July 2, 2019

5 Years in YOYO and Why I’m Still Here

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

If there's one question you're almost guaranteed to encounter in any job application - this is it.

It's a question I got asked TWICE at YOYO! 🙂

That was five years ago. To be honest, I don't remember my answer. But I can tell you this - where I am right now is exactly where I wanted to be five years ago.

My humble beginning

Hello! My name is Marius, I’m the creative director and the leader of the design team. I’m also the office “Kuya” because I'm one of the oldest (and wisest) in YOYO. I love dogs and noodles. I have a chihuahua named Ramen.

I was born between 1981 and 1996 and that makes me a millennial. My generation developed a reputation for job-hopping and being unattached to large corporate institutions.

I was like that.

Before YOYO, I never stayed longer than two years in the same company. I was always looking for something. I'm not sure what it was but I had a mindset that I'll know it when I see it.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

- Steve Jobs

Defining moment

A defining moment is a point in your life when you experience something that fundamentally changes you. Joining YOYO is one such moment for me.

5 years later, I continue to experience career growth because of defining moments like these:

1. Stepping out of comfort zone

I love my role as a designer. Designing has always been my passion and I'm pretty decent one at that. I know photoshop, I take criticism very well, and I can definitely make a logo bigger for any clients.

At YOYO, you are expected to stretch the boundaries of your comfort zone. In fact, the company encourages everyone to try new things beyond the normal routine.

Thanks to the company's support, I was able to move my career forward as a creative director. Soon, I began organizing multiple design meetups in my community. As a result, I overcame my fear of crowds and I became more confident in public speaking.

Preparing for my first speaking engagement

2. Embracing vulnerability

One of the most defining moments for me is learning about Psychological Safety. It's a belief that you are safe enough to be vulnerable with each other. We can speak up, offer ideas, and ask questions without fear of being punished or embarrassed.

In fact, A Google research discovered that the single greatest key to a team's performance was creating a psychologically safe environment.

This is what empowers our teams to step out of our comfort zone and be more collaborative with each other.

3. Building the culture

I enjoy playing the part of the unofficial culture guy. It has become a personal mission to maintain a friendly and inclusive team environment in the office. I help organize enrichment activities like summer outings, dinner parties, and game nights.

Sometimes it’s important to play under the sun

Because the truth is we spend more time on a daily basis with the people we work with than our own families. Might as well enjoy the ride.

4. Empowering game-changers

I had the privilege to work on incredible projects here at YOYO. To know that your product is used by millions of people, it just makes you proud.

5. Making an impact

My first project is an app called PopSlide. Our vision is to provide free Internet to emerging markets like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.The best feeling in the world is when that vision is realized. We've given out over 1 Petabyte (1,000,000 gigabytes) of free mobile data to PopSlide users.