Achievement.
I’ve had so much free time to myself lately that I find myself thinking about my achievements after I graduated college. Of course now that I'm in a corporate world, it's normal for me to think about these kind of things. I have some goals that I've already achieved and I have so many new things to try.
I, however, worked hard to get to where I am. I didn’t get to where I am by slacking off and letting life pass me by. I’m not saying that I’m perfect; nobody is. It’s just that I’ve been through a lot of things that have made me who I am; where I am. Many people think that I’ve got everything going for me and only few understand that getting to where I am hasn’t been easy.
As soon as I graduated college, I thought it will be easy applying for work because I already got the diploma and stuffs but it was not. Waiting for 4 months and applying to hundreds of job vacancies on Job Street were some of the worst things that ever happened to me. I really felt the pressure in me knowing that some of my classmates and batchmates already got their work in Manila and here I am, still hoping to be called. I literally travel almost everyday of those 4 months from Batangas to Manila (back and forth) for interview. Okay, I may sound like an awestruck idiot or you might think I'm crazy like "Why don't you look for work in Batangas?" Well,I really wanna work in Manila particularly in Makati. I'm always amaze by this city probably because of the concrete jungle, people are wearing formal attires, "corporate world feels" and this is the place where most of the accounting firms that I always dream to work were located.
After four months of struggle, "finally, ariel happened to me!" I got my first ever work at an outsourcing company (BOSS Inc.) in Makati. Though, it was honestly not my dream company, at least it was somehow related to what I've studied and I finally got a work. Since it was an outsourcing firm, I was assigned to two different clients and I am very proud to have worked with Colgate-Palmolive Company which is located in McKinley, Taguig and Fresenius Medical Care which is in Alabang. I will forever be grateful for BOSS, Inc because I don't know where would I be without this workplace. I spent two months working in Colgate-Palmolive as an Accounts Receivable Specialist. I found this very challenging because as a beginner, I'm still not that familiar with the accounting system but this was a good start. My next client was the Fresenius Medical Care and I worked with Fixed Asset Reconciliation team. I swear, I will never ever forget working in this company. I didn't expect that this would be more difficult than my first ever client. Over time, sleepless nights, day-to-night-to-graveyard shifts (take note, this is not a call center company), no work-life balance, work on Saturdays and sometimes, Sundays and no social life for five straight months. I go to the office regularly from 9 AM to 1 in the morning, which was my earliest out (you imagine). I'm residing in Mandaluyong and the client office is located in Alabang. I go home just to change my clothes then get back to work after (literally). My team and I also reached to the point sleeping overnight in the office pantry. Yup, that's how toxic our work was. Imagine my struggles; the location, travel time and the working hours made it worse.
On a brighter side, if there's one thing I’ve learned from this entire experience, it's never ever give up on what you have started. FMC honestly taught me how to be productive, be patient and be independent. It taught me how to conquer my fears like reporting & public speaking. Reporting directly to big bosses for almost everyday, I can't believe, I did. Working here was not easy but I also considered this as one of my best work experiences.
As an accounting graduate, it's always my dream to work in a leading/top accounting firm. That's really my goal. Before my client engagement come to an end, my FMC manager talked to me and she told me that she saw my potential, how dedicated I am and that I really deserve a better platform. Jumping into conclusion, she recommended me to one of the Partners in P&A Grant Thornton, one of the leading accounting firm here in the Philippines. (If you're reading this Ms. She, I just wanna say hi! ;D)
Now that I'm on my first year in P&A, I've learned and gained a lot. I will always be proud that I am a part of this family, carrying its legacy wherever I go. It's really a dream come true! I promise that I will never disappoint people who believed in me. I know I sound extremely vague but I would just like to say that to achieve what you want, it’s important to keep believing, never ever give up despite what people say or what you really think. Nothing is impossible, as long as you work for it.
"“When you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you achieve it.“ -The Alchemist
Checked-off my bucket list: Accounting Firm (Punongbayan & Araullo Grant Thornton)
NEVER STOP DREAMING. NEVER.
