Lou Marie Villegas – Customer Service, Admin Assistant, Marketing

My name is Lou Marie Villegas, 28 years of age, and a female with a female partner.

Ever since 2016, I have been working under BPO companies, small businesses, and many others. I took the initiative to enter as much work as I could to gain experience. For me to be able to say that I will be a great help in any field I will be in though I am not good in everything. I do not take every failure as a loss but as a gain of experience.

I was a Customer Service Representative through e-mail, phone calls, and chat. I was in Car Wash at the same time as a cashier and a snack bar attendant/cook with the lowest salary I had. I was a Chat Moderator and where at the same time a Content Moderator of a Content Creator boss I was with and within a hybrid setup with a low salary offered. I was a Canteen Attendant of a Factory Office in Cavite, Philippines during COVID times with a minimum wage offer, but among all that, being a full-time eldest sibling/sister to 2 younger siblings is the most rewarding.

I was also a virtual assistant for a short period of time. I enjoyed the work truly, but due to a family emergency (wherein my aunt got shot), we needed to leave the hometown and stay in the province while the culprit was out and free until now.

Currently, I am a Marketing/Fulfillment officer which after a year was directly promoted to Production Manager. During the COVID-19 times with Typhoon Odette/Rai hit us was the most challenging. Imagine, working with a limited source of electricity and internet and trying to fulfil our clients’ services on time. Yet we survived all that. The company is generous enough to have us work while on vacation type of area here in Cebu, Philippines.

Months after, I received awards such as the Employee of the Quarter Award, Loyalty Award, and Outstanding Leadership Award in my span of 3 years in the company. Indeed, managing people for the first time without being properly trained is very challenging, but I managed to guide and help them the best way that I could. I was personally surprised by the promotion because I believe I need to take that corporate ladder from being an officer to a supervisor, but was directly promoted to a position I wasn’t aware I was capable of. Honestly, I am not the kind of person who would like to be promoted to my job. Just a simple salary increase and bonuses would perfectly suffice. Yet my boss at that time seen this character in me that could lead and guide people to do their jobs correctly.

Over time, observing, understanding, and being patient with all the jobs I’ve worked with, it provided and showed my skills I didn’t think I had given that I was not properly trained. And by exploring our tools and services, I was able to understand more of the clients’ concerns with their projects. It is not that they are fussy or faddish of the projects, but they just want us to deliver what we have promised and paid for. Understanding that every company has a culture that you need to apply to your daily work routine to be able to fulfil the projects from time to time perfectly. Yes, difficult situations and complications will always persist, but that alone will test your capabilities on how well you handle problems and frustrations. We just to comprehend the issue, think of one to three possible solutions (contingency solutions/plan), and apply responsibly. There is no such problems that are inexplicable.

I am grateful that I was able to work both at home and in the office. Indeed, the two set-ups really differ from each other. I most likely would like to work in the comfort of my home where I believe I can be the best that I can work closely with my siblings and family, for they are the only ones who inspire me each and every day. I can be more productive with my task/s and be more self-sufficient as an introverted type of person.

Focusing on expanding my knowledge and career is what I desire for now and in the future in order for me to improve my skills that are applicable in any situation.

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