Hi, I'm Kyle. I'm a virtual assistant from the Philippines, or to be more specific, a real estate virtual assistant.
I'm writing this article to show you why hiring virtual assistants or "VAs" in the Philippines makes sense, especially if you need a fluent English Speaker.
Filipinos worldwide are highly appreciated for their adobo (a traditional Filipino dish), vast and pristine waters, overseas nurses and caregivers, and English-speaking virtual assistants.
Yes, you heard it right. Filipino VA's are one of the most highly skilled in the beloved mother-tongue - English. No wonder the most successful companies in the world outsource to the Philippines.
With the enormous growth in demand for Filipino virtual assistants and virtual employees in the Philippines, many people are still wondering how English became the joint official language. Here are some of the reasons why Filipino VA's speak fluent English:
How did English become the legal language of the Philippines?
During the USA colonization of our country (1898-1946), after 350+ years of Spanish rule, the Philippines officially became a territory of the United States after the USA defeated Spain.
This then began the transformation of the country, one of which saw English replace Spanish as the legal language.
Even after the USA granted the Philippines independence after world war 2, the Philippines' new constitution and legal language remained as English.
Until the present day, the joint official languages of the Philippines (as in national languages) are English and Filipino, with English being the chosen language for college, university, road signs, restaurant menus, even the cinema will play almost all movies exclusively in English.
Our first English teachers were likely Peace Corps Volunteers called Thomasites.
They changed the course of Philippines literacy by building elementary school learning institutions and awakening each student that the best gun is the book allowing students to learn English and study.
Filipinos don't like movies dubbed
Who would like to watch a Robert De Niro with an English Dub, like those old 1970's Bruce Lee movies?
Not me, that's for sure.
If you are a typical Filipino Netflix watcher, then you'll be binging on stuff like Game of Thrones, Sabrina, Lucifer, Breaking Bad, and all the other English-speaking shows.
However, sometimes we put the English subtitles on as some regional accents like Liverpool or Glasgow can be very difficult to understand.
If you ever come here to the Philippines for a vacation, I insist that you go to the cinema and you'll see that virtually all of our movies are in English without subtitles.
We love our Karaoke and Radio
Yes, we do; Filipinos never skip a single song. When the karaoke hits the party, you can guarantee we will be singing medleys of old and new songs.
My grandma still enjoys singing Engelbert and Tom Jones songs whenever we have a family party at our home.
We never miss our karaoke, and we love to sing, and yes, most of the songs we sing are English and American ones. There is a greater chance of spotting a well-versed English accent whenever a Filipino holds the microphone.
Your VA in the Philippines will be singing Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, or even Abba and other big hit golden songs whenever they relax on the weekends.
Remember the old-time radio as well. Sunday mornings here in the Philippines are the golden oldies English music of the 1960s-1980s. Engelbert, Elvis, Kenny Rogers, it's like 1960's America, and it's fantastic fun.
We live English every day
The Philippines has always been a diverse culture due to our history, including Spanish, Americans, Chinese, and other diversity.
Wherever you are in the Philippines in one chatters an English word simultaneously.
Your Filipino Virtual Assistant will look at a grocery store. Every product they will see is in English. If they go to McDonald's or Jollibee fast food restaurant, again, everything on the menu will exclusively be in English.
When driving a car, all of the road signs are in English. Unfortunately, the tickets you get for speeding!
Because of the above facts, English is part of our daily lives, which is why outsourcing to the Philippines is such a good idea.
Businesses pay me $5.00 per hour as a virtual assistant in the Philippines. Is it fair?
Yes, it is.
It's difficult for you to understand this if you live in the USA, and you've perhaps never been to the developing world. Everything in life is relative to the circumstances that surround it.
For example, the cost of living in my home city, which is Davao City, Philippines, is around 1/3 of what it costs to live in a major USA city.
That means $5.00 per hour is equivalent to paying a local employee around $15 per hour in the USA.
Although with that $15, I'm sure you'd have other associated employee costs in the USA, which would push the actual cost of $15 even higher.
How much should you pay virtual assistants?
That depends, but on average, I'd suggest anywhere between $4.00-$10.00 per hour to hire good quality Filipino virtual assistants.
Never try to pay below $3.00 per hour as you'll get frustrated with the quality of staff you hire.
I'd suggest you read the article on how to hire a virtual assistant. The article shows you the following things:
- How to hire a virtual assistant for a fraction of the cost of the USA... without compromising quality!
- Why you should not pay $2.00 to $3.00 per hour.
- Reasons businesses hire virtual assistants in the Philippines, and why it makes good business sense.
And if you liked this article, and you'd like more information, then I'd suggest you read the outsourcing to the Philippines guide to doing it right.
