Of lay-offs, closures and expansion

I heard last week and confirmed from the internet that Intel Philippines will indeed close its operations in Cavite. This is truly sad news. It's a big loss for the Philippines and most of all a big loss for the employees currently working there.

The decision though was not completely surprising. I think for the past several months the employees were already fearing for this. Although the management did say they were just considering relocation of the plant, they were also hinting at the possible closure by showing the severance package that employees could expect.

Years ago I never would have thought that Intel would be one of those companies that would possibly close. It was the biggest electronics exporter of the Philippines. In fact, I would have thought my first employer (another American multinational semiconductor company) would have been more likely to close sooner. When I started working as a contractual in that company, they had just spun-off from Motorola and there were voluntary separation packages being offered to tenured employees. But the company survived eventually. 

When I started at Intel (my 3rd employer), there were a lot of new hires every week! They were very generous with trainings, bonuses and benefits. I even had the opportunity to work offshore for a few months. But even before I had completed my bond, we were suddenly faced with a decision. Our business group was spun-off, and we were offered a job at the new company with a slightly higher pay but less benefits, or take the severance package from Intel. I thought how unlucky for our group to be separated from Intel. Now it's actually a blessing in disguise. Compared to our Intel counterparts in the other business groups who will now suddenly become jobless, our business group co-workers still have their work.

I am glad though that the Philippines has strict labor laws and Intel is a very generous company such that the affected employees are compensated for this loss. It is of course not a permanent fix to the problem of unemployment, but is surely helps to cope for the 1st few months of job hunting. The severance package may even pave for possible business ventures for those who have worked long enough.

As for me, it opened up an opportunity to pursue other career options. Despite the current worldwide financial crisis, I was able to get work in an Australian IT company creating software for financial institutions. I am confident that my current employer will grow more and expand its reach. In fact, the past few months saw a surge of new hires in our company. I hope it continues to go strong.

Of course we don't really know what the future holds for us. What we can just do is move on, look for opportunities, and do our best. It's a never-ending cycle that is not only effective with careers but in life too.

Starting a new home

It's a bit late for me to be writing about our house hunting experience and furniture shopping as it's been a few months since we had settled to our new home (temporarily that is). But I think it would still be useful writing about it for reference.

House hunting

We would  have preferred to eventually stay at our own place. However after surveying several brochures and trying to anticipate the cost of a housing loan,  we opted to rent for the meantime until we are sure which property to buy. We wanted to move to the city as early as possible as heavy traffic has started in NLEX since the MRT extension to Monumento has begun. The commute has been very tiring especially for me since I work in Makati.

We started to look for apartments/houses for rent in Buy and Sell. Our main considerations were location and budget. Unfortunately most of the good deals we find there were almost always already booked by the time we call/inquire. Some we thought were good did not meet our expectations when we make a site visit. That's when we started looking by foot.

We preferred the location to be somewhere in Cubao or Boni and near Edsa. Our budget was to be not more than 7k monthly (for the 2 of us). Most of the units we found within our budget in Cubao were cramped, dirty and ill-kept. There were a few that were good but too expensive for us. We found a lot of better apartments in Boni. One was just walking distance from Boni Edsa around 7k, and the apartment building was well-maintained although the unit itself is pretty small, just enough for 2 people. Another was near the City hall and rotonda. And another in City homes which has a lot of available units. They were around 8k a month.

What we noticed with apartment buildings for rent is that they usually charge additional fees like what they call association dues (just like living in a condo). This they say is for building maintenance, garbage collection, etc. We did not like those with a lot of additional charges. We felt these were unnecessary expenses and a way to charge more even if they advertise the rent to be affordable. There were some who require payment for cable (even if you say you do not have a TV) or charges when you have a phone or internet installed (apart from the connection fee you pay the telephone company). There are some who also charge a huge outright deposit for utility payments in advance. I suggest you ask everything you could possible think would be charged or ask them simply if there are anything else you need to pay with your rent. 

We were still not sure with our options although the units in Boni were our best pick. We gave Cubao another try and decided to walk along the streets near Main Ave. There we found a 2-BR apartment for rent for 12k. The house is part of a 6-unit compound. Of course this was beyond our original budget of 7k. But upon checking the unit, we found it was spacious. The 2 bedrooms upstairs were spacious as well, with a lot of windows and cabinets. The location was ideal as it is near Edsa, and the windows are blocked by trees but very windy.

Although originally it was only me and my husband who was looking for a place, we decided to invite his sisters to join so we could all share in the rent. They were also planning to rent in the city by themselves. But of course sharing a place to rent was the most economical option. We visited the unit again a week after for them to check it out. Afterwards we reserved the place and arranged for the move a week after.

(To be continued...)

Reflecting on the past year

2008 has been a year of great changes in my life, personally and professionally. In the 1st quarter of the year, I had resigned from my work in Cavite to stay in Bulacan with my husband. We have been seeing each other only on weekends since we got married in Dec 2007. 

At the same time, I was contemplating a career change. I was getting more interested on business/finance. The next 6 months were spent mostly surfing for information on career options, business/finance concepts, investing, training opportunities, etc. It was a difficult stage in my career not knowing where I wanted to go, what I would do. I did take some trainings on starting a business, stock market investing, etc. I wanted to explore what else is there to try.

I applied for several different positions. Most of them unrelated to my previous work. I was willing to start from scratch so I could learn the works. I did realize after several interviews (as I have learned a lot from those) that it was not easy to just shift to another field without the necessary education, background or experience.

I had to choose a field that would be related to my interest in business/finance but at the same time capitalize on my technical background. Finally, in the last quarter of the year, I had found the right opportunity. I am now working as a QA Test Engineer in an Australian IT company that produces software for financial institutions.

On the homefront, shortly after starting to work, Rene and I have decided to move back to Manila so that the commute would be easier. We are now renting an apartment in Cubao.

Although the past year had a lot of changes and adjustments, hopefully this year will be the year of affirmation, security and independence. Affirmation that I had chosen the right career, security in our earning power and independence from renting by having a place of our own. I am looking forward to these in 2009.