Rappler Talk: The future of freelancing in the Philippines

As internet penetration in the Philippines increases, more and more Filipinos will turn to the online world in search of work. Some will use it as a supplement to their traditional 9-to-5, while others may even turn to freelancing full-time.

No matter the case, many of them will use the online jobs platform Upwork (formerly Elance-oDesk), which already boasts of 1.4 million Filipino freelancers. Rappler caught up with Upwork’s categories director, Ryan Johnson, on the future of freelancing in the Philippines, so that interested freelancers can gain an edge.

Which job categories are seeing the most surge in demand? How do you distinguish yourself from the millions of other freelancers already competing on Upwork? Is it important to network offline as one might in a traditional career?

Johnson addresses all these questions and gives a macro view of Philippine freelancing, which is now the third strongest region for freelancing in the world and poised to grow only further. – Rappler.com