Aireen Martinez – Administrative Assistant, Event Specialist

Hi! My name is Aireen. My friends call me Ai, while my family calls me Reen. At work, I am just called Aireen, so I guess you could just call me that too. Although I don’t mind being called Ai or Reen. In my free time, I love listening to music, watching movies in Netflix, and going on a road trip. I also enjoy browsing on social medias like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as exploring different apps and learning graphic designs using apps like Canva.

I grew up in a small island in Cebu City, Philippines with my grandmother. I left the island when I was sixteen to go to college in Cebu City, as that island did not have colleges or universities. Their education system only offered up to high school during that time. It was why most of the residents there, my mother and aunts included, worked as a house helper in neighboring islands to support their families due to lack of education. That was my motivation to get a degree as I really wanted to give my grandmother and family a good life.

My ultimate dream at that time was to get a degree that could land me an office job with a decent pay. When I got to the university, I didn’t have any idea which degree is the most suitable for me. I didn’t have the confidence at that time. I was too shy to ask for guidance, even too shy to talk to the person next to me. As you may have already guessed, I picked the degree that spoke to me about my ultimate dream at that time, at the same time one that don’t cost much. I took up Bachelor of Science in Office Administration, and it actually did make my dream come true in a way, and it opened career opportunities in an office for me.

In my first year, I landed a part-time job in two law offices as an office assistant, where I assisted the office secretary on typing legal documents, answering phone calls, and filing legal documents to local courts; and as a secretary/clerk receptionist, respectively, where I provided administrative support to two lawyers while serving as the office receptionist at the same time. It helped me a lot as I was living independently and paying for my college on my own, which I am very proud of. That was already a dream come true for me.

After four years in college, one year of that was spent in internship at offices. I finally went out to the corporate world with a bachelor’s degree in office administration, and with these goals in mind – to provide administrative support to executives, and to learn the fundamentals of office management. After months of submitting job applications, I was hired as an Executive Assistant to a CEO of a small car accessories company, and after six months, I was offered an Administrative Assistant role at a 5-star hotel.

I was very excited to start working in a big company. I thought everything will come so easy for me because I thought I was already properly equipped with the knowledge and skills in providing administrative support given my years of experience in previous offices that I worked for, but boy…I was so wrong. I was assigned to the office of a Canadian Executive Chef, my very first time working for a foreign boss. It was such a struggle at first as we don’t understand each other when it comes to the output and the administrative support that he needed or wanted, but in less than a month, with hard work and perseverance, I was able to adapt and learned his techniques and I started meeting, and even exceeding his expectations. I still remember going home everyday with a smile on my face because he would send me off with a loud applause from the entire team for a job well done. 🙂 He entrusted all the administrative tasks to me – from managing his schedules, emails and office phone calls, to scheduling and managing staffs’ shifts, to making sure the manpower budget of our department are being met, and even valued my opinion whenever he came up with a new recipe for the signature restaurant of the hotel. All that polished my multitasking and time management skills.

I was in his office for four years, then a German Food & Beverage Manager joined the hotel and saw potentials in me to handle the hotel’s in-house events and promotions, working side by side with him, my second foreign boss. In that role, I became experienced and skilled in organizing and executing events. From brainstorming with the team on promotions and events concepts, to finding resources and vendors (even going out of town), to leading the coordination and execution of each event. That was the time that I could say I found my calling and my passion, because no matter how stressful and tiring it became for me, I loved it and I found it so fulfilling.

After two years in that role, I got promoted to Banquet Sales Executive, which was more focused on customer service and handling bookings of the hotel’s function rooms and ballrooms, working closely with corporate clients. The role got me even more exposed to event management and strengthened my organizational and client relations skills, as well as my work ethics, and also helped grown my network that led me to try to pursue my passion in events.

I left the hotel or hospitality industry after two years in that role and became a freelance event planner. I have been in the events industry since and have been using all the skills I have acquired since I started my career, and have been providing services to big companies, and I owe it all to my strong background in office management, and in providing administrative support.

Over the years, I have learned that anything is possible and reachable if you work hard and never stop learning. Being able to adapt to changes and new things in order to meet your goals and provide satisfaction to your clients, is always one of your biggest asset as it won’t only be beneficial to them but more beneficial to you because of the new skill sets that you’ll learn and acquire. And most of all, I learned never to give up whenever I feel like my skill sets aren’t enough for the tasks in front of me. I am always ready to take on the challenge and do more than my best!

Thank you very much for reading my story. I hope to hear from you soon and I look forward to working with you.

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