How I Started My Upwork Journey

Hello everyone! I just wanna share why I ended up working online for several years already. I started it on April 2010. Nung time na yon, part time lang siya since I didn't have stable internet connection and I didn't own a laptop. Nakikigamit lang ako actually ng desktop ng pinsan ko tsaka ng broadband niya. I started working at www.odesk.com which is now Upwork. 

How I was able to find odesk? I'm actually the type of person na mahilig magresearch and hindi basta basta sumubok. I used keywords like legit online job, work at home, homebased and more. Then I saw odesk. Hindi naman ako naniniwala kaagad sa odesk kc mahirap na baka maloko pa ako. Then nagresearch ako about sa odesk. Nagbasa basa ako ng reviews and naghanap ng proof na legit sya. Then nung mejo naniwala na ako, I registered and took the odesk readiness test na required noon para makapagapply sa mga job post. I think hindi na sya required sa upwork ngayon. Oh by the way, Elance-oDesk was rebranded as Upwork. Elance was also a legit freelancer platform. 

Yon n nga, I started sending my cover letter to different job posts. Then yey, I got one. $1 per hour job. It was a research job about carbon footprint. I was so lucky that I didn't wait so long para sa first project ko and importante kasi na magkaroon ako ng feedback para mas madali makakuha ng trabaho. Then, the job took less than a week and my client was satisfied with my work and gave me 5 stars. 5 stars mean I satisfied my client and it is the highest feedback a client can give, 1 star being the lowest. Then after two weeks I was able to withdraw the money. Yeyyyyy, it's legit. I was so happy that time. 

Then after that, I applied again and tried my luck. I got another job but still for part time lang kasi nagtry din ako magtrabaho sa factory, sa call center and sa travel agency. I needed a more stable job then kc breadwinner ako. 

Sa travel agency pa ako noon nagtatrabaho ng naaksidente ako. It was 2012. Pauwi ako ng Batangas noon nung nabangga ng isang SUV ang sinasakyan naming tricycle. Ako yong napuruhan ng sobra kaya nainjured ng sobra ung mga binti ko. I had sleepless nights, always crying, I lost my appetite and felt desperate kasi hindi ko na magagawa iyong mga normal na nagagawa ng isang ordinary woman na katulad ko. Hindi ako pwede maglakad ng hindi nakawheel chair. At first feeling ko wala na akong pag-asa. Mga 5 months akong ganyan, parati akong umiiyak lalo na at ako nga ang breadwinner ng pamilya. 

Siguro napagod na lang din ako magpakahina ng dahil sa nangyari. Kaya napaisip ako bigla at nasabi ko sa sarili ko na "Jhing hindi ikaw yan eh, palaban ka eh". Then after that hiniling ko lang sa kanila na bilhan ako ng laptop at kailangan ko ng internet connection. After that, inopen ko ulit ung odesk account ko and started sending cover letters again. Then luckily, after a week maybe, a client sent me a job offer. Yeyyyy. It was a fixed price job. My client was so kind and he knew everything about my situation. Ang nakakatuwa pa noon, iyong mga kapatid ko di naniniwala sa online until nagpawithdraw ako sa mama ko hahaha.

After that contract, nagtuloy tuloy na. Mas naramdaman ko na may plano ang Diyos kung bakit sa dinami daming tao ako iyong nasa sitwasyon na mayroon ako ngayon. Hindi ako nakakaramdam ng kahit anong tampo sa Diyos kasi kahit ganito ako na hindi pa nakakalakad ng walang saklay, maraming naman syang blessings na ibinibigay sa akin. Never akong naging jobless since naaksidente ako noong 2012. Mas nasusuportahan ko pa nga ang pamilya ko financially ngayon eh. Naisip ko nga kung hindi siguro ako naaksidente, sobrang hirap pa rin ako sa paghahanap ng trabaho sa factory, sa call center at kung saan saan pa. Naniniwala talaga sa kasabihan na everything happens for a reason. And one more thing, God blessed me with a man na hindi ako iniwan at never ipinaramdam sakin na may kulang sa akin. He is willing to marry me kahit nakasaklay ako, ako lang talaga ang umaayaw kasi ayoko maglakad sa simbahan ng nakasaklay kaya nagpapagamot ako ulit at hoping na makalakad na soon. 

How To Have An Upwork Account

Hello there!!!! Do you wish to work in the comfort of your home? Do you wish to earn money while no one is bossing you around. I will try my best to explain the process though I admit I'm not good at explaining. Please bear with me. One more thing, I'm not perfect with grammar so sorry for any mistakes. No hate please. Just trying to help.

All you need to get started or have an upwork account is a computer, internet connection and skills/talents. When you have that three, yuhooo you can now start. 

Here are the steps on creating your account:

1. Go to www.upwork.com.

2. Sign up for an account.​

3. Create your freelancer account, then verify your email address to access all of Up work.

4. After that, you can now create your profile. Your profile is your opportunity to advertise your skills to clients. Highlight your strengths and skills with the description of the type of work you do, your educational background, your employment history, your skills, your achievements and so on. Your profile must be approved, so take your time completing it.

​5. After everything is set up, you can take some skills test to demonstrate your skills to potential clients and make yourself more marketable. I've done lots of testsanyway :)

6. Then after that, you can now start finding jobs. There are lots of jobs in upwork like data entry jobs, research jobs, eCommerce, coding, accounting, bookkeeping and a lot more. To give you more specific ways on how to perform a job search, you can check this link https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211063078-Search-for-Jobs

What I do is I check on the available jobs every now and then so that I would be able to send more cover letters. More applications, more chances of getting hired. :)

Just try and try until you get the job you want. It may not be just a one day process, but if you have that "tiyaga and pagsisikap", you will land your first job. 

After all the steps above, the last step will be praying. Pray and you will be blessed with all your heart's desire.

Don't forget to download the upwork timer. I will discuss it also soon. Please don't hesitate to comment below any of your questions.

                        

Paypal As A Payment Method In Upwork

PayPal is an online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to traditional paper methods like checks and money orders. It is one of the largest internet payment options. 

To start, please register with www.paypal.com and complete the info needed. To be able to withdraw the money, you will need a debit or credit card. You can also use it for online shopping or online payments. Once everything is set-up, you can now link your PayPal account as a billing method. To do this, here are the steps:

1. Click the Settings icon, and then click Billing Methods.
2. Click the Add a Billing Method button.
3. Click the Set Up button for PayPal and fill in the form.
4. You’ll be returned to your billing methods list. Confirm that the correct method is set as primary.
5. You may add multiple PayPal accounts, if desired.

Paypal is not available to all clients as a billing method so the options to use PayPal will only appear in the Add a Billing Method form if it is available to you.

Please also note that in order to use PayPal as a billing method, you must have a verified Paypal account and have at least  one PayPal-linked billing method that isn’t eCheck such as credit card, debit card or any bank accounts. 

Upwork charges a $1 fee per transfer to PayPal. Then transferring to your bank account, there will be no fee if you withdraw above the recommended amount which I think is P7000.00. If you withdraw below the said amount, PayPal will charge you P50.00. Some banks may also charge fees also for electronic funds transfers. You can contact your bank directly for more information.