How we dealt with sudden job loss

Let’s visualise this: after tirelessly sending your resume to a number of potential employers, you finally get yourself a job.

The trajectory of your career growth looks promising, so you decide to move out from your parents’ house and even go back to school. And then one day, without warning, you are fired.

Sudden job loss is an unfortunate situation that finds most unprepared, plunging them into despair. These five young people talk about the steps they took to bounce back after losing their jobs.

Emily Magori, 28

Entrepreneur and clinical psychologist

It has been three years since Emily, a kindergarten teacher, lost her job. While some people sink into a hole of uncertainty when they lose their jobs, she was happy and relieved when she was sacked.

“When I got the opportunity to work for an affiliate of an international school, I was overjoyed. I was 24 then. Since it was a new school, my colleagues and I had the mandate to come up with the school policies and even design the school uniform. I was so excited about this new job, I even helped source for the curriculum and teaching materials,” she says.

The job turned out to be a disappointment.

“The environment was toxic - the supervisor was disrespectful of us, and would often comment that he did not understand why “some” of us went to the university to study early childhood development. I was the most qualified in the school. At 24, I had just got an admission to study my masters in clinical psychology at United States International University-Africa,” she says.

When the school began to enroll students, Emily would occasionally disagree with the management on how best to handle the pupils.

“For instance, at some point we had only one pupil enrolled for grade one. Some of the staff wanted him put together with grade two, three and four. I was against it as I felt that the child needed special attention, and so I offered to be his teacher,” she says.

When she was offered a promotion to the position of coordinator, she declined it because she could not balance the responsibilities the position came with as  well as her studies.

“Upset with me, the management decided that no employee would be given days off to attend to “personal” matters. I later got fired, without a single warning for failure to take up the responsibility,” she says.

Emily, who now runs a soccer academy for children between three-16 years, as well as offering counselling services, confesses that although she was happy to have left the school after the unfair dismissal, the experience taught her the value of patience and the need to admit  it when one is wrong.

“Looking back, I wouldn’t have engaged in office politics or got too personal with some of my colleagues. I have learnt that it is best to keep the relationship between you and your colleagues as professional as possible because they can relay what you tell them in confidence to your boss, as happened in my case,” she explains.

When she lost her job, she had no source of income, and reflects that she is lucky to have a supportive family because they helped pay for her masters degree and pay her rent and other expenses as she looked for another job.

Getrude Nanzala, 24

Student, volunteer

Three weeks ago, Getrude, 24, lost her job. She had worked for just two months.

“I had been job-hunting since graduating from the University of Nairobi in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts Psychology and Sociology. This was my first job,” she begins.

The job was one of a counselling psychologist in a local NGO that was just starting out, and involved offering counselling and writing articles on mental health.

“The first month went well, but come the second month, a colleague was fired after I overheard the boss complaining to someone on the phone that he couldn’t afford to pay us. I should have seen the red flag for what it was but I chose to ignore it. At the end of my second month in employment, I received an email terminating my services. “I got the email in the morning as I was preparing to leave for work and wondered whether to go back to sleep or respond to the email and seek more clarification. I chose to ignore it.”

She adds,

“When I shared the sad news with my mum, she assured me that I would find another job. As I job hunt, following my mum’s advice, I have enrolled for a masters degree in clinical psychology at the University of Nairobi, which my mum is paying for. I live at home, so I don’t have to worry so much about day to day bills. Currently, I volunteer my services at a local non-profit organisation.

Instead of dwelling on the loss, I have decided to add onto the skills I gained on that job, no matter how brief. I am positive that I will find another.”

Donicious Mokua, 29

Entrepreneur

“I was working as a contractor for a local company when one day, in 2016, I woke up to the news that all contracts had been discontinued. The employer had decided not to renew any contracts and had instead assigned our responsibilities to her employees,” he explains.

He was 27, his firstborn daughter had just joined kindergarten and his wife was pregnant with twins.

Although there had been rumours that their contracts would not be renewed, the news still caught him offguard. “I had worked for this company for more than five years, and at the beginning of every year, there would be rumours that the company was restructuring and letting go of the contractors. When that didn’t happen for three consecutive years, I took my mind off the rumours,” he explains.

Assured that he had a stable job, he invested most of his income and savings on establishing a company, so when his services were discontinued, he had no savings to talk of.

“My wife and I had to make drastic changes to survive, including changing our menu at home. We also could no longer afford to pay rent, and in fact went for many months without paying rent. Thankfully, I had an accommodative landlord who allowed me to pay in small instalments,” he says.

The profit from his business just was not enough to sustain his family, forcing him to take loans from friends and various financial institutions.

“At one point, I even considered taking my family back to the village. It was such a tough period for us.”

The recovery process has been gradual – it has taken him 18 months to get back on his feet. His company, Dorishan Agencies, which offers M-Pesa services and agency banking, has since grown to two branches and employs three people, besides him and his wife. He has also managed to settle almost all his debts.

“When I look back, I am grateful that I lost that job, although it was at a time when I needed it most. The loss gave me the impetus to give my business the focus it needed to grow. Recently, I got into the transport business.”

Drawing from his experience, if you are employed full time, by all means, give your employer the best, but do not neglect yourself while at it.

“Grow your talents and skills or start a side hustle, which will come in handy in case you find yourself with no job,” he advises, adding that he is convinced that everything happens for a reason. “Another great lesson I learnt is that it is important to have genuine friends and a strong support system. Thanks to a couple of friends and support from my family, I was able to remain afloat during that tough period. Their support inspired me to push forward,” he says.

Justine Mokua, 28

Writer

“I was busy writing an article which I was due to submit for publishing when an email from my editor popped up on my screen. It took me a couple of seconds for it to sink in that I no longer had a job. I had been fired. Through an email,” recounts Justine.

This email came early last year. Since September 2015, Justine had been a columnist with one of the local media houses, submitting an article on a weekly basis.

Even though he didn’t have a contract with this organisation, he had an arrangement with the editor and was certain of the longevity of his column.

“The editor would often comment that my work was impressive, encouraged, I would ensure that I submit well-polished articles. I considered it my full-time job,” says Justine, whose writing gig earned him around Sh35,000 every month.

The 26-year-old graduate of Karatina University confesses that the job loss affected him so much, that for the next six months, he was totally disorientated.

“I kept replaying the words on that email on my mind, wondering why the editor didn’t tell me that I was about to be axed. While still at university, I had let many opportunities go because I was committed to growing myself as a writer. When the writing opportunity came by therefore, I dropped everything.”

Fortunately for him, when his column was discontinued, he was living with a cousin, who was hosting him, so he did not have to worry about rent. The loss affected him so much, all he did for some time was sleep, eat and watch movies. “I didn’t know the person I had become anymore, and although my cousin let me be, I finally decided to move out – he had a family, and I knew that I was inconveniencing him.”

“A friend lent me Sh5,000 - I used Sh3,500 to pay a month’s rent and Sh1,500 to buy a mattress and a basin for bathing. I had no utensils. Fortunately, I had a duvet to cover myself with, as well as a laptop,” he says.

Through another friend’s help, he sought counselling after realising that he was unable to move on. “Have you ever woken up one morning and become afraid of the person you had become?” he poses.

The counselling helped and motivated him to start looking for jobs. Although he is still looking for writing opportunities, he is grateful for the progress he has made so far.

“At the moment, I offer brokerage services for electronic items and land. I am also busy building my blog, mzangila.com. Once in a while, I ghostwrite, and occasionally, I train enthusiastic writers for a small fee.”

“Some of the lessons I have picked from my experience is not to jump at opportunities that offer momentary satisfaction. There is also a need to have a long-term plan and to save for a rainy day. If you are still in school, network, because your contacts will form the foundation for your career growth - this is one of the things I wish I had done.”

Elizabeth Anyango, 28

Entrepreneur

The events that led to Elizabeth Anyango, 28, being fired from her job last year are still fresh in her mind. “Each time I recollect what happened, I heave a deep sigh. It’s still unbelievable,” she says. Elizabeth was working as a supervisor for a company that offers money transfer services. She supervised 20 cashiers and enjoyed her job.

“I studied mass communication at Kenya Institute of Mass Communication and completed my studies in 2012. Before getting this job, I had worked for various companies on short contracts. The new job therefore offered me stability and provided me an opportunity to grow and develop people management and public relations skills, areas I was keen on,” she explains.

After six months on the job, the reconciliation officer complained that one of her cashiers was making losses almost on a daily basis, a contrast from the cashier’s records, which were well-balanced. The policy of the company was that if one made a loss, the money would get deducted from their salary.

“I requested the cashier to accompamy me to the head office, where the reconciliation office was based. On our way there, the cashier kept saying that she didn’t want to lose her job. I wondered why she feared losing her job if she was as honest as she said she was.”

For the six months Elizabeth had worked there, she had never met her boss since she reported to the operations manager. When they got there, she was shocked when it became apparent that the operations manager had already taken sides and was not interested in their side of the story. “The following day, I was called back to the head office and handed a dismissal letter on grounds that I was fighting for my staff instead of the company’s interest. The cashier was also fired,” she says.

Being the firstborn, her family partly depended on her, and so she had to think fast.

“I moved out of the house I was living in and rented a cheaper house and got a roommate. This friend would pay the rent while I bought the food and paid for other monthly bills.” Out of the Sh35,000 she had saved, she spent Sh6,000 on a month’s rent, withdrew Sh5,000, went to Gikomba Market and bought a number of women’s blouses, which she resold at a profit.

“I let former employers know that I was looking for a job, and occasionally, one of them would contract me to carry out various administrative tasks.”

“The challenges I went through when I lost my job taught me not to be picky when it came to jobs and to always give my best.”

“Currently, I have an M-Pesa outlet and have employed someone to run it as I focus on other businesses. I sell various items such as handbags. I want to raise capital for another business I wish to venture into. I have learnt that it is important to have an alternative plan because you can lose your job at the snap of a finger.