Searching for online opportunities is one of the things that struck my mind when I was thinking of ways to earn more. Working in a hotel was a nice experience so far; however, my salary doesn't seem to fit the bill. What I sometimes do after my shift ends was go to a computer shop, browse for an hour, and search for online opportunities.
I've worked as a Communications Officer in one of the famous hotels in Baguio City, Philippines back then, handling inbound and outbound calls using the landline and mobile phone. My six months contract will nearly end so I applied to a vacant position in the Housekeeping department, Lady Butler in particular. For everyone's quick information, a Lady Butler there provides a mixture of front desk, food and beverage, and housekeeping duties. Though it's a mixture of three different duties, everyday was focused more on the housekeeping part.
I help my colleagues do the bedding, strip sheets off during check out time, provide extra pillows and blankets for guests, etc. It was fun and I was able to learn at the same time. I'd consider working for the hotel as my main stepping stone. Working there helped me enhance my English speaking skills because I attended to international guests every day. Most of them are Koreans and Americans.
I've enjoyed seeing different guests and having conversations with them from time to time. I get to have a glance of their personality. A lot of them treat us (employees of the hotel) well. I have encountered some very angry guests as well especially if their rooms are not yet ready mostly during back to back room booking situations. For further information, that just means that two different guests have booked the same room. Standard check in and check out applies but sometimes, guests don't check out exactly at twelve noon. That's why we sometimes experience issues which I think all hotels experience as well during that kind of situation.
Although the experience was nice and it helped me in a lot of ways, I still need to earn more or even just an extra in order to save money. Who knows, maybe we may need it for emergency cases. So I sometimes go to computer shops after my shift just to search for online opportunities that I can perform afterwards. During that time, I saw a lot of 'paid to click' and 'paid to read email' offers. The sites I was able to see looks legit to me because they have a good looking site. I'm not that knowledgeable yet back then to know if a website looks suspicious or not. I only know how to search online for my cousin's assignments or use Friendster (this was famous back then). Anyways, back to the story. I created accounts to four different sites particularly two 'paid to click' sites and two 'paid to read email' sites. Three of them offers bank checks as the form of withdrawing what I will earn and one of them offered PayPal. It was the first time I've read about PayPal so I searched about it and created my account.
Their FAQs pages state that they can only send my earnings if I've earned XXX amount which can be achieved in a month. I was already thinking that if I earn that amount, I would be able to buy things we need, help out with the expenses, and still have some bucks to set aside and save. My smile was from ear to ear as I imagine what I can do with the money. Since I'm still working in the hotel, after my shift, I immediately go to the same computer shop and perform the tasks I have to do on those sites. After a few days, I usually check how much I earned so far, if my efforts were adding up. As days go by, I can see that my earnings were increasing as I work. It's just a few more days and I'm already able to request for my first payout. I was soooo excited for that day. I even had a hard time getting my sleep because I was thinking of the earnings!
The day came when I have reached the XXX amount that I can withdraw. I then went to the Earnings section on one of the 'paid to read email' site. I saw a 'Withdraw Earnings' hyperlinked text and so I clicked on it. A pop up window appeared asking for my information like Name, Address, Phone Number, Country, Email Address and PayPal Email Address. I filled up the form and clicked the button to submit my details. And then the unexpected thing happened....it didn't went through! I was like "what happened?" I double checked all the information I've provided and submitted it again but to no avail. I logged in to the other accounts I had for the other 'paid to' sites to try and withdraw my earnings. Same thing happened, I can't get what I've worked for! It feels like my whole world turned upside down. The plans I made where I will use the money all faded away with just one snap. I did my part and performed the exact instructions they've provided but I wasn't able to get what's for me for the efforts I did. It turned out that those sites were scam sites and they have been ripping people off! Though I was sooo low that time, I had to move forward. I just thought, it's a good thing that I'm still working in the hotel. I can just focus there and eventually, I will be able to accept what had happened.
Months went by and I was able to accept the fact that I got scammed on my first job online. I'm still eager to find an online opportunity that I can do for part time. That first time experience didn't made me give up. I know that someday I will be able to find a better opportunity... earn real bucks from it. After months have passed, I was able to save a few money. I was planning to buy a second hand computer and apply for an internet connection. But then something came up. At work, a lot of our supervisors and managers were friendly and easy to get along with. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out well after quite some time so I had to file a resignation letter.
Before I went home, I went again to the same computer shop and searched online for other companies offering work at home jobs. I saw some offers in online job boards where you have to create an account in order to submit applications or view the company's email address where you can send your resume. I created draft application letters and saved them in my email. Then, I created a non-pro resume with all my work experiences so far and attached it to all the drafts I made. Before my time ran out, I was able to apply to some job vacancies. After two days, I went to a computer shop near our place and checked my email. Sad to know that no one responded.
That didn't stop me though. I searched for other offers and tried my luck again, sending applications to as many job offers as possible! Then one time, I stumbled upon this website that caught my attention. They looked legit to me. Then I remembered my first unfortunate experience so I searched for any feedback about their website. Fortunately, I've read a lot of positive reviews so I decided to create my profile there and, as much as possible, provide all the information I can. They have verification procedures back then which include sending a scanned copy of your valid ID and a proof of billing. I was sooo hesitant again but I still provided the information they need. Alas! After a few days, when I checked back, my account was already marked as verified and I received a notification that I can already start to work. :)
