For many years, Raniel Reyes has been helping his fellow Filipinos to work abroad through a recruitment agency. He was working as a recruitment officer in the Philippines, sending manpower to the Middle East, specifically to hotels and bars.
Little did he know that one day, his fate would be the same as their clients.
Hailing from Nueva Ecija in the Philippines, Raniel was sent to UAE to man a bar. Like many overseas Filipino workers, he had difficulty leaving his family behind. The only thing he thought about at that time was he could finally provide them with the life he promised.
“As a recruitment officer in the Philippines, I get to hear a lot of OFW stories,” he said, noting that since he was in college, he wanted to work overseas to harness his skills further.
From a bar manager, he took a leap of faith and ventured into graphic designing, where he polished his creative talent and skills. His exposure to graphic designing has also paved the way for him to work three more years as an advertising manager. It allowed him to meet big clients and build his network.
The proud Filipino wears many hats–he worked as a mobile and computer technician, programmer, chef, and photo and video editor.
When the Covid-19 pandemic happened, the bar where he worked was forced to halt its operations temporarily. Some of his colleagues sheltered in his apartment while the movement was restricted in the country to give way to the national sterilization program.
It was not long ago when he opened his own company, Creations Advertisement, an Ajman-based branding and design agency. Through this, they get to help businesses thrive by creating powerful brands via strategy, creativity, and seamless implementation.
Raniel plans to grow his business in the emirate. Currently, he has clients all across the seven emirates.
He advises his fellow Filipinos abroad to work smarter.
“Listen to yourself and trust the process,” he concluded.