Charlotte Monterio

Charlotte Monterio, 28, lives in Taman Setia Tropika, Johor Baru, with her husband Eric Yap, 31, and two-and-a half-year-old son Kai. Her second son is due in March.

 

Charlotte Monterio

A LOT of people think that the life of a public relations officer is filled with glamour. We get to meet people from the media, and entertain guests. Well, there is definitely more to that.

When I first joined the hotel industry after graduating from Universiti Sains Malaysia in August 2008, I was so frustrated I cried every single day. Working life was so different from campus days.

The first hotel I worked in was Dorsett Hotel Johor Baru, now known as Silka Johor Baru. As a public relations officer, I had to meet people, which was something that I enjoyed doing as I love to talk. In school, I was the most talkative girl in my class, and the noisiest of five sisters in my family. So being a public relations officer was just right for me, although I was to discover that one had to also be creative and versatile in other areas.

When I first joined the hotel industry, I was very fortunate to meet and work with Tengku Ahmad Faizal Tengku Mohamed, who was then the resident manager of Dorsett before he joined Pulai Springs Resort as its general manager. Tengku Ahmad Faizal was the one who first interviewed me, and he said: "I can see that you don't have the experience but you have the 'can-do' attitude." I did not know then that a public relations officer also had to design restaurant menus, handle all the decorations in the food and beverage outlets, come up with all kinds of creative ideas as well as go out and buy the decorations. I did not have any assistant, which meant I had to do everything myself.

 If I wanted a signage or decoration put up at the entrance of a food and beverage outlet, I had to climb up the ladder to put it there myself. But Tengku Ahmad Faizal encouraged and motivated me, and pretty soon, I was no longer a "cry baby." Whatever my bosses wanted me to do, I would just do it to the best of my ability. If I did not know how to do it, I would surf the Internet for the solution. Subsequently, I left to join a property development company but lasted only five months. I will never want another desk job that was so different from being in the hotel line. Hoteliers are so friendly and warm. They operate like one big happy family with the sole aim of making guests feel welcomed and relaxed. For that reason, I happily re-joined the hotel industry.

This time, I went to the Pulai Springs Resort and seven months after joining, I was promoted from senior public relations officer to assistant marcom manager. Last year, I was promoted to marcom manager for both Pulai Springs Resort and the Pulai Desaru Beach and Spa, both subsidiaries of the Pulai Group. I now have a team working under me. I am very grateful to Tengku Ahmad Faizal for believing in me. Now, I share with myteam members my experiences to motivate them. I know how hard it is for someone who has just joined the workforce.

Charlotte at work

I was born and bred in the Portuguese Settlement in Malacca, which I left behind when I went to further my studies in Penang. After that, I came to work in Johor Baru. Initially, I hardly went anywhere after work because of all the crime stories that one heard about. It took me a year before I had enough courage to go out for walks by myself. Then I met my husband Eric Yap and we married in December 2008.

Read more: Like working among family members - Johor - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/streets/johor/like-working-among-family-members-1.413222#ixzz2lnemcS26