Where it started
I was one of those kids whose parents were consistently told “Don’t worry, one day the Penny will drop.” I always felt a bit different, being left-handed, having to work much harder than my friends at school, achieving worse marks and popping in and out of the modified class as if I was doing the Hokey Pokey, (youngsters – you’ll have to Google two terms from the end of that sentence).
I didn’t expect a university entrance from my Matric results, so after completing my tumultuous twelve years of schooling, I set off to Damelin to gain a Certificate in Business Studies. It was during that year that I fell in love with Corporate Communication.
Also during that year, I found myself surrounded by friends studying to be lawyers or accountants and, having miraculously achieved a university pass, a gentle peer pressure guided me to the University of Johannesburg.
The messy middle
With a degree in Corporate Communication under my belt, I was ready to conquer the world. In other words was completely lost and had no idea of how to actually find my first job. I was lucky enough to be offered an internship at one of the big five banks by a family friend who I will never really know what a huge impact she had on my life. I am 100% convinced that my career would have been vastly different had it not been for this incredible woman giving me the first chunk of experience that launched my career in the financial industry. It’s phenomenal to look back on the milestones that change the course of my life and marvel at the synchronicities.
The early days of work were filled with those awkward work lessons like scanning documents, transferring calls and scheduling meetings in Outlook calendars with scary top executives without making a spelling error, you know those lessons that really make you feel like a total idiot who knows nothing – we’ve all had them.
You may think that I settled into that role and spent years working my way up the corporate ladder however, my husband (then boyfriend) had other plans. He moved to the UK and, listening to my intuition, I followed.
Here’s the funniest story about my arrival in London. I was feeling very proud of myself, I had secured one interview already prior to moving. On the day before the interview, I received a call from the recruiter saying they’d found someone else for the role. I was crushed! I was in a new country, no contacts, back to square one, I thought. Until the next day. The recruiter phoned back (presumably with her tail between her legs) to say “oops, we phoned you by mistake yesterday, the interview is still on”. This story is only funny because I got the job (and no recruiters shall be named and shamed in this blog post).
Being employed in the financial services industry in London in 2008 as the financial crisis hit was fun (note the heavy sarcasm). I held two contract positions over two years before returning home and joining another investment bank in SA.
Once I’d been married for two years, I felt a calling to become an overtired snacks waitress and chauffeur so I had two kids. Then I joined the property industry for a while which taught me some interesting lessons (about Excel), however I felt I wasn’t meant to travel further down that path. Something (probably my intuition again), was coaxing me back to Communication. So, at the beginning of this year, I started my own writing and editing business to get back to the work I love.
Where I’m at now
I’m still not sure if the proverbial Penny has dropped, but I know that a career is a journey. One can never know everything about everything, so being open to learning is a useful trait.
The fundamental lessons that I’ve learnt in my career so far are the following:
- People are the most important part of any role,
- Learning is vital and not easy, so having grit and being willing to adapt is key,
- Your own intuition is the best decision-maker,
- It’s essential to feel valued in your role,
- Leaving your comfort zone is great for personal growth, as long as you’re supported.
Which lessons have you learnt from your career?
If you found this article interesting, you may enjoy my review of Matthew McConaughey’s book called Green Lights which covers the topic of where life takes us.
Such insight. Such perspective.