15 Years

I’ve been in IT since 2008 but I have had three different types of career since I started working.

Initially, I was in Production Support when I started in Accenture. It was 10 years of total experience until I moved to Tata Consultancy. I was deployed in the same client – Morgan Stanley, where I even had a chance to go to New York because of it. The reason why I left was that doing IT support work will always have you work during weekends, do Holiday shifts, do oncall work and the most thing I hated is having to work on night shifts. It was 2018 and I was at a point of my life where I was married and started a family and the twins were just one and a half years old. My priorities in life really shifted.

I looked for another work and explored a different role where my previous boss referred me to in Metrobank. I became an Account Manager and it was entirely from what I’ve been doing for the past 10 years. It’s more of managing the internal projects of the bank, dealing with third party vendors, managing the projects until completion, working with the business and establishing relationships with them. It was less technical. I learned how to do yearly planning and budgeting and working with different types of people. I became more confident on how I speak, presenting in meetings and leading discussions. I went into this role with zero background as it was leading more on Project Management. I guess what I brought with me on that role was my confidence to handle projects and navigating them on my own with just the resources given to me. I did use my technical experience when talking to technical people in and out of the bank, and also, as someone from support, you have to have patience on dealing with your clients. Every experience I had in Metrobank was essential with what I’m doing now when I moved to Citi in 2022.

I became more confident with all the projects I handled in Citi. I did present a lot of times and I was already confident. I still remember when I get super anxious during presentations 4 years ago. Compared to now, sometimes I just prepare 15 mins before the meeting and I am good to go. The experience helped me a lot with my career shift.

A lot of us move to different companies for different reasons. I am really thankful with all the things I learned with my past companies. Just because the work you had before didn’t work out the way you expect it to be, there will always be lessons that you will learn from your previous experience. It will help you on your next journey.

If not for Accenture, I wouldn’t have the work ethic I have now. If not for Tata, I wouldn’t know the kind of leader I would be and I will not realize what is most important to me when it comes to my priorities. If not for Metrobank, I wouldn’t know how to do presentations and handle meetings. I wouldn’t have the confidence I have now without all those experiences. All these led to what I do know which is a bit of a combination. I do support applications now, but the difference is, I don’t have to be on 24/7. I am also managing third party relationships as I handle SaaS applications. I also have to work with different people internally within Citi to deliver.

I did have different career shifts throughout my 15 years of experience and honestly, I am proud of what I’ve become. Right now, I am still learning. Lucky for me, with those amount of experience, I was able to realize when to leave an organization or stay and see where it takes me. I’ve been to Accenture, Tata Consultancy, Metrobank and Citi. For someone who’s already turning 37, having been with 4 companies is just few compared to some of my peers. I knew when to move on, when it’s no longer for me, and when I do not see any value on what I’ve been doing.

In just three months, I will be celebrating my second year in Citi and yes, it’s been a ride. Their appreciation and recognition is incomparable. Whatever we are right now may change in the next year or two. I am still young and at 37. With all the career shifts and company changes, I learned to stay in the moment, do my best with the current work that I do and see where it takes me.