It’s What I Do

ANNA LIZA LLAGAS

Guest Service Agent

Corporate Real Estate Services (MAF DALKIA)

Standard Chartered Bank

I work as a Guest Service Agent. My duties include event management, floor coordination as well as carrying out any other duties as directed by Management. It is my duty to provide a high level of customer service at all times, while promoting a good image and positive impression for the group with all the people we work with.

During my free time, I also do modelling. I love to pose in front of the camera and enjoy nurturing this other side of my personality.  Modelling has also allowed me to participate in charity works which I enjoy.  I like the fact that even in this simple way, I can help others.

My typical working day starts as early at 5 AM. I get to work at 7:30 AM and end at 5:30 PM.  Being in the corporate world, I love being active, meeting interesting people and CEO’s from different parts of the world. I’m fortunate to have wonderful people and leaders around me who have faith in me and believe that I can perform the job well. I’m more than happy to say that I’m living out my dream.

I prefer to work for love, not for money. That principle gives me strong determination to keep on going and exploring my career. At the young age of 19, my dream was to get a regular job right after I graduated from college in 2003. My main objective was to stand as a breadwinner for my one sister and one brother. I spent five years of working successfully in Brunei Darussalam before I landed in Dubai and my dream has come true.

While I was working in hospitality and corporate companies, I got a chance to develop my skills to interact efficiently with people.  I guess you can say that I have gained maturity from work experiences.

‘Discipline, strong responsibility and commitment are secrets to success. I think people should learn on how to value their character other than material things because these count the most. Love your parents and always appreciate things along the way. First and foremost, never forget to put God in every decision that you make; everything will be fine.

MANUEL ALMARIO

Community Journalist

Gulf News

I have been working in Gulf News as a community journalist for more than a decade now. I am very proud and grateful to be part of a leading daily English language newspaper in the UAE. It has been a rewarding and enriching experience for me as a journalist.

Since I am managing the complaints section, I have to screen all the complaints of our readers if they are worth pursuing. Prior to publication of complaints against any company offering a public service such as banks, telecoms, airlines, and so on, I have to investigate the issue, and if required, get the comments from the management of the concerned company to present both sides of the story. I am happy to note that, in a way, I am able to help the general public resolve their issues. It is very fulfilling and heartwarming whenever I receive a token of appreciation; a simple thank you note from our readers for resolving their issues makes my day. Evidently, I am happy with what I do and this is why my loyalty is with Gulf News!

Facebook eats up my life. Let’s face it, Facebook is addictive! Although it’s a social networking site, it’s still part of my daily routine at work; I have to look for other sources of information, interesting unique stories, news to report, and so on. It is very fascinating to learn of varying issues from personal account to group activities; they help me to stay abreast of the current news stories.

Aside from the above duties, as a journalist, I also have the privilege of meeting different interesting people and writing about their stories. There are a lot of fascinating stories that has happened to me working here for over a decade. What comes to mind is when I covered the performance of my favorite singing pop sensations Charice Pempengco and Billy Crawford at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. It was simply amazing!

My motto is to live life to the fullest, as life is so short. I urge Filipinos do the same to enjoy life, but always follow your heart and do the right things to be able to inspire others. And be proud of being Pinoy!

CRISNA de GUZMAN

Sales and Marketing Executive

Kalimat Group

I have been in sales and marketing ever since I stepped in the corporate world. When I moved to Dubai four years ago, I really wanted to work in print media, preferably for a magazine. Thank God, I got what I wanted. I am the Sales & Marketing Executive for Kalimat Group, mainly responsible for selling advertisement space in our monthly travel, car and yacht magazines. There are some editorial parts of my job, too. I give recommendations on what subjects to feature and I handle the shopping and fashion pages.

My work revolves mostly around networking and meeting with who’s who in the travel, motoring and high street fashion industry in the UAE and overseas. My work requires me to always be on the move, I’m out of my office most of the time for sales meeting, attending press conferences, exhibitions and product launches. Where there are media and social happenings, you will find me there.

A typical working day in my life either starts with me going directly to meet a client or going to my office at the Dubai Media City. My day usually has a lot of phone calls, emails and moving around. I am on the road 70% of the day for negotiation meetings and to close important deals. On some days, I could also be busy with my VIP invites to fashion shows, concerts, product launches and media parties. These events usually stretch my working hours until late night. But that’s the fun part of my job, I must say. I guess you can’t be in this industry without being a social butterfly.

I’ve had the chance to travel because of my job.  I have been to London, Berlin, Vienna, Basel, Lucerne, Doha and Beirut to name a few. Most of the time, in a room where I am the only Filipino, I feel like I’m not just representing our media outfit, but our country as well. It makes me feel proud especially when people take notice. I have met a lot of very interesting and successful people because of my job – from government officials from different countries, to CEO’s and heads of big corporations, as well as celebrities like Roberto Cavalli, Kim Kardashian, Giovanna Ferragamo, and Elisa Sednaoui.

My worth ethic is “work hard, play harder”. We are not just here to work and enslave ourselves with the complexities of our everyday lives. Let loose and learn how to enjoy life. See the world if you have the chance. Take advantage of how multi-cultural it is here.

Make a lot of friends, learn about others’ culture, equip yourself with great memories that you will treasure forever and share with your grandchildren when you grow old.

Lastly, be flexible with your environment. Learn how to adapt and deal with different types of people and value people that you meet along the way. Good relationships are more important than any sales or business dealings.