9ยฐ18'14"N ยท 123ยฐ18'25"E ยท Dumaguete City, PH
John Mark
Magalona
Operations & Admin VA โ€” reliable, disciplined, and ready to work with international clients across any timezone.
C2 English HubSpot Certified Flexible Timezone 9 Yrs International Ops STCW Certified
// CAPTAIN'S LOG
From the bridge
to the back office

Nine years at sea โ€” working up through the ranks to Third Officer on international tanker vessels under TMS Tankers, Greece. I managed daily operations, coordinated with port authorities across time zones, and kept everything running under real pressure.

I'm making a deliberate transition to remote work to be present for my two sons and my wife. That commitment drives everything I do.

// VOYAGE LOG
2012 โ€“ 2015
BS Marine Transportation
Palawan Polytechnic College โ€” STCW, navigation, maritime law
2016 โ€“ 2017
BPO โ€” Customer Service
IBEX Global โ€” inbound sales, CRM, client communication
3 months experience
2017 โ€“ 2024
Deck Ratings โ€” Int'l Tankers
TMS Tankers Ltd, Greece โ€” working up through the ranks, international voyages, tanker operations
2024 โ€“ 2026
Third Officer โ€” Int'l Tankers
Licensed deck officer โ€” operations management, compliance documentation, safety & security officer
2026 โ€“ Now
Remote VA โ€” Transitioning
HubSpot Certified ยท C2 English ยท AI-augmented ยท Available for international clients
// SHIP'S LOG โ€” VA TRANSITION JOURNAL

This is my public accountability log. Every day of my VA transition, documented โ€” what I learned, what I built, what I applied for, and what happened. Clients can see exactly how I work, how I grow, and what I'm capable of.

6Days loggedclick to edit
8Applications sentclick to edit
3Interviews / advancesclick to edit
2Certificationsclick to edit
1Portfolio builtclick to edit
DAY 01
Jun 20, 2026
Career decision made. Research begins.
DONE
โ–ผ
ResearchStrategy
Made the decision to leave sailing permanently and transition to remote VA work. Spent the day researching what VA roles exist, what skills are in demand, and what my maritime background translates to.
โœ“Researched VA market and role types
โœ“Identified target: Operations & Admin VA for Australian clients
โœ“Created magalona.remote@gmail.com professional email
โœ“Set up Claude AI as primary work tool and co-pilot
Win: Identified the manning agency Sales VA niche โ€” a market where 9 years of maritime experience is a genuine differentiator.
DAY 02
Jun 21, 2026
Resume built. First applications sent.
DONE
โ–ผ
CanvaJob ApplicationsResume Writing
Built a professional two-column resume from scratch โ€” navy and gold design, photo included, maritime experience reframed in VA language. Sent first wave of job applications.
โœ“Built professional resume in Canva โ€” two-column navy/gold design
โœ“Applied to Haulla (Remote Sales Rep)
โœ“Applied to Team Virgil (Process Doc VA)
โœ“Applied to TigerCampus (Tutor)
โœ“Applied to EDGE Tutor (ESL Teacher)
โœ“Set up 60-day Google Calendar system
Win: Resume completed and live on the same day it was started. No perfectionism. Ship it.
DAY 03
Jun 22, 2026
EF SET C2 English certified. HubSpot started.
DONE
โ–ผ
EF SET C2HubSpotEnglish Proficiency
Took the EF SET English proficiency test and scored C2 โ€” the highest level. Reading 75, Listening 83, Writing 79. Speaking at B2 โ€” noted as an area to improve. Started HubSpot Sales Hub certification.
โœ“Passed EF SET โ€” C2 Proficient (73/100 overall)
โœ“Certificate: cert.efset.org/en/ZA1QRQ
โœ“Started HubSpot Sales Hub certification
โœ“Applied to AdminEdge โ€” Recruitment Coordinator
โœ“Applied to 51Talk โ€” Online English Teacher
Win: C2 English in one sitting. No prep, no courses. This credential goes on every application permanently.
DAY 04
Jun 23, 2026
HubSpot certified. Virtual Coworker applications submitted.
DONE
โ–ผ
HubSpot CRMVirtual CoworkerCRM Management
Completed HubSpot Sales Hub certification. Applied to two targeted Virtual Coworker roles for Australian clients โ€” both with full pre-screening assessments completed.
โœ“Completed HubSpot Sales Hub certification โ€” 100%
โœ“Applied โ€” Virtual Coworker Operations VA (Immigration, AU)
โœ“Applied โ€” Virtual Coworker Customer Service & Ops Coordinator (AU)
โœ“Completed full pre-screening assessment forms
โœ“Joined discord.gg/english for daily speaking practice
Win: HubSpot certified in under 48 hours of starting. Two quality AU applications submitted same day.
DAY 05
Jun 24, 2026
Intro video recorded. EDGE Tutor advanced to interview.
DONE
โ–ผ
InterviewOBS StudioEDGE Tutor
EDGE Tutor passed me through screening โ€” interview scheduled for Tuesday. Recorded a professional 90-second introduction video and completed the Virtual Coworker assessment with video attached.
โœ“EDGE Tutor โ€” passed screening, interview Tuesday
โœ“Recorded 90-second intro video โ€” professional setup
โœ“Uploaded to Google Drive โ€” public link active
โœ“Submitted Virtual Coworker assessment with video
โœ“Applied to Super People Networks โ€” ESL/IELTS Tutor
Win: First real interview in under 5 days. The resume and C2 cert are doing their job.
DAY 06
Jun 25, 2026
Portfolio launched. Interview prep begins.
TODAY
โ–ผ
PortfolioInterview PrepVirtual Coworker
This portfolio went live today โ€” night sky animation, Captain's Log, Voyage Log, Ship's Log with full 6-day accountability journal. EDGE Tutor interview prep begins tonight.
โœ“Portfolio launched โ€” full sections, Ship's Log live
โœ“Reviewed EDGE Tutor contract โ€” 6-month, exit clause noted
โœ“Reviewed 5 strong-fit Virtual Coworker roles
โ—‹EDGE Tutor mock interview โ€” tonight
โ—‹Join Discord English speaking โ€” tonight
Today's focus: Mock interview prep with Claude for EDGE Tutor Tuesday. Every answer rehearsed before the real call.
// SERVICES
OPS

Operations Support

Scheduling, order coordination, delivery tracking, multi-priority management

ADMIN

Inbox & Admin

Email triage, document prep, data entry, enquiry handling, follow-ups

CRM

CRM Management

HubSpot pipelines, contact records, task sequencing, weekly reporting

SALES

Sales Support

Lead follow-up, quote prep, outreach coordination, enquiry management

// TOOLS & PLATFORMS
HubSpot CRMGoogle WorkspaceCanva Claude AIChatGPTNotion Microsoft OfficeZoom / TeamsAirtable Krisp AIOBS StudioCapCut
// SAMPLE WORK
Admin ยท Email

Client Enquiry System

Email triage and response templates for an AU operations client โ€” urgency-prioritized, brand-matched

CRM ยท HubSpot

Sales Pipeline Setup

Mock HubSpot pipeline โ€” contact records, deal stages, follow-up sequences, weekly dashboard

Ops ยท Scheduling

Delivery Scheduler

Technician assignment and confirmation tracker in Google Sheets for a product distributor

// CREDENTIALS
C2 English Proficient
EF SET ยท cert.efset.org/en/ZA1QRQ
C2
HubSpot Sales Hub Certified
HubSpot Academy ยท 2026
CERT
STCW Maritime Certified
International Maritime Credentials
โš“

Ready to work together?

Reliable, disciplined, and ready to work with international clients across any timezone.

Emailmagalona.remote@gmail.com
LocationDumaguete City, Philippines
TimezonePHT ยท Flexible
โ–ถ Watch My Introduction