni-trabaho. Pag uwi ni husband binigay ko sa kanya yung trabaho.

Eh di okay na kayo, ikaw may client, si hubby may client. Hanggang ito na lang ba yong client nyo, hindi ka na uli nagtry maghanap pa ng ibang clients?

Nagtry-try po akong mag apply, may nakuha akong isang part-time. On and off lang, parang on call lang yung  trabaho ko sa kanya. Yung mga past months, meron akong nakukuha kaya binibigay ko sa mga kakilala ko na data entry, sila yung pinapatrabaho ko. 

Paano ka unang nag-umpisa? Sa una ba sobrang hirap?

Depende po siguro. Research yung forte ko talaga kahit noong high school. Magaling raw ako sa researching. Mahirap kung iisipin mong mahirap talaga. Pero sinasabi ko sa sarili ko nandiyan si Google. Mag-iisip ka lang paano siya to hanapin kahit i-tagalog mo magbibigay ng sagot si Google.

Paano mo naha-handle yung time kung maraming kang client?

Actually yung ginagawa ko po is focus lang po ako kay full-time. After na noong kay full-time doon ko ‘yung mga flexible na mga part-time pinagsasabay. 

Final advice sa mga aspiring freelancers na nanonood sa atin ngayon?

Ang mai-advice ko po sa pag-aapply, tiyaga lang talaga tapos pag may nag-interview sa inyo, lalo na yung mga voice, mga video call interview ‘wag kayong matakot. Talagang confidence. Normal yung parang first time mo ma-nerbyos ka kasi ganoon din noon ako eh.

Pag na-overcome mo na yan, magsunud-sunod na yan kasi na-boost mo na 'yung confidence mo. 

Mag-invest sa VA Bootcamp. Kasi kahit oo mahahanap mo siya sa Google, pero iba pa rin 'yong spoonfeed na lang. Talagang step-by-step nando'n na. 

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by Jason Dulay 
Jason is the founder and CEO of Work from Home Roadmap and VA Bootcamp. Aside from teaching Filipinos how to succeed working from home, he likes traveling, playing board games, and drinking coffee.

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166 comments on “The Freelancer With No Prior Work Experience - Interview with Julie Anne Padiernos”

  72. Interested talaga ako pero I'm doubting if Kaya ko ba dahil d ako nkapag college. I'm already on my late 50's. My experience in computer is self learned. Nobody teaches me. Binabasa ko lng Kung anong sinabi ni computer tapos ginawa ko..may chance pa Kaya? I'm staying at home caring for my grand children kase nanay nila isang OFW. Gusto ko makatulong sa kanya ng kumita since Wala cyang asawa. Isa lng kase anak ko.

    Reply

  155. You really make it appear so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be actually something that I believe I'd by no means understand. It seems too complicated and very huge for me. I am having a look forward to your subsequent put up, I will try to get the hold of it!

    Reply

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