Award-winning financial literacy influencer Just Ivy Africa recently shared a crucial moment in the early days of her profession that would end up shaping the trajectory of her career.
The content creator whose real name is Ivy Wanjiru Mugo was a sales supervisor at 22, working for a renowned meat production company in the country. Considering her tender age, she was living the dream, with a five-figure salary, and extravagant perks. READ FULL STORY
She was speaking on the Cleaning The Airwaves(CTA) podcast where she recounted how despite having a key leadership role, the job was extremely challenging but took it up for the good pay. It was during the peak of her stint at the organization that a series of lapses in judgement resulting in her losing the job.
“I was making good money, and at this point, a wrong type of boy comes into my life. I remember there was a night we were partying, and I needed to be in the office the next day at 5 a.m. but I was in the club at 4 a.m.
“I made the terrible mistake of leaving the club without letting anybody know and I took the car and I was involved in an accident. It was not a grisly accident, no one was hurt, but it was enough for me to miss work and for my job to say I could not go back,” Ivy recounted.
She stated that she had previously been handed a warning over absconding her job, and hence this second offence would be her last straw.
“I was let go immediately and I deserved it. I was forced to resign,” Ivy admitted. She packed up her desk in tears and looking back, she acknowledged that her mistakes warranted the punishment.
When asked of the lessons she learned at that time, Ivy noted that when starting the job she was oblivious to the impact her sacking would bring to her family, especially because her father’s connections had landed the position
“I embarrassed my dad because it was because of him that I had that opportunity. So when people are able to put you in positions of influence, don’t disappoint those people,” she advised.
The experience also inflicted a major blow to Ivy’s character and she learnt it was paramount to build good working relationships with her colleagues.
“I was dealt a big blow to my character because I said I was going to be a good supervisor, and I wasn’t. I could not go to any of managers and ask them to recommend me. So even when you are young, focus on building a solid character,” she noted.
She also blamed her downfall on her poor personal choices, choosing to be in a detrimental romantic relationship that influenced her negatively.
“I didn’t have any business dating at that age. This man should never have had any influence in my life,” the influencer narrated. She advised young people to be conscious of who they were involving themselves with in their lives.
