It’s What I Do

Gladys Mae Villa
Architect, Design Consultancy Firm
Abu Dhabi

What do you do for a living?

Residing in the UAE’s capital since 2008, I am blessed to have been practicing my profession as a design professional in varied contractor and consulting capacities to clients from all over the Emirates. To put words to what I do, I am involved in designing and executing architectural plans in building construction. In a more simplified way, I work with creativity and numbers to make a place for people to call a home, office, or a place to gather.

More than using both the left and right brain at work, I am opportune to be social. I lead a design team and meet with people in their Excellencies (or ‘sheikhs’), the government, and the private sector, and plan projects that showcase what the UAE has to offer to the world—luxury and comfort.

I feel favored to be able to say that I love my job, not only due to its perks, but also because of the experience to work in a multicultural environment.
Please share with us an interesting story or anecdote that happened to you on-the-job.
Once there was a time that my understanding of the local norms as applied to building interiors has been put to a test. I had met a VVIP client in a prominent building in downtown Dubai. In between consultations, it is inevitable that someone goes to the washroom for a bladder break, which I, for one, took. In a search to do this, I had found a sign that looks what we Filipinos or non-Arabs would associate as feminine, i.e. a face silhouette similar to a woman with a long hair as seen in the side view. Little to my knowledge, I mistakenly entered the men’s toilet and I surprised a local guy clothed in the traditional kandora. Apparently, the sign that I saw earlier was referring to the head of an Arab man wearing a keffiyeh. This short encounter had me thinking that everyday is a learning experience.

Please describe your typical working day.

The body of my career was built mostly here in Abu Dhabi. It is, however, in no way different from others across the globe. I do check my emails first thing in the morning, do the bulk of my task and meet deadlines, and occasionally go out of the office for site visits (even when I was pregnant), with lots of caffeine breaks in between.

Your message to Filipinos out there.

To all aspiring Filipinos hoping to start anew abroad, it is never all the comfort and luxury you see that makes the life of an OFW, rather, it’s a mixture of handwork, resilience and openness. Handwork is what would bring you to what you need; resilience will keep you to where you want to stay; and, openness will lead you to what you dream of.

Design your work and build your design!

Marcus Sheen Mestidio
Commercial Quantity Surveyor, Metallic Equipment Co., LLC
Dubai, UAE

What do you do for a living?

I am a Commercial Quantity Surveyor Engineer. Generally, I deal with quantity of items ordered and bill items installed which in between requires processes of notifying clients regarding variation and claiming its additional cost.

Please describe your typical working day.

On a daily basis, I assess tender documents, review and recommend amendment on contracts, prepare quotations, billings and invoices, evaluate payment certificates, and liaise with clients. But the thing I love the most about my job is looking at the bigger picture of what my tasks entail, which is process development and staff management. This is what I try to pitch in every now and then when I get the chance. Dealing with people in different ways after profiling them interests me, and it makes me happier when I influence them to do better things.

Being professional does not equate to being successful. You need to be self-motivated and work more than what is expected of you.

So what really makes a person successful? Is it after you got the position you wanted and earn the amount of money you want in able to provide for your family? Probably.
Your message to Filipinos out there.
For me, “Success is reaching your goal and helping others to reach theirs at the same time.”

Never forget that other people bring you nearer to your success, and so it is essential to be the same to others in return.

Maricris Limbo
Marketing & Communications Manager, Al Manshar-Rotana
Dubai, UAE

What do you do for a living?

My name is Maricris Limbo and I am the Marketing and Communications Manager of the only five-star Rotana hotel in Kuwait, the Al Manshar Rotana Hotel. Rotana currently manages a portfolio of over 100 properties throughout the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe, with an aggressive expansion plan in place.

As Marketing and Communications Manager, I am responsible to promote the hotel brand name through formulated advertising and public relations campaigns and plans, as well as reinforce its corporate identity. It is also my responsibility to develop and execute promotional and brand-building exercises in conjunction with some other marketing department as required. Another part of my duties is to handle online content management, seeking online marketing opportunities, as well as managing the SEO of Al Manshar Rotana website and web traffic.

In addition to the abovementioned, I am also part of the revenue-generating activities of the hotel, making sure that the promotions are not only well marketed, but also meets the budget.

I have also spearheaded Corporate Social Responsibility projects, which is one of my favorite activities to work on. This is the time where I get to meet different kinds of people from different areas of the society; being able to help others makes me even more motivated.

Please describe your typical working day.

My day starts with reading newspapers, checking on what’s going on in the market and what our competitors are currently up to. After that, I meet with all of the department heads of the hotel to discuss important things needed to be done.

Of course, email is my very best friend. I continue my day reading my emails, and liaise and coordinate with advertising agencies and media companies. I make sure that the promotional materials follow the hotel’s guidelines. I also oversee all press releases and maintain a constant supply of articles for our media partners. I make sure that there is always something to talk about the hotel.

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are also my best buddies; I use them for all the related artworks that I might need for social media posts

Please share with us an interesting story or anecdote that happened to you on-the-job.

This happened very recently and I find it interesting. As I was seeking a way to get to know more people in Kuwait, I always ask my colleagues to involve me whenever they are meeting with clients or people they know in the country. Our Food and Beverage Manager happens to meet a potential client, and so he introduced me to them. Emails between us have gone back and forth, until the client requested me to be available on the final meeting. Normally, I just do the chatting part and build rapport, but this is something else. I guess because I made sure to pay attention to all the things that were discussed, the client felt that I am reliable to work with. To cut the story short, I got the client to sign a business agreement.

Your message to Filipinos out there.

Believe in yourself, work smart, study more, learn from people, involve yourself, be courageous, challenge yourself—all of these are just few of the things that we should have in order to reach our goals in life. Sometimes things get rough; don’t lose hope. Instead, make it your motivation to obtain what you really want to achieve. Every Filipino has his or her own talent to show-off, so keep on shining!