Jobseeker’s diary

Once again, I’m late for an interview but this time, through no fault of mine. I sort of just bumped into this one. Good thing is that I always move with my documents – CV, academic certificates and all just in case. Could tell interviews were going on because there were many people carrying big brown envelopes, the signature look of job seekers. Some were excited, perhaps they, like me, thinking this could be it. But others were pensive, as if they already knew their fate. Joining the quickly growing queue, I tried to talk to my fellow job seekers, to calm my nerves but also find out the available positions and what kind of person they were looking for. It’s amazing how quickly people bond in dire situations. I made a couple of friends just waiting in that line. It must have been 45 minutes later when I was called into the interview room. I’m not easily intimidated but this panel of judges left me flustered. For starters, they were all male, about eight and well into their 50s. They were suited up in powerful business suits, some wearing glasses. I smiled but my smile was met with blank stares. Bad start already. There was no chair for me to sit and I didn’t dare ask for one. It felt like I was in a courtroom somewhere standing trial. These people meant business. The hardest part was their style of questioning. Before I could answer a question, another was fired from another member of the panel and it went on like that for a few minutes. If they were testing my multi-tasking skills, I failed miserably. Their accents didn’t make it easy for me to grasp what they were asking. Twice, I asked them to repeat the question and there in, I saw myself losing points. I left that room feeling like a nursery kid going to school for the very first time- when you know nothing about the new environment. Since I’ve not been called yet, I guess that counts as another failed attempt. I need to work on my confidence for future opportunities. Between Tuesday and Thursday, I’ve been to a clinic, secretarial bureau, supermarket and coffee shop, job hunting of course. They all have one response, no jobs at the moment. At the secretarial bureau, an attendant advised me to try one of the recruiting firms. “They help people get jobs,” she had said. Not having much to do for the rest of the week, I decided to try my luck at one of them. With high expectations, I walked into their office and wasted no time stating my need for a job. “Well we don’t have jobs ourselves but we can help you find one. All you have to do is give us two passport photos, your academic certificates and 10,000Rwf. We keep your details in our database and when an opportunity comes up, we contact you,” a gentleman at the enquiries told me. A perfect anti-climax to my high expectations. The person who had told me about this firm hadn’t told me about the money, but even if she had, I couldn’t afford it. Besides, what guarantee was there that after paying up, I would get a job? “None,” I was told. “The best we can do is match you with potential employers according to your skills and qualifications but the rest, is really up to the people looking to hire,” he added. Not an encouraging response but at least he didn’t give me false hopes as some have done in the past when they promise to get you a job but never call back. And when you call, they don’t answer the phone. And so ended my long week. My status still stands as unemployed. To be continued…