Those memories freshly dancing in my head like it happened yesterday. I had just graduated from the university, and being someone who is a hustler, "an enterprising person" staying at home doing nothing ng wasn't part of the plans. I had no one to call to link me up with a job, so the only option I had was to walk around my street in the morning hours before the scorching sun came shining on me.
I carved out a map of the areas I would visit every day to see if I would find a job that suited my personality. "Not considering that." Who considers personality when the only thing I had in my mind at every moment was the wages that accompanied being employed. Walking on the streets doing my daily routine when I stumbled on a shop that had a signpost outside with the caption "We are hiring".
I stood beside the signpost for a while, reading the qualifications if I possessed any of those things mentioned. To my greatest surprise, I possessed those qualities that are needed in the potential employee. So I took a deep breath to get my confidence level in check before approaching whoever I'd be meeting inside. After a few seconds of declaring myself as the perfect fit for the job, I decided to take a bold step and held the handle of the door and pulled it inside, and the door opened.
I walked in with my heart racing faster than normal; everyone seemed busy and pretty occupied, and I was lost in my thoughts of the particular person to approach when someone tapped me on my shoulder.
"Good morning, ma,," the voice said.
Immediately, I felt a little shocked and turned to see who it was. Behold, it was a beautiful lady dressed in an orange dress.
"Welcome, ma; how may I help you?" The lady asked.
"I'm here because of the signpost I saw outside," I said, pointing toward the signpost that was out of my sight at the moment.
"Ooh okay, do you have your CV here with you?"
"No" I replied.
"Well, we'd need your CV to enable you to be eligible for the job," the lady said as she walked into a door captioned "out of bounds".
I rushed home to my aunty and told her about what the lady I met said and the requirements that were needed. Immediately, my aunt called someone into the preparations of CVs, and I got mine in less than ten minutes.
I wouldn't want to waste much time at home and let someone take my potential job from me, so I hurried back and gave her my CV. Then the lady offered me into the room with that caption and offered me a sit. Where I was sitting, my eyes started doing the job they knew how to do best, going through everything within my sight.
Then she stretched out a form to me, and I held it trying to read its content when she said.
"The form is five thousand naira".
I paused for a while pretending like I didn't hear what she said when she repeated herself again. Immediately, my legs got stuck to the ground, filled with confusion.
"What is the role if I may ask?" I asked with curiosity taking over my whole being.
"You'd be working as a marketer by introducing people to our company, and you'd be given a target to meet every week; when you meet your target, that is where the incentives come into play," she replied.
"Ooh, okay, let me go get the money for the form," I said as I hurried back to meet my aunt and shared the good news with her. After sharing everything with my aunty, the words she uttered were:
"I can smell a rat"
"Where is it coming from?" I asked with curiosity.
"Nobody sells a form of employment to its potential staff; such forms are given out free to people, and besides that is the form that would state the terms of your work description," she said.
At that moment, words failed me; I didn't know the next words to utter as I couldn't stop but reminisce back on those words the lady said one after the other.
"I know the search for a job isn't easy, and certain people have made an avenue to perform fraudulent acts on others, that is the major reason you have to be careful".
"Often, you won't be able to smell the rat because they'd make the offer look so real that you can't resist." She continued.
After a while, news started flying around that a small company was shut down due to the fraudulent acts that were performed. When I heard the full story and the description of the place the organization is located, I realized it was my not-so-good potential organization.
I felt relieved that I'd dodged such a potential bullet; I know often we don't possess that strong sense called "smell," but then there are certain people in our lives that possess that strong sense of smell to protect us from potential pitfalls. It's not all about being smart and savvy; it's also about having smart and savvy people around our corner.
Thanks for reading 🧡