What's your job about?

I manage the products and services of the bank directed towards the Global Filipino market (i.e. Overseas Filipino Workers, OFW beneficiaries, and Filipino migrants). Being a Product Manager includes conceptualizing product improvements, creating a solid business case for these ideas, pitching these to senior management, leading project teams, executing initiatives, and monitoring product performance. In a nutshell, I am in charge of the end-to-end process of creating and rolling out bank products, like savings accounts for OFWs, and enacting strategies to increase usage and acquisition. My day-to-day includes attending lots of meetings with both bank colleagues (even those from other parts of the bank!) and external partners (vendors, potential partners, etc.), dealing with data (i.e. account usage behavior of client base, no. of newly onboarded clients, etc.), and crafting project pitches, process flows, and walkthrough materials to share with my team. Because none of my products are physically tangible, my primary drive as a Product Manager is to further digitalize and optimize our existing offerings to make them seamlessly accessible to my market all around the world. Frequent collaborators in the bank include IT, Marketing, and Sales teams. 

What's your background?

Throughout my school life, I had always been a dedicated learner and enthusiastic student leader. Growing up in a competitive environment did not just enable me to understand my strengths and further hone my organizational skills, it also equipped me for a fast-paced and competitive job. Because of this, I was open to exploring various fields apart from my areas of study in Psychology and Economics. Last year, I was privileged to join the Digital Excellence and Leadership Training Academy of RCBC, which introduced me to the world of banking and prepared me to utilize my knowledge and enthusiasm as a Gen Z manager in the workplace. One year later, I feel how significantly I have grown into my role as Product Manager, as I continue to be challenged to learn and execute my initiatives more effectively. 

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Absolutely! The most important traits that I believe a Product Manager should have are being well organized,  personable, and highly analytic. This role involves understanding processes and being able to convey an end goal clearly to stakeholders and collaborators. Hence, anyone with different backgrounds can explore a role such as this one as it both enables and challenges them to put their own unique spin into accomplishing goals and communicating with others.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

Because I create products and campaigns for a specific, diverse, and growing market like OFWs and their beneficiaries, I love how my job constantly challenges me to keep up with the trends and potential of my target audience. I like the creative and flexible aspect of my job, in the sense that I have the freedom to plan my own next steps as long as I ultimately roll out a product or program that accomplishes business goals. Above all, working with others who share the same goals brings about a sense of fulfilment when we get something done together. 

What are the limitations of your job?

In the context of a highly regulated and conservative field like banking, Product Managers have limited space for innovation and experimentation in proposing and implementing new products and initiatives. Compliance standards, budget constraints, and bank priorities sometimes act as roadblocks in executing initiatives that would be ideal to my specific market. However, this ultimately challenges more creativity to be able to work within the limitations of the role to produce desirable results.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

I would remind myself to keep exploring and paying attention to the skills I would like to further improve and explore in the professional world. Despite fields of study seeming like an obvious choice for what career to pursue, I would advise myself to never feel limited and instead view these as additional tools to apply to whatever opportunities and roles present themselves in the future. Lastly, I hope student-me will always remember that her interests can be abundant and need not be limited to what others expect from her, since this open-mindedness can open endless doors in the future.