Karoll Ann Camatayan – Administrative Assistant, ESL

Good day. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Karoll Ann Camatayan. Call me Karoll for short. I am a single mother of one who is now fifteen years old.

I am a college undergraduate who took up a Bachelor of Science in Psychology during my university days. Due to some personal reasons, mainly financial issues, I wasn’t able to finish my degree. It was in the year 2006 when I wanted to focus on working for a living, and that is when I found a job at McDonald’s. I was just 17 years old when I started working there. I wasn’t allowed to work at the age of 17, but I was persistent and finally got the consent from my mother, which eventually helped me to land that job. At McDonald’s, I was trained to do all stations, including kitchen, dining, and cashier. Way back then, I was assigned mostly at the cashier because of my perky, friendly, and courteous demeanour, as my managers would describe it. Working at the forefront of the operations, I learned to be adaptable, accepting the fact that I have to be ready with the different types of customers that I may possibly handle. I learned to work gracefully even under pressure, and I must say that I delivered and did the job excellently after receiving awards like the McSmile Award and McCounter Award several times. Unfortunately, I had to resign after two years because I got pregnant, and I focused on my new role as a mother to my daughter. I couldn’t find a more stable job during that time because I had to be a full-time mum to my daughter. To earn a living, I worked as a house helper, which was good because I could bring my daughter to work with me, and I could still look after her while I was working. It was a challenging time, but it felt rewarding knowing that I was able to do unimaginable things for the sake of raising and providing for my daughter.

After that, in 2012, I was encouraged by a friend to apply for an ESL teaching position where she was employed. She mentioned that training is provided and it pays well. At first, I was adamant about the whole new experience. My drive to earn more and my natural inclination to connect with people gave me the passion to give it a try. Luckily, I was hired. And who would know? ESL teaching has been my bread and butter since then. I was trained and taught some basic skills needed to become a more effective ESL teacher. I thrived in this industry.

In this industry, I learned to be more proficient in English. I attended trainings to be able to deliver lessons and materials to my students. I built relationships with my students that were more than just the relationships you see online. I became friends with some of them, entrusting me with their life stories, even confidential matters.

ESL is a fast-paced industry, and I can say that my adaptability paved the way for me to survive the demanding times. I also had difficult moments, but I am lucky enough to have empathetic colleagues who encouraged me to withstand all endeavors. Who would have thought? I received awards like Teacher of the Month, Gold Awardee, and Silver Awardee several times. I was even chosen to be one of the group leaders, which enabled me to unlock my leadership skills. Not just that, it also opened a window of opportunity for me, career growth.

My loyalty and dedication bore fruit. I was handpicked for a promotion. I was promoted to shift head. I was hesitant with the job offer, but I was ready to take on the challenge. I believed that it was the perfect time for personal and career growth. I took the job offer and embraced the role wholeheartedly. I began to handle a larger group of teachers. I had to learn related skills to become a more efficient and effective leader. I also acquired knowledge in people management.

Being a shift head was no piece of cake. I was new to this position, and I was learning things from scratch. Then the pandemic happened. The pandemic started to halt businesses, and the ESL industry was no exception. I was forced to work remotely even when I had no experience in working with this kind of setup. My adaptability skills challenged me, and I am glad that I was able to surpass yet again this challenging time.

Since the pandemic, I have worked from home, and this opportunity made me treasure my time with my loved ones even more. I was able to celebrate occasions with them, may they be big or small. It was just nice because I was able to join them during mealtime, which was hard to do when I was still working on-site. Petty as it seems, this experience humbled me down, and there’s nothing much that I want to do but to be physically there for my daughter and my significant others.

It was in October this year when my previous company decided to mandate all its employees to be back and work on-site. As much as I understand the company’s rationale, I just know within me that this work setup is no longer applicable to me. I have become more comfortable working from home, and going on-site was more of a hassle for me due to the transportation cost and the inconvenience of commuting.

Because of this, I have come to the decision to quit the company and decided to find a work environment that will be a perfect fit for my preferences. I officially left the company last October, and now I am spending my time job hunting. I came upon the Virtual Assistant Team. I like that if I get hired, I don’t have to compromise on my good night’s sleep since my working time will be during the daytime following the Philippine standard time. I hope to thrive in the VA industry, and I hope to find a new home here.

I really hope that you would consider my application. I hope to hear from you soon.

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