BIO: Neivia Justa is a journalist, entrepreneur, speaker, mentor and teacher, founder and leader of JustaCausa, with 30 years of experience as an executive in communication, culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion, in leadership positions at companies such as Timex, Natura, GE, Goodyear, and J&J.
STORY: Neivia turned down an invite to move to Ohio when the company she was working for moved. Afraid of being unemployed, she took the first job offer she got without doing any background research on the company. It turned out to be the most sexist company ever, and she quit after just three months.
LEARNING: Don’t take just any job you get because you’re afraid of being jobless. Always stand up for yourself and what you believe in.
“If you learn to stand out for yourself, you get stronger.”
Neivia Justa
Guest profile
Neivia Justa is a journalist, entrepreneur, speaker, mentor and teacher, founder and leader of JustaCausa, with 30 years of experience as an executive in communication, culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion, in leadership positions at companies such as Timex, Natura, GE, Goodyear, and J&J.
Creator of #líderComNeivia program and the social media movements #ondeestãoasmulheres and #aquiestãoasmulheres, she was the winner of Troféu Mulher Imprensa (Women’s Press Trophy) and Prêmio Aberje in 2017 and, in 2018, was elected one of LinkedIn Brazil Top Voices.
Worst investment ever
In 2015, the company that Neivia was working for relocated its offices from Latin America to Ohio, and she was invited to move there. However, she was not sure she wanted to leave one of the biggest cities in the world and move to a small town. She dilly-dallied with her decision for about six months when her boss insisted it was time to decide.
Neivia decided not to move to Ohio, much to her husband’s disappointment, as he dreamed of living in the US. Her husband was not pleased with her decision and didn’t speak to her for a month.
Now that she decided to stay, it meant that Neivia would be jobless soon. Because she didn’t want to be unemployed, she took the first job that she got. During the job interview, some red flags indicated that this wasn’t a good company to work in, but Neivia hardly paid any attention to them. She simply wanted to get the job, and she did.
The company turned out to be sexist, and the boss was the worst she’s ever worked with. She quit after just three months because she couldn’t stand it.
Lessons learned
- Don’t accept any job that comes along just because you’re afraid to be unemployed.
- Before accepting a job, understand the company’s purpose, talk to people who have worked there or still work there and look at how the leaders behave, think, and treat people.
Andrew’s takeaways
- Stand up for yourself and for what’s right.
Actionable advice
When looking for a job, pay attention to the people working for that company because companies are made by people, and those people build the culture. A healthy culture is created by healthy people who respect others and want to collaborate and serve people.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
Neivia’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to connect and help develop true leaders that love people and who want to assume their responsibility to make our world fairer, more equal, and more sustainable.
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