Digital Marketing Social Media Communications Profesional

Dear Sir/Ma’am,

I am Gerard Jude la O' Castillo, a Communications professional who has taken on a wide range of roles that comprise writing, editing, public relations, and team and project management.. I am likewise knowledgeable in Digital Marketing, specifically the Content side of the equation. I am very interested in working for your company/organization. However, as you will see from my resume, I have been a Kidney Transplant Recipient since February of 1991. Being so, I am able to lead a normal lifestyle. However, there are still some strict limitations such as taking care not to get in close contact with people suffering from sickness such as fever, cough and even the common cold--some restrictions which may limit the scope of my working conditions (i.e.: being careful of the places I go to in order to avoid catching any unwanted viral or bacterial infection). This is because of the medication I need to take for the transplanted kidney not to be rejected, which in turn, suppresses my Immune System. Despite my condition, I have managed to finish college from the University of Asia and the Pacific in Pasig City with a degree in Political Economy and thus, am used to hard tasks. Moreover, I have more than two decades of work experience (as stated in my Resume) in the field—all of which are done via Remote work setup. In light of the situation, I was wondering if it would be possible to do my work via Remote and utilizing the various communicaton tools available. It would be like I’d be present in the office— albeit virtually..

I would really appreciate it if you would consider my application/request and I can assure you that I would be a valuable asset to your company.

Thank You Very Much God Bless.

Sincerely,

Gerard Jude L. Castillo

(Pls find my CV below)

GERARD JUDE LA O' CASTILLO

Unit 6C Cluster C, McKinley Hill Garden Villas 2,100 Upper McKinley Road, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City 1634 Cell/Viber/Telegram no: +639**-*******

E-mail: ******@*****.***

Skype: live.gerc1022

November 22, 1971 Single

Male

Work Experience

February 2018-Present; Associate Editor: jamesdeakin.ph As Associate Editor, my responsibilities are pretty much the same—monitoring the beat for the latest stories. This time, however, I have more freedom in terms of what to publish as well as making sure that all stories are posted on time. I also have a say in terms of content direction of the site. My role also allows me to utilize the power of Digital Media for getting news and marketing materials out there.

October 2016-January 2018: News Editor: jamesdeakin.ph As News Editor, I am tasked to cover both local and global automotive news beats. Since I need to limit my movements, I am given PRs by my Managing Editor and the different PR and marketing folks of the various car companies, which I then transform into easy-to-read news stories.

February 2015-October 2016: Contributor, Top Gear Philippines As Contributor, I cover the global automotive scene. This involves looking for news and feature stories such as car launches, concept car stories, and other material that are relevant to the market. These are then published on the Top Gear Philippines website, as well as the print version.

June 2011-April 2015: Copywriter/Digital Marketing Content Writer, Magellan Solutions

This role saw me whipping up various type of Content for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firm. These included blogs, infographic content, audio-vusual scripts, whitepapers, and social media blubs. It was in line with its efforts to to promote the Call Center industry to different types of businesses.

May 2011-Present: Copywriter

As a Copywriter, I get to write copy for various collaterals, particularly Press Releases for Real Estate and other advertising and Public Relations companies. These Press Releases, are in turn, distributed to media for re-print or as reference materials for their Real Estate or corresponding sections

December 2009-April 2011: Online Editor/Buyer’s Guide Head, C! Magazine As the Online Editor, it was my responsibility to keep the magazine’s website updated. This essentially involved uploading the latest industry news (writing the news articles based on press releases), article and feature archives and other information that pertains to the magazine, its sister publications and the automotive industry as a whole. Meanwhile, Buyer’s Guide section Head saw me keeping the magazine’s monthly Buyer’s Guide, along with the website’s Online Buyer’s Guide updated with the latest car models and their respective specifications, prices, and variants. Moreover, I likewise wrote for various sections of the magazine on a regular basis and helped out with other editorial requirements for the print version. All this likewise meant maintaining a healthy working relationship with the various auto industry players and stakeholders. September 2005-october 2009: Senior Partner/Owner, Totalsoluzions As the name suggests, I am part-owner of a Multimedia Services Company which essentially provides all types of media resources—print, audio, video, web. As for me, I am basically engaged in Website Design and Development projects. Such projects use the latest technologies such as Javascript, Ajax, PHP/MySQL etc which give more life to your run-of-the-mill website. I am also heavily involved in programming for HTML/CSS, as well as CMS (Content Management Systems) sites. I am likewise the team’s Code Compliance Officer who makes sure that all sites developed meet the latest web standards. Finally, I take care of content editing/writing (copy, treatment scripts for videos, etc) when required.

October 2005-November 2009: Segment Writer, Auto Review As segment writer, I am tasked to come up with 5-7 minute scripts that compare two (2) car models of the same class. The objective of this segment called “Tale of the Specs” is to guide buyers on the various features and specifications of car models they may consider purchasing. I likewise do the scripts for the “Test Drive” segment—based on inputs provided by the tester/s

September 2008-September 2008: Website Editor, Sustainable Development Solutions for Asia and the Pacific (SDSAP)

Just like the APRSCP, the SDSAP is a non-government organization (NGO) involved in advocating environmental concerns, specifically those that deal with sustainable development). And just like my job at APSCP, my tasks at SDSAP involve making design and content updates to the NGO’s website on a regular basis. With the new advances in technology, such skills as CSS, Javascript, XHTML, and the like were needed in order to give visitors a “richer experience” when viewing the site. April 2005-December 2005: Web Content Writer

This project involves providing short informative articles for several websites. The websites contains various topics ranging from Internet Marketing to golf, among others. Again, HTML and other “web skills” such as Wordpress were required. September 2004-January 2006: The Compliance Hub, Partner—Marketing and Client Relations

The company is involved in helping companies obtain environmental compliance by offering services such as standard and customized sticker labels required by law

(especially where toxic and hazardous substances are present), among others. Being in charge of Marketing and Client Relations, I am responsible for sending out advertising and marketing materials as well as as maintaining a healthy relationship with the clients. January 2003-April 2005: Copywriter

As copywriter, I was responsible for writing Press Releases for various ad campaigns of several car care products. These Press Releases were published as syndicated PR material in the lading broadsheets and car magazines. April 2001-September 2008: Asia-Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP), Newsletter/Website Editor The APRSCP is a non-government organization formed by representatives from the different countries of the Asia-Pacific region, with a common goal of promoting Sustainable Consumption and Production (SC&P) practices in the region and around the world. Meanwhile, the Newsletter is published quarterly and features

articles and news features about the organization, its donor members and SC&P and other related topics. As Editor, my job is to: 1) gather, write and edit articles; 2) do the layout; 3) see to it that everything (such as printers, and deadlines) goes smoothly for the issue to come out on time. Moreover, I was likewise tasked to help edit content on the organization’s website. This required knowledge of “web language” such as HTML.

December 2000-March 2005: Cruising Magazine, Regular Contributor,

“Cruising” is a monthly magazine on motoring and travel published by the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. As a regular contributor, I submit articles related to motoring— specifically, about trends in the motoring industry. At present though, I have been asked to compare vehicles (specs and features) and/or highlight a specific vehicle and do a feature on it--such as history or the like.

July 1999-December 2003: Philippine Pollution Prevention Roundtable (P3R) Newsletter- Editor

The P3R Newsletter, which has already come out with six (6) issues, is a quarterly publication of the P3R. Its aim is to inform readers about the organization's activities while at the same time, letting them know about the latest news on the environment and its numerous facets. My role as editor is to: 1) gather, write and edit articles; 2) see to it that everything (such as layout, printers, etc) goes smoothly for the issue to come out on time.

July 1998-March 2001: Events/Projects Marketing

This job involved helping an Environmental Consultant market the various projects, activities and seminars which she was working on together with several other organizations. My task was to help contact and follow-up on the participants from key sectors of society such as government, business, NGO's and the academe, among others. At the same time, I was also tasked with ensuring that such materials as nameplates, name tags and registration lists were ready. Add to this, I also drafted letters and press releases. These seminars/activites/projects include:

October-November 1999: Philippine Pollution Prevention Roundtable Inc's Third National Roundtable

September-October 1999: Asian Development Bank-Regional Environmental Technical Assistance (ADB-RETA) National Kick-Off Workshop on the Promotion of Cleaner Production Policies and Practices in the Philippines

January 1999-April 1999: Business Cooperation Programme- Environmental Management for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's)

December 1998-March 1999: Waste Reduction Assessment Study for United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

July 1998-September 1999: Business Agenda 21- solicited BA21s (environmental strategic plans) from various Industry Associations and invited participants to various Roundtables

November 1998 Bangladesh Project Study Tour- Research and Logistics For this project, my responsibility was to look for accommodations for the air/land transportation and hotels of Senior Officials from the Bangladesh Water Development Board and the Forestry Department who would be going to various sites in Quezon, Cebu and Cavite to study coastal embankment rehabilitation.

April 1995-May 1995 Institute for International and Strategic Studies, University of Asia and the Pacific (Practicum)- Research/Writer

Special Skills

* Has learned the art of using storytelling in Press Release Writing

* Has become knowledgeable with Digital Marketing Content such as SEO articles, blogs, Social Media ads and posts, video, and the like

* Can write Search Engine Optimized articles that can easily be spotted by today’s Search Engines such as GoogleProficient in both English and Filipino

* Good writing skills

* Has experience in public speaking

* Can easily adapt to different kinds of people

Educational Background

June 1990-June 1997: University of Asia and the Pacific, College of Arts and Sciences Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, Major in Political Economics

(November 1990-June 1992): Leave of Absence (LOA)- Kidney Transplant (February 4, 199*-****-****: La Salle Green Hills High

School 1982-1986: La Salle Green Hills

Grade School 1979-1982: Colegio San

Agustin Grade School

Seminars/Activities Attended

December 2, 2003: NESPEMS Seminar on Environmental Management Systems, Discovery Suites, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

June 19, 2001: “Kapihan sa BOI”-Forum on Environment held at the Board of Investments in Makati City

May 18, 2001: BA21 National Convention- this was held in order to signify the close of the BA21 Project, held at the Galleria Suites in Mandaluyong City October 2, 1999: Environtech '99- Talk on "Pollution Prevention through Life Cycle Design", held at SM Megatrade Hall, Mandaluyong City

May 15 1999: "Business Building Seminar" given by Amway Philippines at AFP Theatre, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City

February 1996: UNIV Asia Conference held at Shangri-la Edsa Plaza Hotel- Press Office June 1994: HPAIR Manila '94 held at Shangri-la Hotel, Makati- Student Press/Observer May 1994: Philippine National Transplant Athletic Games (PNTAG) held at PSC Stadium (formerly ULTRA), Pasig City- Features Writer Interests and Hobbies

-Interests include cars, music gadgets (computers, mobile devices, etc), photography and video, radio/tv/film production, graphic design, political, economic and legal issues

-Hobbies include collecting toy cars of various scale sizes, reading, watching television, listening to music, surfing the internet, playing the keyboards, writing and composing poetry, essays and music, talking and being with family and friends

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