It’s What I Do: Pinoy Talent On-the-Job

It’s all about Filipino progress and diversity at the workfront.

LOUIE DA COSTA

Radio Announcer, Virgin Radio

Dubai

My Job

Although most of my time is spent being a mom and wife, every weeknight you’ll find me at the Virgin Radio studio working as an announcer. At Virgin Radio Dubai we believe in multi-tasking, that’s why each presenter/announcer isn’t restricted to just their on-air program. So other than being one half of “Mak and da Costa,” our show every weekday from 8pm to midnight, I assist the music manager as well as assist in the production of special shows.

Being a radio announcer, people think my work is just a lot of fun, and well, admittedly, it is! We get to interview artists, play great music, laugh around… but there’s much more to it. We also have to do lots of research on anything and everything worth talking about; write and produce segments, promotions and contests; run the contests; play all our commercials and read out announcements properly; collect and tally all the votes for our nightly countdown (Hit 10 @ 10); update our website, Facebook and Twitter accounts; entertain callers and sometimes assume the role of their therapist… all of that while making sure the music is sounding tight and that our talk breaks are kept short, entertaining, meaningful and inoffensive.

A typical working day for me

Since I’m a mom by day and an announcer by night my day starts at 6:30am and ends at 1:30am. Yes, you read that right, AM to AM! I bring my daughter to school, try and get a bit of a nap in between running errands or doing chores, pick my daughter up from school, then it’s more mommy time before running off to Studio City. When I get there, first on the list would be the off-air duties like assisting the music manager or producing special shows. Then it’s time to start tallying the votes for the Hit 10 @ 10 countdown, start lining up all the music that we’ll play during our show, and researching entertainment/local news or anything else that would be of interest to our winners. Our show starts at 8pm and from then ’til midnight most of the work happens in between each time you hear us talking on the radio. While you’re hearing the music or commercials, my partner, Ali Mak, and I would be busy making certain the songs mix well with each other, entertaining calls, trying to read and respond to all messages (SMS, Twitter & Facebook), tallying votes and planning our next talk break.

Career Advice

As OFs in a country filled with different nationalities, we have to be mindful that everything we do is a reflection of not just ourselves as individuals, but of who we are as Filipinos. We’re in an international market now and we have the opportunity to start afresh and show the world what we have to offer. We can erase all the negative preconceptions about us. Simple things like working hard and following the rules, being more accommodating and friendly with everyone (including fellow Filipinos), dressing smart, being confident but not boastful – these are little things we do can help pave the way, not just for ourselves, but for other Filipinos to succeed and rise up on a global scale.

So despite the risk of sounding cheesy and clichéd, I say, let’s do it! Starting today, let’s make an effort to put our best foot forward. Because we are much much more than what others see us to be. Let’s show them who we Pinoy’s really are.

RENUEL SANCHEZ

Personal Trainer, Fitness First

Dubai

My Job

I work as a Personal Trainer and as an internationally certified PT level 3. My job is to change people’s lives – to help clients have a healthier lifestyle and get a trim body. Achieving their goal is my goal. Many clients of mine have lost weight and have improved fitness now. It gives me pure joy knowing I have been instrumental in changing their lives for the better. Just like when I taught my trainee, who’s in her mid-40s how to run, and she eventually did a full 42K marathon; or how another trainee became slim and finally got a boyfriend – that’s her goal!

A typical working day for me

A typical working day for me involves having an average of six to eight clients for a one hour training session each. In each session, it’s all about them and their fitness – giving them a workout that will challenge them and checking how they are doing with their nutrition. Not all exercises are good for a certain individuals, so I do a specially tailored program for each of my clients. Although the program is hard (it’s designed to be tough so they can have results), my job is to keep it fun as well. A good rapport and a sense of humor are essential in my work. An assessment is done at least every two weeks to see how much fats have been lost and if the muscle mass has improved.

Career Advice

Love your job and success will follow. I train different nationalities – a lot of whom are entrepreneurs, CEO’s and other high profile executives, yet in the gym I am their boss. And you need to be professional, knowledgeable and experienced in order to gain their trust and confidence. I’ve been in the game for almost a decade now and my goal is to keep getting better, while helping people along the way. I shifted to management after being awarded as Fitness First Ibn Battuta Personal Trainer of the year last 2008 and a runner-up for the Middle East Personal trainer of the year. Being a Gym Floor Manager, I helped motivate, develop and promote our hardworking countrymen during my tenure. We grow professionally by accepting challenges and not by ducking or running away from it. Don’t be like Floyd Mayweather. Be like Manny Pacquiao!

JHASMIN CIPRIANO

Teacher, St. Mary’s Catholic High School

Dubai

My Job

I teach English Literature, Language, PSHE (Physical, Social and Health Education) and Citizenship to middle and senior level students at Saint Mary’s Catholic High School. In the life of a teacher, every day is remarkable when you give a piece of yourself to your students. One of my uplifting experiences is when one of my students told me that she sees her mom in me.  She said, “Miss, I never miss my mom when I’m here in school because I have you.” There was also that time I burst into tears when I was able to help a student who had a speech problem. I knew and believed that she has so much to say, despite her difficulties, so I would always ask her during discussions and listen up to her last word. At the end I will just say, “That is a brilliant idea!” And my student’s eyes will show me a reward that is just priceless.

A typical working day for me

We teachers join the school assembly at 7:15am. My morning in school begins by reading the front page of any broadsheet. My subjects require a lot of reading.  Teaching and talking are like the two sides of a coin. I pay more attention to my voice because I also a singer inside the classroom. Often times I shift to different personalities just to get the attention of my students – puppet show, illustration with funny dialogues, dances and songs are just few of the teaching styles I use in my show. Discussion is challenging especially when students are not in the mood or are tired of listening.  That’s why I see to it that there are no dull moments. I let them speak and write their ideas and discover their own learning by merely facilitating the discussion. I spend my break time with my students. They share their own stories and problems with me. Our school ends at 1:45pm.

Career Advice

Working abroad, we should always remind ourselves that each of us represent our country. I believe that we are all skilled and have the capacity to learn new things. Maabilidad tayong mga Pinoy. We are known as excellent in all service oriented works. But we should also know how to fight and defend our rights when people around us are exploiting us in any way. We should not let others abuse us.We should always tell the whole world how great we Filipinos are.