NEW JERSEY, United States—Peter John P. Jose clasped his BS in Economics diploma from the University of Santo Tomas and was determined to use it as the master key to the doors of the yuppie world. Typical of a new graduate, he ogled the Makati scene with ardent hope.
He must now sit down pronto, write his resumé, and send out copies of this to the MNCs, the much-sought-after multinational companies. However, faster than he could say “Ayala Avenue, here I come!” his green card arrived.
That forced Peter to execute a psycho-cultural turnabout. He had to re-condition his mind about his job expectations, mulling over new questions: What will it be like for me in America? How will I penetrate the job market there? Are my preparations sufficient? Suddenly, his pristine hopefulness was changing into some shade of grey. But he had to take his flight.
Greenhorn
Six years later today, Peter looks back with amazement at his transformation as a Filipino “working guy” in America. No doubt the process had been doubly challenging.
His greenhorn status then was a hurdle as local experience has always been a requisite in most jobs. Add to that the fact that he was a new immigrant and the odds seemed no good. But his persistence finally paid off.
An opening for bank teller in South Orange, New Jersey beckoned to him and he dashed for it. He underwent training for “tellering” and for something else besides. His trainer had a huge attitude problem and Peter had to learn not to take it seriously or personally. He survived!
He went on to sit behind his window, along with three or four other tellers behind theirs. As he did so, another puzzling reality hit him: The bank clients passed him over. “Why?” he asked himself. “Was it because I was ‘different?’” (read: He was neither white nor black).
Gradually, though, his natural affability won out. Word got around that the “brown guy at Window 3,” despite an obvious accent barrier, engaged people in some small talk during transactions. Pretty soon, the bank customers were making their way to his window. And Peter relished that small but significant victory.
Not-so-ordinary times
When wintertime came, going to work posed second thoughts and hesitations to this young Filipino who was driving in the snow for the first time. South Orange from Jersey City where he lived was a good 45 minutes away. Roughly, that would be the distance between Cubao and San Pedro, Laguna sans traffic. “Will I get to work on time? Will I be able to see my way? Are my car tires reliable?” were just a few of those thoughts. But his appreciation for his job enabled Peter to dismiss his fears and brave the strange weather. How relieved he was to find numerous other motorists on the long slippery road.
One bumper sticker caught his eye and made him smile: “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go!” Well into his stay in America, however, he realized that that re-invented refrain from the children’s book, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” in fact has a powerful implication about American economics. “Relentless consumerism plus unregulated borrowing equals a robust economy” was the long-standing Wall Street dogma until the recent Big Collapse blew it up in everybody’s face.
The economist in Peter could not help gaping in disbelief as the theories in his head disintegrated before his very eyes. Still, he remains cool and collected in the knowledge that this low point has “no other way to go but up.”
Always a step ahead
Relative to the other employees who have lived in America longer than he, Peter feels that he has a lot more to do to prove his capabilities at the workplace. It is not enough to merely keep in step professionally; he also has to be at least a step ahead.
Any promotion for him depends on such a strategy. Since advanced schooling is an option at his disposal, he enrolled for credits towards a Master’s in Business Administration at the New Jersey City University. Combining job demands and schoolwork calls for a finely-honed time management skill. Happily, Peter is a schedule buff who ticks out a “To Do” list on a daily basis. Now he stands free to climb both the academic and the corporate ladders at his bidding. And climbs them he does! He has been promoted to the position of Management Trainee at Valley National Bank in South Orange, a career upgrade that definitely holds brighter prospects for Peter in the near future.
Almost simultaneously, he has been conferred the prestigious Leadership Award by the NJCU Graduate School of Business in recognition of his very dynamic and dedicated involvement with the Student Investment Management Group, a school organization that encourages students majoring in Business to dabble in hands-on investing.
Staying focused
Alumni donors provide actual seed money for these “non-pro investors” to learn the ropes of the money world. “We are rehearsing for the real investment world out there,” Peter says clearly animated, “and we have already made some gains and a few losses in the stocks we acquired.” His decision to be a step ahead through the academic route may yet prove to be Peter’s best move at this point. That it brings him to more exciting career directions is his every well-wisher’s hope.
Perhaps, nowhere is the “siren’s song” more distracting than in America, where individual freedom is genuinely upheld and the resources to exercise it are readily available. In this environment, Peter realizes that staying focused on one’s goals entails far greater effort and discipline. Fortunately for him, family helps keep him stay grounded. His typically Filipino household makes sure to mind every member’s business and provide group support where needed.
Peter’s diverse hobbies and interests are also focusing tools for him. “It is fatal to be bored in America,” he quips, and that is no light statement. Given this impersonal, “careful-not-to-be-too-friendly” ambience, one must know how to occupy his time with meaningful activities.
Peter relaxes and socializes by working out in the gym, running marathons for a cause, volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, bar- and club-hopping with friends, sampling and cooking gourmet dishes, and traveling around on longer breaks.
Yes, Peter is definitely American-busy but with the busy-ness that, at the end of the day, gives him a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. If there is such a thing as a purpose-driven rat race, then this must be what it looks like!
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