Interview

Introduction: this interview is with Ricardo Alvarez (vice president of Asian Terminals).

What did you study in college?
I studied general administration in college.

Where did you study?
In Dominican Republic, Intec.

Did you ever imagine you would end up in the Philippines?
Never, in my wildest dreams would I have thought about something like that. It was a surprise when I heard I was being offered a position here.

What was your first job and how did you manage to decide what to study?
My first job was embarrassing, I worked in a hot dog stand selling hot dogs. This I did with my girlfriend at the time (who is now my wife) and we managed to get some money out of it. After a year it started becoming big but I knew that it wasn't the job i wanted for the rest of my life, it was only a job to get me along for the moment. As i managed the hot dog stand I learned I really wanted to know more about business itself so i decided to study general management in college (business administration).

How did you start working for Asian Terminals?
I started working in Asian Terminals when i was still in college just as an assistant of the general manager and I worked myself up to the managerial position.

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if you ended up working somewhere else?
Not really, I love my job and i don't really see myself doing anything else.

What do you advise to people studying in the business sector?
Its all about the job experience, try and get part time jobs or small jobs so that you start knowing what is out there and getting yourself exposed to what the market wants.

Is there anything you would have done differently?
Yes absolutely, I think if i would have put more effort in college and worked harder i would have gone a lot higher. I would advise everyone to just put all their effort in college and really giving all they can in everything they do.

Any other thing you would like to add?
I believe that hard work is what gets you to big places, so give everything you have and nothing less than 200% and you'll be big no matter what you do.