Mary Ukpong – Insurance Sales Person, Virtual Administrative Assistant

I am Ukpong Mary, a Computer Science graduate (2013) from The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti, Nigeria. Went for my compulsory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) the following year and served at Usi Government College, Usi-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. The NYSC program is a federal government 1-year program that allows graduates to give back to the community (different from your local community) in different capacities depending on your field of studies. I served as a teacher. And if I was told I’d be in sales I’d have confidently denied the possibility of it happening but then, life will always happen and mine did take a turn when in 2016 I ventured into the insurance industry to work as an insurance salesperson. I didn’t think that I’d be in there for long but as someone who is teachable and can easily adjust and comply with the culture and environment of an organisation, I did just that, adjust. And I’ve been working with the company ever since.

Over the years, I have learned and have been able to hone my skills in different capacities. I have garnered knowledge and have gained experiences through customer interactions, developing my communication and customer service skills through building a network and maintaining official relationships with clients. I have also gained experience through the regular meetings I have attended both within the organisation and with clients. And the dynamic nature of humans has allowed me to adapt to the ever-changing ways of managing my clients based on their nature(as I understand it), the relationship I’ve built with them and especially, based on their needs. I have equally learned to adapt to the changes in the industry as it continues to grow.

The hybrid (in-office and remotely) nature of the work allows me to manage my time and plans. It has allowed me to work from home and has given me room to pursue my personal projects. I have worked in many roles and have gained experience performing duties like administrative duties, compliance support, data entry, client onboarding, document preparation, email and calendar management, database management, policy explanation, research, and collaboration with team members, and I must say that the journey has mostly been stress-free and fun even when working from home.

All in all, I’d say that it is important to put in all efforts and be at one’s best while working, making sure to understand the work ethics and goals of the organisation in order to achieve success by being compliant.

I aim to always be a better version of my former self every new day and that is why I value learning and relearning or unlearning, teamwork, asking when unsure, listening and taking note of reviews from co-workers. And I know that in no distant time, I’m sure to be at the peak.

For a copy of Mary’s resume, please click here.