DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Used to be when Sid Reymond Pajarillaga Rivera, then 21, would be out in the sun for days on end handing out prepaid phone plan flyers to passers-by in the streets.
“It was really tough. Working under the scorching sun, sometimes in temperatures reaching 50° Celsius, was something I never imagined I’d be doing. It was crazy,” said Rivera of the first job he got after having been in the city for just a week on a visit visa in January 2016.
He would return to their crowded apartment unit along Rigga in Deira on evenings nursing facial sunburns.
But Rivera, the eldest of five children, had no choice. His visa will expire in three months, denying him the luxury of time to take things easy, and instead pushing him to grab the first job that came his way.
Besides, everyone in the family back home in General Tinio, Nueva Ecija was counting on him not to fail.
“I often felt a sense of responsibility, almost like a second parent. My family always looked up to me for guidance and support, and that added a lot of pressure, but also a sense of purpose,” said Rivera, who graduated a dean’s lister in 2015 at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina (PLM) with a bachelor of science degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management.
“But I didn’t know how to deal with people from so many different nationalities. I was completely out of my comfort zone. I only knew I had to make sales and promote the company’s services and products. Despite the challenges, I pushed through. There were moments that brought me to tears, but those also helped me gain the confidence I needed,” he added.
After finishing his two-year contract, Rivera landed another job, a bit more comfortable because he’d be staying in an air-conditioned room for a change, but also a bit more stressful as little did he know he’d be handling endless queries from mostly fellow Filipinos stranded due to flight cancellations at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He was consultant at a travel and tours agency after all, and making desperate clients happy was supposed to be right up his alley.
And then the big break. He saw an opening at a big real estate company running approximately 500 residential and commercial units and 15 villas. He got in, first as admin staff and then finally, after working his way through, corporate property manager, the go-to person for the daily operations and for handling stubborn tenants.
“Ang mga tenants ko po sa residential apartment at villas are mostly business owners or high-value persons sa mga companies nila, kaya iba po ang level of approach while dealing with them. Consistent client satisfaction winner po ako every month sa department ko dahil I have the highest number of tenants po na nag-Google review sa performance ko,” said Rivera.
(My tenants at the residential apartments and villas are mostly business owners or high-value persons at companies they work at. I am a consistent client satisfaction monthly winner in my department as I have the highest number of tenants who did a Google review of my performance.)
Looking back, Rivera said he has learned to quickly adapt to the environment and demands that Dubai has on “a completely different level with its fast-paced work culture and high expectations.”
All the hard work did not come unrewarded.
Rivera was able to send a younger brother through college, having recently graduated with a degree in civil engineering and passed the board exam.
“Knowing that my efforts helped him achieve his dreams is the greatest reward I could ask for,” he said.
Rivera has likewise purchased a real estate property, a “huge accomplishment and testament,” he said, “to the hard work and perseverance that have guided me throughout my journey.”
He has also been travelling to places he had “only dreamed of visiting.”
“Today, I’m proud about how far I’ve come. I’m still learning and growing every day, but I carry with me the lessons of those early days to trust in the journey, to be patient with God’s plan, to always remember where I came from and remember, too, that I am doing this for my family,” Rivera said.
