Pongo Resume

This is a true career story as told to AllBilingualJobs.com. This interview will take you through the ups and downs you can expect as a Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn, and more.

I am a Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator with five years of experience in this field. I currently work for a public relations firm with clients across the bank industry, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Being extroverted, a team player, and a leader at the same time have made me successful at what I do. In addition, being a bilingual Hispanic female has been of great help to be able to communicate in both English and Spanish effectively with people around the world, and develop long lasting business relationships.

I am responsible for managing effectively the communications of our clients that include press releases, presentations, speeches, articles, coordinating events, conducting market research, and creating marketing or communication plans in both English and Spanish. Although my profession is usually misunderstood as sales or events coordination, I would describe it as the backbone that supports sales and operations.

On a scale from 1 to 10, I would rate my job satisfaction with a 9. To use my talents and do the things I enjoy, while learning many different things about the variety of clients in different industries that we serve, has been a highly rewarding experience. I know it will be a 10 when I am able to do it on my own, have my own clients, and charge full fees for my services.

Before I got to work for this firm, I had to make a few sacrifices. It took from me the courage to quit a dead end job with a high pay, to go back to college and complete my thesis to earn my Master’s degree in Communications. Then, I took the courage to pick up the phone to call the president of the firm I work for, and tell her that I wanted to work for them. To my surprise, they needed part-time help at that moment; so I started part-time and after a couple of months, I became a full-time employee.

One of the main reasons she gave me the chance was because I used to write an online column and she liked the way I wrote in English. We live in a country where Spanish is our main language, but many companies need bilingual people to be able to communicate with suppliers, sponsors, overseas customers, translate documents, and so forth. That is how I ended up in charge of coordinating an International Congress where I have to contact our guest speakers that come from Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, United States, and Venezuela.

If I had known about this opportunity, I would have done my Master’s degree a lot earlier. However, I learned that it is never too late, and that I had to work harder to compensate all the years I spent doing other things away from my current career path. I also learned that when I sacrificed to follow my calling, I got instant rewards in career satisfaction.

Books gave me a lot of theories, but the field gave me lessons about people, relationships, and the importance of dealing effectively with those two. Relationships move the world. So, I learned how important it is to cultivate effective and long lasting relationships throughout my life and my career. I also learned that in this global world it is important to know other countries, other cultures, and other languages to communicate effectively.

Every morning I get up excited to go to work because it is thrilling to know that I will be contacting many new interesting people or being able to inspire others through a speech I wrote for some organization’s President, or be able to communicate an interesting finding on a news press release, maybe boost my country’s economy by coordinating the best International Congress within this industry, or get an interview on TV for one of our clients.

Sometimes challenges arise, businesses are more conservative about sponsorships, sometimes a great press release doesn’t get published, or at other times participation to an event was below expectations. Although all these experiences have been frustrating at times, I have learned that persistence is key, and there is no way I can fail while I am still trying and giving my best. Besides, the rewards I get from my job always outweigh the setbacks.

My job requires for me to work unconventional hours at times. Sometimes I have to attend a meeting on a Saturday afternoon or a Thursday night. However, most of the time I work regular hours, and I have the weekends and holidays for myself to spend it with my loved ones. I usually take vacations twice a year to be able to spend quality time with my extended family, recreate myself, get some rest, and feel renewed for when I come back to work.

Where I live, a good marketing coordinator and/or public relations coordinator can make from $25,000 to $35,000 a year. Bilingual candidates usually get paid towards the higher end. I am happy with what I get paid, but I also have high expectations for my career future and expect my earnings to increase accordingly.

To get this job, I have completed a Master's degree in Communications and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a major in marketing management. It was very important to my employer that I could also write, read, and understand, both written and spoken, English and Spanish. In addition, I need to keep myself updated by reading various newspapers, magazines, listening to the radio, and watching news on television to stay up to date with current events that may have an impact on our clients businesses.

I have many friends that have followed this same path. Within the next five years, I would like to have some of these friends join me and create a top of the line bilingual marketing and public relations consulting firm in my country that provides the most exclusive consulting services worldwide.

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