After college, my primary goal was to snatch a financially rewarding career and help augment my family’s meagre income. Without a relevant work experience, it never dawned on me that fresh graduates only register on the radar of entry level positions of big corporations until after two months of proactive job-hunting. I landed my first job out of college at last as secretary of the Vice President for Marketing of a publishing house but what I was doing then didn’t even come close to the effort I put into my education.
Since I don’t have the personality to be on radio or television, my strategy from Day 1 was to make myself as employable as possible. I volunteered my creative services to build up my portfolio, worked two part-time jobs (one was career-related), and spent free evenings pouring over tutorials trying to teach myself new skills. Not to mention the countless blurry-eyed nights spent until 4 or 5am ghost writing research papers.
Enrolling at the Graduate School of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines was by far the best strategy I had ever done. My communication knowledge and skills were enriched in every subject I attended. The classroom-based presentations extracted my “creative juices” and boosted my confidence in doing reports. In 2007, I was elected president of the Master in Communication Society and led more than 50 professional students in implementing various extension projects/ activities, which enhanced my event coordination and management skills.
In a highly competitive job market, I knew my best shot would be to take all of the skills I’d been learning and pitch myself as a walking, talking all-in-one communication machine. That way, I could fit into whatever position was needed within a big corporation (since my skills were diverse), or I could work and run as a one-woman-show.
My trial run of my strategy came when I was applying and interviewing for the information officer position at the Philippine Information Agency, the advertising and information arm of the government. Because I had master’s units and volunteer experience under my belt, I was able to nail the job – a plantilla position.
Career-wise, I believe I am now “steady at the age of 30.” As a senior information officer, I get to apply all the teachings from my master’s class, such as roles of public information officer, training needs analysis, concepts on integrated marketing and communication, among others.
I will be forever grateful to my mentors because their passion for teaching exceeds what is academically required of them. They share their knowledge and expertise so generously that I would want to pick their brains for more. Above all, they instilled in me the value of education. After obtaining a degree in Master in Communication, I intend to pursue a doctorate degree. Not for the employment benefits, but for self-actualization and for the love of learning!
