Overseas Filipinos In Demand

By media journalist

Most immigrants dream of some day returning to their home country and Filipinos are no different. What is special about the Filipino situation is that there are so many who have left over the years.

Most Filipinos leave for economic reasons and many say they would return when there are realistic career opportunities available. So the question is this: Is the economy and government still messed-up or are things getting good enough to consider returning?

Rebecca Bustamante is one person who has already made the trip back. She returned to Philippines from Canada 6 years ago. She now runs one of south-east Asia’s dominant recruitment organizations focusing solely on senior management positions for multinational companies.

According to Rebecca, “We are seeing a lot of demand for Filipinos with international professional experience these days. For most of the past 10 years, there was large scale emigration of middle managers. Now that the economy is growing so strongly, we don’t have enough people for middle and senior management positions.”

Ms. Bustamante’s company, Chalre Associates, is having difficulty finding qualified
people. She is concerned about the future growth of the country unless something can
be done.

She explains the extent of the situation, “The BPO sector alone is creating 10,000 new
jobs per month right now. There are lots of good entry level people but we have run
out of experienced managers. I am worried because young Filipinos won’t get their
jobs unless they have managers to manage them. The situation is spreading to other
growing industries. How can the country grow without experienced leaders?”

Why return to a place I already left?

There are various reasons people give to return to Philippines beyond the usual ones
like being close to your family and it’s less expensive to live.

We asked Ms. Bustamante what people tell her. “Most overseas Filipinos are average

people in their new country. With international experience, they automatically become
part of the elite of Philippines and career options can be greatly enhanced. If you are
used to managing 3 people in the US, you will manage about 30 in Philippines. That’s
the value of international experience. We call it the rule-of-ten.”

The big improvement for Rebecca was in lifestyle. She says, “I don’t miss doing my
own cooking and cleaning. I have a lot more time for my family in Philippines and am
not so stressed like I was in Canada. I also have more control over schools and
activities for my children.”

Beyond this, many Filipino returnees are motivated by a strong feeling of wanting to
make a contribution to their country. Rebecca says, “We Filipinos want to do
something to help build the next generation so the country can reach the potential that
has been promised for so long. Most people express this desire and I am certainly one
of these.”

The grass isn’t always greener.

Of course, there are risks in leaving your chosen land to return to a country that is
perceived to have a lot of problems. About this Rebecca says, “Philippines is improving
but it still has a way to go. Working with multinational companies is better until you
really understand Filipino companies. Security and healthcare are also concerns. Don’t
come here if you have personal issues about these.”

As for starting a business, Ms. Bustamante is surprisingly anxious, “Don’t start your
own business until you have worked here for a while. I was just lucky with my
business but most people who start their own business lose money. So, be careful.”

Like any country, there is a never a perfect time to return but now might be a better
time than has existed in a while.

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Executive Search & Management Consulting:

Chalre Associates provides its Executive Search & Management Consulting services throughout the Asia Pacific region.  We are proactive and well known in our sectors of focus.  Regional Managers use us to help bridge the gap between local environments and the world-class requirements of multinational corporations.