Lately I've been having a lot of conversations with younger people who are deciding what career path to pursue. Some are questioning whether corporate is worth it, others are asking me directly why I left P&G, why I moved to where I am now. The questions always sound like they expect me to trash corporate life or confirm their worst fears about it.
Since I left corporate and now work remotely for a US startup doing AI stuff, basically living the exact dream I had before I even joined P&G, I think it might seem like I left because something was wrong with corporate life. Like maybe it was toxic or meaningless or whatever.
That's not really the story though.
What Corporate Actually Gave Me
The main thing I remember from my P&G days isn't stress or office politics. It's friendship. The people I met there are still some of my most important relationships, and that's not something I expected going in.
P&G is this really well-built system. Everything has a process, a reason, a structure. And before you think that sounds soul-crushing, these systems actually exist to help you do good work and grow. The structure isn't there to control you. It's there so you can focus on learning and getting better at what you do.
I was always curious, always wanting to try new things, and P&G actually fed that. My role gave me opportunities to travel, work on different projects, solve new problems. It kept me interested because there was always something new to discover.
The People Who Shaped How I Work
James was my manager and still the best boss I've ever had. Smart guy, but also just fun to be around. He taught me this idea: "Always begin with the end in mind." I still use that when I'm trying to solve problems.
There was this one time I completely overslept and showed up two hours late. I was so tired I kept declining his calls without even realizing it was him. James didn't yell or make a scene. He just pulled me aside and said, "This isn't acceptable." The worst part wasn't even getting in trouble. It was knowing I'd disappointed someone I really looked up to.
But here's the thing. After that day, nothing changed between us. He kept mentoring me, kept pushing me to get better at communicating. Before working with James, I used to just word-vomit my ideas everywhere. He helped me actually make sense when I talked.
Audrey trained me and was brutal about it. Always quizzing me, always calling out my nonsense. We had these crazy sales targets during training, and she never let me slide when I missed them. I remember this one store visit where she was watching me work, and I spotted a missing product really quickly. She got so excited about it that she bought me Potato Corner afterward.
That's when we actually became friends. Once training was over, she turned out to be hilarious and we bonded over our shared love of snacks.
Ash was like the older brother of our group. That day I came in late and felt terrible about myself, he came over and said something like, "Everyone screws up. Just move on and do better. Nobody's going to remember this anyway."
I think about that whenever I mess up at work now.
Ralph was probably my closest friend there. He taught me so much, not just work stuff, but life stuff too. Like how to actually save money and be smart with finances. He'd give me the most honest advice about navigating the company. Everyone loved Ralph because he was just genuinely good: generous, smart, hardworking, but also completely down to earth. Ralph and I used to joke about being cheapskates even though we made decent money.
We were proud of it.
Sharlene was the one who organized all our lunches. Always Korean barbecue around BGC. This was when Zomato Gold was new and had all these buy-one-get-one deals, so we'd use our meal allowances and go crazy. One time at K-Pub, there was karaoke happening and Sharlene just got up and sang "Rolling in the Deep." She was basically taunting the actual performer to keep up with her.
And there were so many other people I didn't even get to talk about properly. Jon helped me organize my thoughts and was like a semi-manager for most of my time there. Nikko and Monchai from product supply, Sab from finance, Pat who was my last manager. All of them were so generous about teaching me things. Sales tactics, how to crunch data, how to sell ideas to customers, just how to be organized and good at the job.
Looking back now, many of these people have moved on to completely different paths. Some are parents now, some became content creators, others started their own businesses. Watching them thrive in their own unique ways has been genuinely inspiring and made me realize how much my own career has shifted since those days.
But the foundation they helped me build is still there.
What The Work Was Actually Like
The job was hard. Really hard. Lots of number crunching, data analysis, managing budgets, creating promotions, working with brand managers on campaigns. It pushed me to my limits some days, but it was also really satisfying when things worked out.
The best parts were our out-of-town trips. Whenever we had store openings in places like Bacolod or Davao, we'd stay for days, working together, planning events, doing direct sales. But we'd also eat together, stay up late planning, and just hang out. That's where a lot of the friendships really developed.
One random highlight: a brand manager chose my face to put on an Oral-B display in stores. Still makes me laugh thinking about it.
What I Actually Learned
The biggest thing P&G taught me is that the people you work with matter more than almost anything else. If your teammates are cool, supportive, and fun to be around, even the hardest work feels manageable.
I had mentors everywhere. People who genuinely wanted me to succeed, whether that meant getting promoted or just doing well on a project. That kind of environment makes everything better.
Why I'm Writing This
I'm not trying to convince anyone that corporate is the only way or even the right way for everyone. I mean, I'm literally proof that there are other paths. But if you're thinking about corporate, or if you're already there and feeling discouraged by all the negative stuff you hear online, just know that it can actually be really good.
The friendships I made at P&G are still some of the most important relationships in my life. They remind me how valuable it is to have genuine connections at work, wherever that work happens to be.
Whether you end up in corporate, at a startup, freelancing, or doing your own thing entirely, what matters is finding people and environments that help you grow and make the work feel worthwhile.
Both can work. Both can be fulfilling. And both can teach you things about work and life that you'll carry with you forever.