The last Alawee credit alert vibrated her phone, causing Yetunde to jolt back to reality. She had been wondering about what was next and how she was going to get a decent paying job. She reluctantly looked at the credit alert message and checked her balance. She sighed deeply. Hustling in Naija had only just begun.
Now that NYSC service was over, she had to look for a better job. She couldn’t stay at the Brila FM where she served as they were fully staffed and only used her to get morning Bread and Akara. She had graduated with a second class upper degree in Mass Communications, surely, getting a good job in Lagos couldn’t be that hard.
Yetunde thought about her friends (Sammie, Alero, Tochi, Tobena and Stella), she had met them in NYSC camp and written briefly about them in her diary, during her first time in camp (Read about Yetunde goes to NYSC camp). They all had one thing going on for them but she feared for her future.
“You may go in now.” The receptionist tapped her desk repeatedly. “Hello, lady. I said you can go in now.”
“Oh, thank you” Yetunde stood up from the cushion and entered the meeting room. She two women and a man. They exchanged pleasantries and asked her to sit.
“Welcome,” Adana, clearly in charge of the interview said. “Can we know you?” Yetunde who had no previous work experience, talked about her NYSC and that time she did her IT at Wazobia FM in Delta State. She deliberately left out the part where she ran only errands. She was interviewing for the job of public relations officer and she had a good feeling about this.
“I was looking at your social media page” Adana began, “and I noticed that you only have 300 followers on Instagram and you’re barely active on social media. That makes me wonder, how can you manage the reputation of our clients when you can’t manage yours?”
Yetunde laughs nervously. Who be this witch? “I-I don’t have a reputation, ma.”
“Exactly.” Adana rested both elbows on the large table. Yetunde cringed a bit at her blue eyeshadow. “How can a person without a reputation manage that of others?”
‘Your makeup is too much! Your reputation will be one of the women from ‘Aro meta’. Yetunde wanted to say these things to her, but she stammered instead.
“I- I…”
Adana looked around. “Guys, am I the only one wondering this or is my question too much?”
Yetunde stepped out of the company looking dejected. What happened back there? She had believed the interview would go well but… “Hey!” She jumped as a dark Toyota Rav 4 splashed muddy water on her new cream stilettos. “Take it easy, na!”
The driver stepped out of the car and hurried towards her. “Yetunde? I said it was you!”
Top Flexxzone Picks
- Yetunde Goes To NYSC Camp
- Everyone Has At Least One Of These Coursemates
- How To Ensure That You Are Employable Before Graduation
Yetunde squinted at the slim babe on a black short gown, looking like she was about to walk a runway. “Linda? Hi, Linda!” They embrace each other. She was a coursemate in school but they were only friends in 100l as Yetunde couldn’t keep up with her lifestyle. They silently hated each other and Linda had graduated with a third class.
“So, what are you doing here? Guess what? I am the brand ambassador for a multinational company. So what are you doing now?”
“Oh. I work here.”
Linda eyes the building. “You work at Blue Media Africa?”
“Er-yes”
Linda narrows her eyes, sceptically. “As what?”
“The Public Relations Officer.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really? I was just going up there to meet with them. We’re considering hiring them. Come on, let’s go see your boss.” Eyes Yetunde’s bag. “Isn’t too early to be leaving work?”
Yetunde scrunched her face. “My stomach hurts. I’m on sick leave.”
“Come on, let’s go up together, then I can drive you home. We have a lot of catching up to do. Or is there something you are hiding?”
Yetunde laughed nervously. “Of course not.”
“Good, let’s go.” She grabbed Yetunde’s hand and led her straight back into the company. Yetunde stumbled along wondering how she was going to get out of the lie she had created.
Do you think Yetunde should have never lied from the beginning? If you were Yetunde being led back upstairs, what would you do?
Follow the next episode of ‘Hustling in Naija’ coming up next week!
Leave a Reply