Beyond the Job Title: Glenda’s Journey of Learning, Adapting and Growing

How one Filipina learned to turn every job into an opportunity to gain skills, experience and confidence.

There are people who build their careers by following a clearly defined path. And then there are people like Glenda Bermillo Villaflores, who discover their capabilities one job at a time.

For Glenda, work has never been just about earning a living. Every workplace has been an opportunity to learn something new, develop a skill, meet different people and discover that she is capable of doing more than she initially imagined.

Her journey has taken her through manufacturing, retail, food service, sales, production, engineering, online selling, customer service and, today, household work in Qatar.

The job titles have changed. The industries have changed. But one thing has remained constant: her willingness to learn.

Learning from the beginning

Glenda’s first job was at MZR Industries in Quezon City, a company engaged in the manufacture of silverware, cutlery and jewelry.

She worked as an inventory controller and quality controller. It was an important starting point, giving her exposure to inventory management, quality checking, supplier coordination, sales and export documentation, including government-related paperwork.

One of her proudest contributions was developing a simple inventory monitoring system using Excel. It was a practical solution that helped her manage information more efficiently.

She was disappointed when the contract ended, but the experience gave her something she would carry into future jobs: the ability to organize information, monitor supplies and find practical ways to make work easier.

Her subsequent employment took her into different environments. She worked in a fashion boutique, handled inventory and fabric records for a hotel-supplies and upholstery business, and took on service and cashiering roles at Waffle Time and Mini Stop.

She also worked as a sales associate handling luxury merchandise, experienced production work in a semiconductor company in Laguna, and later joined a fire detection and alarm systems company, where she worked in engineering before moving into sales.

Each position required something different. Some involved working with customers, others required technical skills, attention to detail, organization or the ability to communicate and work with different people.

Rather than limiting herself to what she already knew, Glenda learned to adjust.

During the pandemic, she explored another possibility: growing ornamental plants and selling them online. It was a different kind of experience, combining an interest in plants with the opportunity to try online selling.

She also worked as a secretary and accountant for a sugarcane contractor. That experience exposed her to the difficult working conditions and low wages experienced by some agricultural workers. It gave her a closer look at poverty and the importance of education.

Later, her work in a business process outsourcing company as a customer service representative further developed her communication and computer skills.

Looking back, these jobs may seem unrelated. But together, they gave Glenda a broad range of experiences and the confidence to take on unfamiliar responsibilities.

A new environment in Qatar

Working overseas brought another set of challenges and opportunities.

Glenda is now a Household Worker in Qatar. Her responsibilities are varied and require flexibility, organization, patience and the ability to attend to the needs of the household.

Her day begins with preparing breakfast for the children going to school and for her employer. She also prepares lunch, snacks or merienda, and dinner.

Along the way, she has learned to prepare different kinds of sandwiches and other dishes. She serves guests, too, providing a level of hospitality that she describes as similar to restaurant service—from juices and main courses to desserts.

She monitors household supplies, including kitchen and cleaning materials, checks inventory and informs her employer when items need replenishment.

Her responsibilities also include accompanying her employer’s mother to medical check-ups. At times, she takes on additional work at another family’s home to earn extra income.

For Glenda, working in Qatar has meant more than learning new household tasks. She has become more independent, stronger, tougher and more open-minded. She has learned to adjust to another culture, picked up some Arabic and learned to prepare Arabic food.

It is another chapter in a journey that has continually required her to adapt and learn.

The value of being willing to learn

When asked what advice she would give young Filipinos entering the workforce, Glenda returned to a lesson she learned through experience:

“Don’t just land in one job. Try to accumulate more knowledge, skills and experience, because in the long run you can use it.”

It is advice that reflects her own working life.

She also remembers advice from her employer in Qatar:

“Glenda, you need to be flexible in many skills.”

Another reminder was:

“Work while you are young to gain experience, and most important, learn while you earn.”

These words echo something Glenda heard much earlier in her working life.

When she first started at MZR Industries, I encouraged her to learn as much as she could in whatever job she held. Years later, when we talked about those early days, she remembered that advice.

Her response in Ilonggo was:

“Yes ta..I remember guid sng imo MGA advice..now any job pwede guid ko.hehhe.”

In English, she was saying that she remembered the advice and that, because of what she had learned along the way, she now felt she could take on almost any job.

It was a simple, cheerful response, but it captured the point of her journey rather well.

She had not necessarily planned to work in so many different industries. But she had learned something from each experience, and those lessons gave her the confidence to face the next opportunity.

The people behind the journey

Working far from home is not always easy. It means missing ordinary family moments and being away from the people who matter most.

Behind Glenda’s journey is a family that remains an important source of support. Her husband, Gibson, and her mother, Sandra, are part of the support system that helps her face the challenges of working far from home.

Glenda and Gibson have two sons, King and Caleb. Their family’s closeness is something I have personally come to know through my long friendship with Sandra, whom I have known since 1997. I have always been welcomed into their home in Bago City, and I have had the opportunity to see the warmth and affection they share as a family.

That support is an important part of Glenda’s story. Her journey is one of independence and personal growth, but it is also connected to the people who stand behind her.

Carrying experience into the future

Glenda has not yet defined exactly how she will use all her accumulated experience when she eventually returns to the Philippines. But she knows that the things she has learned will remain useful.

Her working life has taught her that skills are not confined to the job in which they were acquired. Experience in inventory management can be useful in another setting. Customer service can strengthen communication. Food preparation and hospitality can open other possibilities. Learning to adapt can make unfamiliar work less intimidating.

And perhaps that is one of the most valuable things she has gained: the confidence to keep learning, whatever comes next.

Glenda’s story reminds us that a career does not always have to follow a straight line. Sometimes, the most valuable preparation for the future comes from being willing to learn in the present.

A job may end. An opportunity may change. But what we learn along the way stays with us

That is one advantage an overseas Filipino can bring home: not just the money earned abroad, but the experience, skills and confidence gained along the way.

This is Glenda Bermillo Villaflores’ story. And it may be a reminder to all of us to never stop learning, wherever our work takes us.

The OFW Advantage

The Experience, Skills and Opportunities We Bring Home.