Editors Note: Introducing Maita Ocampo, Business Development at PayrollHero. She will be contributing to the PayrollHero blog from time to time.

Wait What?

Overwhelmed, confused, and highly emotional – these are not the end of day emotions that I’ve imagined my first day with PayrollHero to be like. Apparently, I found myself having dinner alone in a restaurant after my first day and my thought bubble said something like: WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED.

Looking back, I think it was just “info overload” on my end. Haha! Well, to be honest, technology is not really my area of expertise. However, one of the reasons why I took the job at PayrollHero is because I knew that I was ready and up for the challenge. Getting sent to visit the team in Singapore after a month and working directly with the co-founder is of course, a plus. Boom! The opportunities are endless.

(Myself with Steve Jagger, Michael Stephenson and Adam Baechler in Singapore checking out the view of the Marina Bay Sands.)

First Three Months

My first three months were more of getting accustomed to the tools, getting to know the product, and catching up with the company and our timelines. Now that three months have passed, I couldn’t be thankful enough for PayrollHero and its founders for giving me the opportunity to be part of a platform that aims to make the lives of employees and their respective companies better. This is something that really excites me!

Non-Stop Learning

Let me share with you 3 key learnings from my first three months with PayrollHero:

1. Ask, ask, ask – Never assume anything. If you’re not certain about something, it is better to ask. Asking questions will not make you look lame, ignorant, or unsure. In fact, asking questions is a sign of strength and intelligence. It can also give way to deeper insights and better answers.
2. Waking up early rocks – I wake up at 6AM every day and work usually ends at 4PM. Crazy, right? These past few months, I’ve learned that you actually get to do more work when you wake up early. At the same time, you get to spend quality time with people you love. According to Forbes and Harvard biologist Christoph Randler, “morning people” are more proactive and are more likely to agree with statements like “I feel in charge of making things happen.” His research also revealed that they are more likely to anticipate problems and minimize them efficiently.
3. Productivity tools – I remember telling Steve, our co-founder, on my first day that I haven’t downloaded so many apps in one day! Haha. Yes, PayrollHero embraces technology (a lot). It helps us in our open communication mandate. We love PipelineDeals, Asana, Google Docs (Google white paper on PayrollHero), LinkedIn, Slack, Sqwiggle, Appear and Zopim to name a few. It may seem hard to take it all in, but these apps are just a matter of getting used to. Not only does it make learning everyday more fun, it’s definitely helping us work efficiently as well.

Exciting Times Ahead

I guess, no matter what your job is, your first couple of days at work could really be a nerve-racking experience so it’s important for one to focus and have the proper mindset for it.

What I enjoy the most about working for PayrollHero is​ that everyone’​s contributing and thinking of ways to achieve better results for our clients while enjoying the process. We get to learn a lot from each other too!

(Myself with Cristian Guerrero, Kieran Peppiatt, Stephen Jagger, Adam Baechler and Mike Stephenson at the Hyatt in the City of Dreams Manila)

As we’re expanding rapidly in the Philippines and have soft launched in Singapore, I am looking forward for the next countries that we’re targeting this year to become payroll live and the adventures that come along with it. Exciting times, indeed!

Want to read more about our Adventure Engineering lifestyle?

– You might like Nico’s story about his first few days in the Whistler office after leaving the Philippines.

– Adventure Engineers scatter

– Looking to join us? Check out our hiring page or how our work from home program works.