Speaker: Jennifer A. Chiaoco-Damian
Please introduce yourself in a couple of sentences.
Jennifer A. Chiaoco-Damian: Good afternoon. My name is Jennifer Arcia Chaco. My Starbucks name is Jen. So just to tell a bit more about myself, I graduated from University of Santa Tomas in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering. I started working um in 2004 with Central Philippines, whereby I was a software engineer handling CRM application implementations. I was in accenture for three years and moved to um Singapore in 2007 where I first joined um credit suisse private banking. I was there for more than a year also doing cloud uh no, sorry um CRM uh implementations. And uh in 2008 was when I moved back to um accenture Singapore um to implement um CRM applications for Starhub and the other telcos um that which we had projects on my very last project with um Accenture. Singapore was uh with IRS um internal revenue um authorities in Singapore. And then in 2011 was when I moved to Oracle in Singapore. That was also the time when I started um taking up project management roles and most of our projects there uh were to transform um the clients on Chinese applications into cloud. So these digital transformations involve um er PHCM and uh and customer experience applications. So when it comes to er P, I've had a few projects like um Swiss uh um Sorry, Swire um and um BW and Inter touch and I've also had um um mostly the HCM projects. Um and my very last one was with um income uh insurance in Singapore. So I was with Oracle Singapore until March 2023. And I decided to move out because um um while um I, I was actually having fun in or, and I've had um um engagement with them since 2020 until 2023 here in the Philippines. It's just that the, the, the next few projects that we will be having um Rick would require me to be on site back in Singapore, which doesn't work for my um current situation. So I've um I've started looking for a remote work um which um I think um extend your team is um um is having right now. So that's about it when it comes to work experience on my free time. Of course, I, I spent time with my three year old son. Uh He just third three, last p he also started schooling. Um So most of my free time was spent playing with him or, or also going out with him and also spending some time with my husband and my friends and family. Uh Yeah,
What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
Jennifer A. Chiaoco-Damian: So for the second question, what are your biggest strengths and weaknesses? I guess for me, uh my strengths are more related to people, people oriented. I am very people oriented like um I see to it that whenever there is a situation, um everyone's comfortable with the situation satisfied with what's going on. And if there's any decision to make that uh would require not just my decision, everyone's consensus is considered before making a decision. So I consider everyone around me, those that I do, the people that I work with and I, I work for and ensures that the things that we do are aligned with each other that's to avoid conflicts. And also um um for my peace of mind that I got everyone's buy in before uh doing certain things. Another strength that I could um think of is um time management. I'm very um I am organized in such a way that um I don't need to um a as they said, right? Work smarter, not harder. I see to it that I know what I need to accomplish within the day and ensure that this um is um that this will save me time and also will not waste someone else's time. Right? Although I, I mean, I can also find this um um as one of my weaknesses or maybe areas of improvement because sometimes uh my friends tell me that I am very organized that um it becomes my obsession and um you know, so sometimes I have this to do list that um I keep track on even on my personal life and um things that I do with my family and friends. Um It, it may sound like by the book, but, you know, if there, there are things that um I just want everything to be planned on before we do things like going on a vacation. Where will we go? Where, where will we stay? What do we do and all that, I mean, in a project management perspective is good because uh we see to it that we are uh sticking to the timeline, sticking to the schedule and on the budget, right? But of course, sometimes I also apply it on my personal life which not everyone is um buying. Um But of course, uh maybe just to end my point about um the weaknesses, I think um this type of remote set up with um with extend your team is something that I think I would have to improve along the way. This is, as I mentioned to Yancy and Angelica, this is my first time doing this kind of work. And of course, I still think that when I have all these um experiences, work experiences at hand, I still believe that there are still more things to learn about this new engagement and it's something that I think um I just get to know along the way. So I'm excited for that at the same time. Uh Yeah, very, very eager to learn.
What is the professional achievement you’re most proud of?
Jennifer A. Chiaoco-Damian: And for the third question, what is the professional achievement you're most proud of? As I mentioned in my introduction, I actually graduated with a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering, but right after graduation, I decided to pursue it consulting. So I embarked on that journey with zero knowledge on that field. And um luckily for me, it's something that I picked up along the way. And um I can say that I'm, I had fun. I have been working for 19 years as an it consultant uh project manager. And um I think I, I didn't have any uh regrets on the decisions that I made. So that itself is a professional achievement for me. But I think my ultimate achievement, at least at this point is to be able to embark on picking up a project management role along the way. I improved myself until such time that I was able to handle projects on my own and become a project management manager myself. Um As of now in my portfolio, I managed to um get 16 projects live and um complete it. OK. So that itself is my trophy. If I may say I didn't have um any certifications like B MP Prince two or such because I was very busy learning on how we can, I can improve myself um um with um hands on with all the projects that are ongoing. But that to me is my um greatest achievement. Whenever a project that, that, that the handle goes live, it gives me satisfaction and it just makes uh it proves the point that everything can be learned as long as you're willing and eager to learn. And in my case, I learn in every project that I do. And I always ensure that um there's a key takeaway for me to um to use on my next one. And that to me is um an achievement along the way.
What are the most important things you are looking for in your next role?
Jennifer A. Chiaoco-Damian: And for the fourth question, what are the most important things you are looking for in your next role? I think there are four things that I can think of. The first one is um work set of flexibility, something that I would like to embark nowadays um to be able to do your work while you're at home with your family. And you know, the flexibility of being able to do it anywhere else. That's a given second is continuous learning and improvement. As I mentioned earlier. If uh since this type of role is very new to me, I am very eager to learn and excited on what's what's here, what is here for me, right? And that being said, my third is probably, of course, I'm looking at staying. I am not the type of person who keeps on looking for a new job. And that's why if you see in my profile uh out of 19 years, I only stayed in four companies. Well, actually, technically, it's three because I went back to accenture um in Singapore, right? So it's just credit SUIS accenture and or or being the longest I was there for um since 2011. So it's around 13 years, 12, 13 years. Yeah. And of course, um, that being said, I'm looking at staying, uh, in a firm and growing with the firm. Right. That's very important to me. And then maybe lastly, um, of course, though, everyone is, uh, working remotely, I'm still looking at, you know, making new friends and maybe, you know, meeting a lot of people along the way that would also build my network professionally.
Why are you the right fit to succeed in this role?
Jennifer A. Chiaoco-Damian: And for the fifth question, why are you the right fit for this role? Uh That's a very tough one. It's like I need to sell myself. No, I'm kidding. But anyway, uh as, as you can see in my profile, I've had um good 19 years of it consulting experience, 10 of which is mostly on project management, but that itself is, um it says that I'm probably fit for this role. I'm results driven person, uh goal oriented, I'm very enthusiastic and positive team member, right? And um I see to it that um everything that they do add value to the project and the company as a whole. Um And then I think um another thing that I would like to say is that I am very uh willing to learn and also customer focus, the, the what the customer thinks of what we do and deliver to them really matters to me. And um that being said, um I also have been uh working um in my previous companies and project on a time critical environment with high pressure and of course, doing multitasking in a fast paced um environment um taking into consideration also the cross cultural differences because most of my projects have been um global in nature. And um yeah, and lastly, I could probably say that of course, when it comes to English, I have good communication skills. And though this is not my native language, I could, I could um say that uh I converse, I write and I talk quite well using this language.
