Disclaimer: Jerick was not harmed in the making of this interview nor given firm instructions to say nice things 🙂
My colleague, Jerick Parrone is from the Philippines, he works as a project manager and has been at ZN for the past three years.  He graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of the Philippines – Diliman in 2008 and moved to Belgium right after. He has been travelling back and forth between the two countries for the past 3 years but now, he is happily settled in Brussels.
If he is not at work, there’s a strong chance he is on plane to some exotic destination. He is passionate about making travel an integral part of a person’s lifestyle and sees it as a great way to continuously try and learn new things. Outside of travel, he enjoys a good fiction book, sci-fi and epic-based movies and jazz music. I interviewed him to know more about his work at ZN and some other interesting things.Â
- Before joining ZN what you were doing? Â How did you join ZN?
Jerick:Â Well, I started my career as a copywriter for Fleishman-Hillard in Manila, Philippines. Then after finishing university, I moved to Belgium to work as a publications coordinator for Microsoft Europe. It is through my work at Microsoft that I managed to connect with the ZN team, which eventually lead to a beautiful career here.
- What’s your work at ZN like? What do you do?
Jerick: I work as a project manager for ZN. Basically, my main task is to be the liaison between the ZN team and the clients. We guide clients through the ZN journey ensuring that we deliver a tailor-made communications strategy that fits their needs. We make sure that a positive and value-adding relationship is maintained with our clients and that projects are done with respect to quality, timely delivery and budget.
At the moment, I work with several clients ranging from multinational corporations to associations. There are lots of interesting projects – ranging from social media recruitment, sustainability campaigning, and EU corporate communications – it’s all very exciting!
- Tell us more about 25Travels.
Jerick: Sure. 25travels.com is a small blog project that I started last year to record my travels. My goal was to travel to 25 countries by the time I turned 25 years old, a challenge I finished last June. Today, I have shifted my blog’s focus to promoting travel as an integral part of our lifestyle despite the limitations of a full time job or a limited budget.
It also gave me a more hands-on experience to working with the web, putting into practice what I learned from ZN. It has been a great journey – I’ve had a lot of positive feedback from people, reached good amount of readers and even been recognized twice as one of the must-follow bloggers of the year.
- And what do you think about living/working in Brussels? What do you like the most?
Jerick: I like Brussels. It’s a small city but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in interesting activities, events and architecture. I always describe it to people as a shell – it may look rough and drab on the outside, but once you open it up, you’ll see that it has a lot to offer.  I’ve lived here for a while, but I keep discovering a lot of new places. I like most of it – except for the rain and the cold, but I guess you can’t live in a perfect city.
- What do you like most about working at ZN?
Jerick: I like the fact that we work in an industry where there’s an absolute need for continuous learning. The internet is constantly changing, which means there are new ideas and concepts popping up every day. And as part of ZN, we learn about these new concepts and adapt them to suit our client’s thinking and approach.
There is also the fact that we are a small team. This means that work is much more challenging, but at the same time there is inclusiveness and easiness in the flow of ideas. Giving constructive feedback is a key practice in the team and, regardless of your role, your input is treated equally.
- ZN is currently hiring new people to join us as Project/Account Managers… what would you suggest to the candidates?
Jerick: First, do send your CV and apply for the position! My experience with ZN has been rewarding not only to my professional career but also in the way I think and get on with my life. So, if you want to be part of a team that values learning, quality and collaboration – then ZN is the right place for you. I look forward to having you on the team!
Does this sound like your ideal work job? Have a look at our job offers here.