Starting with one of the pros above, which is being treated to a rack of ribs, chips, baked beans, garlic bread and like 7 different sauces from Racks in Manila. This is in reward for one of the cons – working late on Sunday night!

I’ve always been a workaholic and dealt with short deadline tasks for lots of clients before, so the fast-paced chaos at one of the internet’s most notorious start-up machines is right up my alley.

Being a part of a major website launch is also pretty cool. Just 2 weeks ago, we launched ZALORA, The Philippines’ newest and soon to be the largest online fashion store in the country. Of course, being responsible for most of the backend systems and user interface tweaks just a couple of weeks after joining the venture was and still is a challenge, but without challenges, life would be boring.

I guess another negative which all Rocket employees worldwide often cite, is the fast-pace can often lead to major flaws in the initial business processes. Regardless of the deep pockets Rocket Internet may have to fund ventures, key gaps in staffing when starting-up can lead to frustration between departments. This was no doubt the case for us, too, but every day and every week, our team grows rapidly and all the holes are plugged.

Recruiting and building up a team of developers is a responsibility I was given here. Initially for about 10 developers….then 30… 50… now, the latest target I have been given is 150!! I do love that responsibility and challenge bestowed upon me and am learning a lot more about hiring. Here in the Philippines, there is a great pool of very talented programmers to choose from so I’m quite lucky in that respect.

So, hopefully that gives an idea of why my blog has not been updated much in the last month and also shares some of the good n bad points of working at Rocket Internet.

Oh, 2 last pros which I think are cool:

• I was flown to Australia for one week and am likely to be sent for my first ever Singapore trip in a few weeks!
• We have a basement full of models being photographed everyday!

And yes, we’re still hiring!

I’m posting this here as a quick link to my developer friends in phpugph and Pinoy Freelancer Ako group on Facebook. I am making good connections here in the Philippines with various companies and from time to time will be able to share some sweet job details!

2 opportunities here with a big company (no names right now ). A great opportunity with some good perks. Contact me directly if interested and I’ll forward your resume along with a good word to the hiring manager. Continue reading →

So you wanna be a web rockstar?

I’m sitting here in my new office in Pasig Co.Lab Xchange, writing up my current client-work on the whiteboard… somehow I went from 2 clients at start of year to 7 within the last week or two… plus my social project and own in-house development work needing doing…

I thought to myself now, it would be great to bring someone young, fresh and full of energy who wants to be baptised by digital fire and learn the best way possible!

So, internship anyone??

Must have:

- laptop
- energy
- motivation
- sense of adventure
- some knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP
- oDesk account
- 4,500 Pesos + travel costs

The pesos are to cover your rental office space here, which is 4,500 for 1 month. You will be reimbursed this amount via oDesk, earning a daily rate enough to cover your office rent and travel expenses for the month (within reasonable amount).

Work hours are from 10am until 8pm, Monday to Friday with me in the office and then I’ll set you “homework tasks” as required if I feel you need to study more on something. You will be learning by working, the best way!

After the first month, if we’re getting along and you are showing some development, this will likely turn into a fulltime paid position.

I can probably accept up to 3 people simultaneously, so anyone up for adventure, let me know, you can start tomorrow!

**Cheap food, same as what I eat, will be provided, as is all you can drink coffee..!