Name/title: Rabel Catayoc / Project Manager
Home office: Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
Family and pets: Wife, 4 Kids and Paula (the friendly dog from our neighbor that visits us regularly for food, and occasionally to hang out.)
Start date at Thrive: March 4, 2019
How did you get started with Project Management?
When I was in my third year in college, I had to stop for the following semester to look for a full-time job so that I can fully sustain the upcoming expenses as my wife was about to give birth to our eldest son. I landed a job at an SEO company. I had to undergo 1-month training on link building and basic SEO. When I was officially on board, I was assigned to a dating site as a profile and photo auditor. Because I wanted to learn more about SEO, I struck a deal with my co-workers that I will help them with their tasks in exchange for teaching me more about it. After my employment with that company, that was my ticket plus basic training in management from the university in getting hired as a project manager by a consulting firm based in Australia. And the rest is history.
What do you love about working for Thrive so far?
What I love about working for Thrive is that it takes care of its employees like members of a big family. Apart from being able to work with highly competitive co-workers, the team of leaders who empower employees to productivity and afford them with the chance to be heard for the common good of the organization as a whole is among the factors that I love about working for Thrive.
When you’re not at work, how do you spend your time?
When I’m not at work, I spend quality time with my wife and kids. I take them out to watch a movie or go swimming.
If you could turn anything into an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance of winning a gold medal for?
If I could turn anything into an Olympic sport, I would have a good chance of winning a gold medal for Table Tennis.
What would be your karaoke go-to song and what setting would we likely find you singing it in?
I’m not really into singing, but if I do, my karaoke go-to song will be Careless Whisper and I will be singing it in the bathroom while taking a shower.
If you could be any character from any book or movie, who would you be?
If I were any character from any book or movie, I would be Zeus!
Where did you grow up and what is special about that place?
I was born and raised in the southern part of the Philippines, particularly in the slums of Cagayan de Oro City. Tagged as the ‘City of Golden Friendship’, makes my birthplace special but it has little to do to me personally. But the fact that it holds the history and it stands as a witness of the humbling experience I went through in life and my humble beginning, that makes where I grew up very special.
If you were in a room with three billionaires, what would you ask them and why?
Given the chance to be in a room with three billionaires, I would ask them to continue to touch the lives of the people who became part of their success in life and the desire to continue to help those less fortunate so they will always be reminded of their humble beginning and their positive contributions to humanity.
If you could invite three people to dinner (dead or alive), who would be at the table and why?
If I could invite three people to dinner, it would be my wife, my mother and mother in law at the table. Without them, I wouldn’t be the kind of husband and father as I am now. I am eternally grateful for them.
