Gelli Oblad – CSR, Sales Associate

Hi! My name is Gelli Grace, 29 years old. You can either call me Gelli or Grace. Let me share my story with you.

I graduated from a vocational course of Associate in Hotel and Management back in 2011. My first job was a Sales Associate in Vondutch Apparel in Robinson’s Galleria. It was a fun experience for me as I was just working for myself and did not have any bills to pay or a family that I had to support. The people I worked with were also fun and we bonded for that short period of time.

Fast forward in 2015 after I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy, I realised that what I was earning as a Sales Associate in Jag Apparel won’t be enough to provide for the needs of my family, especially my son. I decided to find another job, in which I could receive a decent earning to support a family of three. Fortunately after numerous walk-in attempts to apply, I landed a job as a Food and Beverage Server in a Korean owned VIP Casino. I can say that I was earning way better than my previous job, not to mention the tips that I was getting. But unfortunately, 3 months after the opening of the VIP Casino, it was bankrupt and had to close. I then searched for another VIP Casino in Solaire Resorts and Casino. I was really blessed because after a week of closure of the Casino, I got hired.

This time, it was a Chinese owned VIP Casino, and I was hired as a roller. One of the tasks as a roller is to assist the players while they play, and also perform real time monitoring of player’s gaming chips. Rollers have to report to the manager and also to the boss through wechat. We also did Room Bookings and Car Reservations for the players. This VIP Casino is a well established one, and owned by an influential Filipino-Chinese Junket operator. I worked there for 5 years, until this pandemic hit. On March 15th 2020, to be exact, we were advised that we were closing due to pandemic. And when the Junket would be back in Operation? Uncertain.

In June of 2020, we were encouraged by the management to find another job, as the business was greatly affected by the pandemic and players had to head back to China. No assurance was made as to when the Junket be operational again, and if it would be, and not all of its employees could afford to wait for work. This time I shrunk from the challenge, thinking what job could I possibly apply for when most businesses and companies had laid off so many of their employees – or worse, had to close.

My sister told me then to find a job online as she is working from home. She had me join the community online where there are job postings. But I was lacking the experience. So I started watching tutorials online on how to become a Virtual Assistant, and bought the equipment needed for an online job. This process was a bit overwhelming for me since being a Virtual Assistant is a wide area. But I am persistent at learning these skills, as it makes me feel good to at least work in the comfort of our home. It will also allow me to spend more time with my family, and perhaps pull myself out of the everyday struggle to travel in and out of work and endure the heavy traffic from Cavite to Pasay and vice versa.

January 2021, luckily after sending hundreds of applications online and being rejected several times, I was hired as an outbound cold caller for a home and auto insurance in the USA. It involved a 2-hour training, and afterwards we then proceeded to the calls. The evaluation pay was 600.00/hour and the basic pay after the evaluation was not yet disclosed. As an inexperienced VA in the online and BPO Industry, the job was very tough for me. I managed to close one deal on my first night. But on the second night, I was having a hard time to close a deal and was frustrated. I was hoping that some of the Team Leaders would coach me on what to say or do for a specific situation. But I guess the team were all busy doing their tasks. I then left the training. Thinking I should have BPO experience first before engaging in outbound calls.

Up to this day I’m still watching tutorials online and somehow do it on my desktop. I am hoping that I will enrich my knowledge and enhance some skills to be able to land an online job, and eventually find a client. I am not losing hope. I believe in the right time with the right skills, God will provide a job for me.

I look forward to learning more while working with you.

For a copy of Gelli’s resume please click here.