Ang sarap pala ng feeling na mag decline pag ang baba ng rate na inooffer sayo!

Technical kasi ang niche ko (automations) and napansin ko na grabe mang lowball ang mga agency for this kind of work. Usually ang bayad sa automations (at least when I checked sa indeed) ay nasa $20-$50. Pero alam naman natin na mas mababa talaga ibibigay na rate sa mga freelancer. In my case, project manager and operations strategist rin kasi ako so ang rate ko ay di na bababa sa $15 for fulltime.

Nag apply ako sa isang digital marketing agency and sa first interview with a Pinoy recruiter, parang okay naman. Dinefine ko nga na ang current rate ko ay $12/hr with PH dayshift hours, holidays and PTOs. I'm looking to get a $15-$20 rate for this role. Sa first call pa lang nakita ko na ang inefficient ng recruiting system nila kaya optimistic ako na marami akong ma contribute.

Ininvite ako for a second interview, this time with their US based tech director whom the role will be reporting to. Maganda naman ang result and I was both confident about what I knew and honest about what I didn't.

A few hours later, nag reach out si recruiter sakin...offering the role for $8.5/hr. Fulltime, PH nightshift.

Nganga nalang ako. I tried to negotiate pero sabi nila yun lang ang budget nila (even though wala namang nakalagay sa job post mismo -- I guess I missed that red flag).

So ayun, I respectfully declined. Then I ordered expensive-ish food to celebrate having a spine.

Alam ko na someone else would take that job at that rate, but they won't have my skills and experience. I know my worth now.

Hanap hanap nalang ulit ng ibang client kasi gusto ko na talagang I pursue ang career path na to 😆