Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer

Most of the Jobs available for medical professionals are bound for Middle East. I have received several calls claiming that they saw my resume on jobstreet and workabroad ( which I posted since 2003 right after I finished my OB-GYN residency) during the time when I was still looking for a job. Ninety nine percent of the time they will ask you to come for an interview, there is ready visa and that the employer is coming to town.

But wait don't get too excited first keep this things in mind:
1.) Get the Name of the Agency
2.) Check if the agency is listed in POEA as an authorized recruitment agency and check the validity of their accreditation.
3.) Get the Name of the Employer. Surf the name of the clinic over the net to make sure that such institution exist.
4.) NEVER attend a pre interview. Attend only actual interviews with the employer and not the agency owner (Do not waste your efforts because your questions will never be answered) so make sure you are meeting the employer personally.
5.) ASK how much is the offer even a rough estimate. Do not accept the reason "It is the employer that will determine your salary based on your qualifications" because if this agency have sent medical professionals before you at least they have an idea how much was the offer. Just tell them " Were you able to send doctors before? Can you give me a rough estimate on the offer to the previous doctors?" Dont be afraid to ask, at least you have an idea if you still wanted to proceed with the interview based on the salary offer or not. If you have good qualifications chances are you will get more than what is being offered.

Assuming that you accepted the JOB and you signed a contract then what's next? You will be given a list of requirements that you needed to submit. Remember you will be working on a very limited time so it pays to know what requirements are needed and which one to get first. Be Prepared.

You can check the list of requirements for medical professional here.

What are the estimate expense you will incur while processing your papers?
 Let me give you a rough estimate:
1.) Placement fee equivalent to your 1 month salary to be deducted in 6 months. ( You can beg the employer and agency to deduct it for 12 months if you think its to heavy on the pocket)
2.) Agency Processing fee for the DFA Authentication of "some" of your credentials ( I mean some because you will have to apply for the DFA authentication of your other documents). I will discuss the process of having a DFA CAV in details in another post and stamping at Saudi Embassy. This ranges from 10-15k.
3.) Medical Exam usually Php 3,000.00
4.) Pre Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) Php 100.00
5.) NBI Clearance Php 115.00 if you still dont have any
6.) Passport 900.00 Regular(14 days) and 1200.00 rush (7 days)
7.) DFA Certification Authentication and Verification(CAV) or most popularly known as "RED RIBBON" Php 100.00 per document Php 200.00 if rush which you can get the following day.

So before you can earn you will spend a lot but don't worry, after every storm comes a rainbow. :)