The Harsh Realities I've Realized from Being a Working Filipino in America

[fromphtousa.com 3]

[Note to Admin: Wasn't sure where to post this: in here or in the Finding Work section.]

 

After a year of being the US and trying out various gigs, I wrote about my realizations about being a Filipino struggling to find work in the US. You can read it here:

 

The Harsh Realities I've Realized from Being a Working Filipino in America

 

I posted this on reddit and Filipinos/ American called me whiny because I'm so fortunate on being where I am yet it sounded like I'm complaining. I know I'm not alone in feeling whatever I wrote in my post because I'm part of Filipina immigrants' Facebook groups and they also voice out the same struggles there.

 

Just wanted to let this out for some relief and for another Filipino who may read this and have the same situation to know that they're not alone.

[debbiedoo 2,339]

From one writer to another, it does come across as very whiny.

 

And while I can not relate to being an immigrant, you are comparing apples and oranges in comparing the US and Philippines (or any country, with the exception perhaps of Canada and England and a few select others, where language, standards of living and education/incomes are somewhat similar). In a field as critical to a company as marketing, US employers HAVE to know your background and be able to compare their needs to your skill level. No, they are not going to super analyze your application, because they have a stack of others with schools and companies the recognize. They will not take a chance on someone that they have any doubts about. It is what it is, and having worked in HR for many years, I would not, either. I have to place the company and its needs and its success above ALL else. As does every other HR professional out there.

 

And I will give a tip, having owned a resume writing service for many years. Competition in marketing is TOUGH. Everyone thinks they can do it, and few can do it successfully. Make sure your resume is CUSTOM TAILORED to EACH AND EVERY job you apply for. Show examples in your previous work and don't list job duties. Make sure you address all (or as many as possible) of their required and 'wish list' items with verifiable proof on your resume that you have done it, and successfully. Include metrics. Marketing is sales, and numbers are king.

[RO_AH 1,615]

The vast majority of the issues that you write about were due to your expectations meeting up with reality. You as well as many (I should say most) Filipino's have a false expectation that America is the land of riches and opportunity. That may be so but it is not handed to you once you cross the border. The things you face are not because you are Filipino or a foreigner, they are life, and reality. Most Americans that graduate from well known American colleges and cannot get jobs in their chosen field. To be successful in America (and in life) you need to learn to change and adapt. Even all of the crappy jobs that you get are just stepping stones in your life and you never know which one you step on that ill take you where you want to end up. I did not graduate or even attend college and I have gone from my first job pumping gas to Director of IT for a company that has hundreds of customers and thousands of end users that we support. It was a very long path to get here and I would have never imagined that I would be here back in the days when I started my first job. Your problem is not what you wrote about. Your problem is your expectations. You are where you are. Move forward on your path without expectations on where you think you should be. Just always strive for better.

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

5 hours ago, fromphtousa.com said:

[Note to Admin: Wasn't sure where to post this: in here or in the Finding Work section.]

 

After a year of being the US and trying out various gigs, I wrote about my realizations about being a Filipino struggling to find work in the US. You can read it here:

 

The Harsh Realities I've Realized from Being a Working Filipino in America

 

I posted this on reddit and Filipinos/ American called me whiny because I'm so fortunate on being where I am yet it sounded like I'm complaining. I know I'm not alone in feeling whatever I wrote in my post because I'm part of Filipina immigrants' Facebook groups and they also voice out the same struggles there.

 

Just wanted to let this out for some relief and for another Filipino who may read this and have the same situation to know that they're not alone.

Thanks for posting this here. I saw this on Reddit and when I went back to read it then it was gone. 

[notantifun 196]

I think you have such unrealistic expectations and you also seem very immature. I don't say that to be condescending or to dismiss your struggles. Your observations aren't new. So much stuff have been written about it. You probably know that already and should have adjusted your expectations. What you experienced was not a unique Filipino immigrant experience. A Cebu native who moves to Manila will experience the same. OFWs in the Middle East also complain that they are accused of "Nakapag-abroad lang, kala mo kung sino na. (You just got to work abroad and you think you're some big shot now)."  

 

Also, Marketing graduates in the Philippines also have a hard time getting marketing jobs because it's such an oversaturated industry. I think you overestimated your chances of landing a marketing job here in the US because in the Philippines you had such a shiny resume having graduated from a top Philippine University. Sucks that your University name doesn't make your resume so shiny here in the US now (eyeroll)?

 

I actually saw your Reddit post and people there weren't inaccurate calling you whiny because you do sound so whiny and honestly VERY entitled. 

 

I also don't understand this expectation from fellow Filipinos abroad to be friendly and accommodating to other fellow Filipinos, labeling some snobbish and elitist. #### that noise! What if they've always been that way even before moving to the US? Also, isn't that ironic? Sounds to me that you have the same mentality as the people who say ”Nakapag-abroad lang, kala mo kung sino na. (You just got to work abroad and you think you're some big shot now)."

 

 

 

 

 

[icanbenobody 187]

27 minutes ago, notantifun said:

I think you have such unrealistic expectations and you also seem very immature. I don't say that to be condescending or to dismiss your struggles. Your observations aren't new. So much stuff have been written about it. You probably know that already and should have adjusted your expectations. What you experienced was not a unique Filipino immigrant experience. A Cebu native who moves to Manila will experience the same. OFWs in the Middle East also complain that they are accused of "Nakapag-abroad lang, kala mo kung sino na. (You just got to work abroad and you think you're some big shot now)."  

 

Also, Marketing graduates in the Philippines also have a hard time getting marketing jobs because it's such an oversaturated industry. I think you overestimated your chances of landing a marketing job here in the US because in the Philippines you had such a shiny resume having graduated from a top Philippine University. Sucks that your University name doesn't make your resume so shiny here in the US now (eyeroll)?

 

I actually saw your Reddit post and people there weren't inaccurate calling you whiny because you do sound so whiny and honestly VERY entitled. 

 

I also don't understand this expectation from fellow Filipinos abroad to be friendly and accommodating to other fellow Filipinos, labeling some snobbish and elitist. #### that noise! What if they've always been that way even before moving to the US? Also, isn't that ironic? Sounds to me that you have the same mentality as the people who say ”Nakapag-abroad lang, kala mo kung sino na. (You just got to work abroad and you think you're some big shot now)."

 

 

 

 

 

very well said