I recently entertained the thought of going out of country this year – Japan preferably. I browsed some sites, check the requirements, and realized that my passport is due to expire in May 2010! That means unless I renew my passport soon, it will be a very long wait to go out of country.

I was hesitant though, because the last time I had my passport renewed, I had to wait in queue. I hate waiting. So I was surprised to find out that you can now actually schedule an appointment in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for a hassle-free passport application or renewal through the DFA appointment system online! (Warning: this feature is applicable only in DFA Manila)

What’s really great about this is that I was able to renew my passport in less than an hour! I find this really amazing especially for a Philippine government agency that I just have to post this. I’m pretty sure a lot of people would love to avail of this fast way to renew or apply for a Philippine passport.

DFA is currently offering two types of passports – the ePassport and the Machine Readable Passport or MRP.

The difference between getting the Philippine ePassport and MRP

Both MRP and ePassport appointment system can be used for renewal. At the moment though, only applicants for passport renewal may apply for the DFA ePassport Appointment System. Only 100 ePassport applicants can be accommodated daily which definitely ensures a smooth-sailing, fast process.

New passport applicants, Senior Citizens (more than 60 years old), and others not qualified can apply for the Machine Readable Passport Online Appointment System in the DFA website. Again, the MRP appointment system can also be used for passport renewals.

Lost passports and others not qualified can still avail of the Appointment System by Personal Appearance at the Gate 2 of the DFA, Pasay City.

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For the technical details on the difference between e-Passport and MRP you can check out the detailed post at notoffline.com.
You can click here to know more about the Philippine ePassport
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Once you have decided which type of passport you would like to apply for, below are quick steps on

How to get an e-Passport vs. MRP

Map to DFA Manila

Here’s a map to help you find and locate DFA Manila:

Even though you have already set an appointment, I suggest you still go there an hour before your appointment to give a leeway for unpredictable occurrences. Do make sure you have all the requirements before going to DFA.

So, what are you waiting for? Avoid the long queue, set an appointment at DFA, and go get your passport in less than an hour! ^_^

Early September, after my y4it talk on Day 1, Aiza, one of the participants of y4it placed a comment on my Friendster:

# Posted 09/19/2008 9:50 am
# hello ms Fe..

Im a senior I.T student of Bulacan State University
just wanna ask if u interested to answer an email interview..its one of our final requirement, to have an interview with a project manager..

tnx..

i’m waiting for your response ^_^

Since I used to be a student, I know how grueling the senior year is, and I hate it when “grown ups” say no to student interviews… I vowed not to become one of them. So, even though I still have a lot to learn in the world of project management, I told Aiza I was willing to participate. When I checked the questionnaire, it was pretty logical but interesting. It was actually quite interesting that I decided to post my answers here:

—start—

The main purpose of this interview is for students to gain more insight into what project managers really do, what challenges they face, what lessons they’ve learned, what concepts/tools they are using, and what suggestions they have for future project managers.

1) How did you get into project management?

<– I was promoted as Project Manager from Marketing Manager when we had our company restructured last year.

2) If you had to rate the job of project manager on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, how would you rate it?

<– I would rate it with an 8.

3) Briefly explain the reason for your rating. What do you enjoy most and what do you like least about being a project manager?

<– I gave it an 8 because the position gives you enough leeway in handling the project or goal of the company/team. Your creativity and strategic thinking are greatly tapped with this job. That is, you can pretty much do anything so long as you meet the goal.

However, there are times when you, of course do not have the last say – it is a company after all, and the owner has this privilege, at any time. So even though you do not agree to the final decision, all you can do is gracefully accept it. It’s his company, after all.

4) Did you have any training or special talents or experiences that qualified you to be a project manager?

<– It’s a combination of all three actually. I was a pioneer in my company and I started from scratch – literally from the lowest position at that time in our company – a Creative Writer. During the development stage of our websites, our CEO discovered that I have a good background in computer. He decided to train me to do technical and website work and promoted me to a Technical Content Manager.

Then there was a need for SEO Director to get our website’s rankings maintained if not increased in the SERPs. Since this position requires technical skills and I was the one in line for that, our CEO gave me an orientation about it and the rest of my knowledge came from thorough research and my colleagues. Soon, I was promoted to Marketing Manager.

Sometime 2007, our CEO decided to put up another company. Since he was too occupied with this new company, decided to restructure my company, and I was the only one who knows the entire network of our sites in every angle (almost as much as he does), he decided to have me manage the 20 websites, making me the project manager.

5) What do you feel is the most important thing you do as project manager? On what task do you spend the most time each day?

<– I consider two tasks to be very important – task distribution/delegation and monitoring. For any project, it is important that tasks are distributed properly and to the appropriate people to ensure smooth sailing. Once this is done, the project should be well-monitored so you will know if you are going towards the direction to achieving your goal and for you to be ready for any setbacks. After all, you are accountable for the outcome of the project.

6) What are some of the positive and negative risks you’ve encountered on projects? Please describe any notable successes and failures and what you’ve learned from them.

<– One of the positive risks I took was when I stood my ground on implementing social marketing as a strategy for our websites to gain more traffic. Social marketing at that time was a very new concept and our CEO was very doubtful about it. In the end, he gave me a go signal but told me that if he did not see any significant result, he will cancel that marketing effort.

In a few weeks time, we were able to give him a report with increased statistics of our sites due to social marketing. He acquiesced and we continued our social marketing efforts.

When you are confident about something, and are prepared to take any consequences (should there be any), keep your ground. Fight for it. After all, the worst that could happen is just to have your CEO say no.

As for the negative risk, there was a time when I became too confident in the leeway/authority our CEO gave me that I did not consult him about one area in our website template change since one of the owners also do not agree with his idea. In the end, since the other owner was out of reach, the CEO had the last say and our programmer ended up losing two weeks’ worth of work.

So never, ever, make a major decision without consulting/informing your superior. It will save you a lot of hassle and time.

7) What are some of the tools, software or otherwise, that you use, and what is your opinion of those tools?

<– Since we are an internet company, we have freelancers, we outsource, and we have advertising clients (both local and international), we make use of Skype and email. Those tools are very helpful in monitoring and coordinating with people especially with the time difference when dealing with international clients.

8 ) What are some steps a project manager can take to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of a team? How does a project manager gain the respect and loyalty of team members?

<– Some steps would be more team building and more one-on-one interaction with your colleagues/subordinates. That way, you will be able to understand each other well and there will be less miscommunication – generally the main cause of any conflict.

9) What suggestions do you have for working with sponsors and senior managers?

<– Senior managers are most of the time under the category of “old dogs”. It’s quite hard to teach them new tricks. Seriously. However, for a company to grow, it is important that it adapts to change. Thus, you need to be able to appeal change to your superiors in a way that they will happily agree to it.

To be able to do that, you need to talk their language – profit. It’s all about profit. If you can make them see how profitable-related your suggested efforts are, they are sure to give you a go signal in no time.

10) Do you have any suggestions for future project managers, such as any specific preparations they should make, skills they should learn, etc?

<– Although experience is a good teacher, other’s experience is the best. It would be great if you can attend a project management course and get a certificate to add to your credential. However, do keep in mind that that piece of paper (certificate) is useless unless you practice what you have learned.

In any case, as with any position, you should be flexible and be very open-minded. When given two options, always choose the third. Think out of the box. ^_^

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