THE SWITCH

It was 9 a.m on a Monday morning and Kate was awakened from sleep by the loud creaking noise of the gate.

“That must be Mr Yusuf” she thought.

Mr Yusuf is a co-tenant who is usually the last to leave for work.

She scrambled out of bed, and headed for the bathroom.

***

Kate checked her email for the umpteenth time within the last one hour.

But there were no new messages. She sighed.

She threw the phone to the table and crashed into bed.

In no time, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling, she was lost in thought.

Reminiscing on the day she received the award as one of the best graduating students of her department at the University of Ibadan.

She was jostled back to reality by the beep tone of her phone notification.

Kate awakened her phone from the sleep mode to see what it was.

She saw that a new mail had just arrived.

Her eyes flickered with a ray of hope.

“Is this the long awaited interview invitation she was expecting?”

She couldn’t tell from the email subject so she wasted no time to open it.

When she caught sight of the first two lines. She realized it wasn’t the email she was expecting.

The hope that lit in her eyes vanished as quickly as it came.

Gloom enveloped her heart and by each passing seconds, her heart got heavier.

The heaviness that engulfed her heart was like that of losing a loved one.

A week earlier, she had shared a job advert with her friend Lara.

And they both applied for the job submitting their CVs on a Tuesday.

Lara had called her six days after, on the following Monday, that she received an email to attend an interview and then a call confirming she was successful.

“I can’t take this anymore”, she blurted out grabbing her head in her two hands

She continued her soliloquy with gloom in her voice.

“Why is it that one years after my masters degree, I cannot get a decent job?”

She flashed back to the previous day, at church, when sister Grace shared a testimony with the congregation.

Grace, who just finished NYSC six months ago, narrated how she clinched a job with a multinational.

She said that at the final stage of interview, she beat six other candidates, three of whom were masters degree holders, to get the job.

“Am I doing something wrong?” she muttered.

“Should I seek advice from Grace?”

She shook her head as if it was a bad idea.

Kate graduated from the University three years before Sister Grace and proceeded to do her M.Sc when a job wasn’t forthcoming.

“I cannot stoop so low”, she said under her breath.

“God please show up for me and save me from ridicule. I need a job! Please God! Please!”

It was in this mood, in deep thought, that she dozed off.

***

As if the universe heard her.

She woke up to see a new SMS waiting in her inbox.

It was an interview invitation.

“You are hereby invited to a job interview at Excellent Global Resources on Wednesday, 22nd May, 2019 at Suite 50B, Molly Plaza, Ikeja, Lagos. Your reference code is EGR2807004. For more info, call 08112445678.”

“Is this not those network marketing companies” She thought

She had fallen a victim twice.

She received a similar messages and got there only to find out that it was a network marketing company asking them to make an investment.

“This is what I do not understand.”

“Why is it this stupid guys that always send me invites?”

Why don’t I get response from ‘correct’ companies?

“That is it!”

“ I'm done. I have to talk to Grace.”

***

The next Sunday, she walked up to Grace after the church service.

After the pleasantries, and some contemplation, she voiced out.

“Sister Grace, please, I would like to seek your advice.

“My advice! On what is that?” Kate replied a bit surprised

.

“Yes! It is regarding, my job hunting. I have been trying to get a well paying job for about a year but I never hear from them after applying to a lot of places. I was thinking maybe you can give me some advice.”

The look on Kate’s face said it all. She was fed up with doing her best without getting any result to show for it.

At this point, she no longer cared about her ego. If Grace could help her in any way, she wanted it badly.

There was a brief silence as Grace tried to process what she just heard more because she wasn’t expecting it.

Kate broke the silence “Maybe I am doing something wrong.”

“So sorry to hear that sister Kate, I am sure not too long from now, you will get your desirable job.”

“In the meantime, you can send me your CV so I can share it with my senior friends.”

Kate reached for her bag and brought out a pen and paper. She scribbled on it and handed it to Grace.

“Here is my email”

“Thank you so much sister Grace, I really appreciate this”

***

That evening, Kate wasted no time to send Grace an email and then followed it up with a text message which read,

“Hi Grace, thanks for today. I just sent my CV to your email”

She was a bit anxious at first but then got relieved when she read Grace’s reply via text.

“Sis. Kate, I got your CV via email. I will do a quick review before I forward it to my senior friends. Don’t worry, everything will be alright.”

Kate was excited. “Thanks Grace” she sent in her final reply.

For some reason, her mood had changed since afternoon after she spoke with Grace and she wasn’t even sure why.

She went in the shower, took her bath and got into bed. She began to daydream about finally getting the great job she truly deserved.

***

Exactly 8.30 a.m on Monday morning.

A phone call roused Kate from sleep.

Kate peeped at her phone with sleepy eyes

It was Grace. She sat up quickly, and answered the phone.

“Hello! sister Grace” sounding sleepy

“Hello! And Good Morning Sister Kate,”

“Good morning Grace”

“I wanted to give you some feedback about your CV.”

“Great.”

”Before I went to bed, I took about one hour to review your CV. I made a few edits and noted other areas I wanted to point your attention to.”

“Okay! I am listening”

“Your career profile wasn’t specific. Usually, this is the first thing employers read on a CV and it is the best opportunity to sell yourself in the first six seconds. So a good profile has to provide specifics about your skills, experience and career interest. When we see during the mid week service, we will talk more about this”

“Oh! Thank you so much sis”

“Also, I noted that you need to make your CV achievement focused and skill based. Although you have only six months of experience outside your internship and NYSC work experience, you stand a better chance when you talk about your achievements on your past roles and the transferable skills you have developed.”

“Wow! I guess there is so much to work on then”

“Kind of, but it wouldn't take too much time. Once we see on Wednesday, I can ask some questions and will be able finish up the revamped version to reflect the value you bring to the table.”

“How can I thank you sister Grace?”

“Don’t thank me sis, it is the least I can do”

“So we see on Wednesday then”

“Yes, sister Kate. Wednesday. Bye and have a great day”

As Grace hung up the phone, Kate heaved a sigh of relief and a smile strolled across her face.

As she got out of bed, she wondered why she delayed and did not speak to Grace well before now.

She felt more joy flood her heart at the thought of finally getting a job after all these months.

***

It has been 10 days now since Grace revamped Kate’s CV.

Kate has been aggressively applying to new job openings with the new CV Grace wrote for her.

The new CV looked nothing like her old CV. When Grace sent it to her email, she couldn’t actually believe it was hers. One look at it and she knew why she did not always get any interview invitation. The difference between the two CVs was like comparing Makoko to Banana Island

She flashed back to the meeting they had after the mid week service on Wednesday.

Grace had told her when they met that she learnt to write CVs during her NYSC. She mentioned it was in a Facebook Group, where one CV expert organized a CV clinic. She added that after the training, she also paid for the CV Book and Video trainings the expert offered.

Kate remembered seeing some posts about CV trainings on Facebook and Whatsapp in the last couple of months, but she never took them serious.

“Who would have thought that such trainings were valuable” she thought

She has always taken them for granted.

And look at her, a lot has changed in a few days.

Yesterday morning, she got an interview invitation via email from one of the multinationals she applied to with the new CV. This was why she went out earlier that day to make photocopies of all her credentials in preparation.

Grace had also sent her the phone contact of Ebbie, the CV expert whose resources Grade claimed had helped her. Grace advised Kate to book an interview coaching call. She said it was going to help and Kate had every reason to believe her.

Kate has done as advised. she called and just got off the phone with Ebbie. The 1 hour call was mind-blowing and she felt pumped up for the interview which she has scheduled for the following day.

“How to introduce herself, STAR Technique for answering questions, examples to prove skills, competencies and achievements, questions to ask the panel”

There was so much she learned in preparation for the big day and she was happy she made the decision to pay for the coaching call.

She buried her head back into the notes she had taken. She wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip through her fingers.

***

Kate sat on her bed, staring at the mirror on the wall directly in front of her.

The two weeks wait has felt like forever.

The interview went well or so she thought.

She had used all the tips Ebbie shared with her and ensured she prepared very well for the interview.

It was a panel of 5 interviewers.

“When should I expect to hear from you” she asked after she was asked to take her leave signalling the end of the interview.

“Well, expect to hear from us within one to three weeks” a member of the panel replied.

Today will be the beginning of the third week and she has not stopped praying everyday and hoping she will get a positive feedback.

She closed her eyes and muttered a prayer yet again.

“God, I have done my best. I have sought help where I needed to, and I have also invested in making myself better. After now, I do not know what else to do. Please bless my effort. Let me be the preferred candidate. In Jesus name”

Like clockwork and as if to say, there was a genii in the room waiting to grant her wishes, her phone buzzed before the words ‘Amen’ slipped off her tongue.

She hurriedly checked and it was an email from the company she had interviewed at.

Her heart was racing now and she could hear it.

She shut her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again then tapped her phone to open the email.

“Dear Kate,

“Congratulations! We are delighted to inform you were successful in the interview which held on the 12th of June. Please find attached your offer letter and….”

Kate did not bother to finish reading.

She threw her arms in the air like a champion who just broke a world record and screamed loud enough to be heard two streets away.

And on impulse, her knees gave way and hit the floor as she burst into tears.

“Thank you Jesus. Oh! God, I am grateful. You came through for me.”

After one or two minutes on her knees, Kate got up and spent another minute pacing around her room, and unsettled out of excitement. She picked up her phone from the floor and reread the email. This time, in its entirety.

The offer was great, the pay was huge.

“Me, ?4,200,000 per annum”

“Chukwu oh!, o nso nso m, only me. Chai”

Kate walked to the mirror in her room and began to talk to the other person in the mirror.

“Just 2 months ago, I was only managing a job as a receptionist for a small store with my masters degree with a paltry monthly salary of ?20,000 and I was even owed three months out of the six that I have worked there.

All the job interviews I get invited to were either network marketing or marketing jobs. The new CV written for me and the phone conversation with Ebbie definitely made some difference.”

She finally got herself to sit down.

She reflected on her career journey in the last 6 months.

The hurts, the confusion, the rejections, the day she was offered the ?20,000 job and she had no choice than to take it, the times she thought she knew it all, the time she thought an M.Sc was all she needed to make a difference and when she came to the end of herself before she sought help.

Kate shook her head as if in disbelief

“Thank you Lord for sending an angel my way in the person of sister Grace”

“Thank you Lord for not letting my ego get in the way”

“Thank you for helping me to heed to sound career counsel”

After some minutes in her reflective mood, a big smile crossed her face and she decided to document the lessons that kept ringing in her heart.

She retrieved her journal from the pile of books on the table, flipped it open to a blank page and wrote in it.

“1. Ignorance is a disease. If you do not know something, do not be afraid to ask for help”

“2. Be open to learning: Just because an information is free does not mean it should not be valued” one should be open to learning at every opportunity possible”

“3. Investing in the right training and coaching is important if one would achieve goals faster. ”

Kate looked up, looked back into her journal and nodded in affirmation.

Just like a bulb comes to life when the switch is flickered on, it looked like hers was just triggered and she couldn’t deny the way she felt inside. Light, warmth, and peace all at the same time.

“I am glad I have made the switch from a place of career frustration to a place of fulfillment”

She closed her journal, dropped the pen on its cover, leaned back on the chair and closed her eyes.

T H E E N D

---------------------------------------------------

PS: Are you like Kate? Well, you should be.

At the least, take her advice

I am Ebenezer

Business & Career Coach

#FirstattemptatFictionWriting