Let me tell you about the day I felt like both a winner and a joke, all in one breath. It started with a dream so simple: to get a job. Not just any job, but my first job ever. No experience, just vibes and hope. And a CV that said "Hi, I'm trying."
Disgraced me !
So, I applied. I applied to jobs everywhere. I mean everywhere — all around the world, even though I was physically in South Africa. I was desperate, okay? Sometimes you don’t aim local; you aim global and just pray someone clicks your email. But as fate would have it, my email? Yeah… discarded.
I said DISCARDED. Like trash. Like spam mail. Like I was some kind of email virus. And what’s worse? The owner himself told me that. Told me it was his admin worker who did it, just threw my hopes away with one click. That word hit me hard. My chest? Finished. My pride? Collapsed.
But THEN… something happened. Something divine, maybe. Because the owner — the man himself — stumbled upon my discarded email. And he looked at it. Actually looked. I don’t know what changed his mind, but boom, I was called for an interview. A discarded girl, revived!
The day of the interview? Chaos. I had no idea what to wear, how to act, how to breathe. I just wanted to look presentable — no snot in the nose, no crumbs on the shirt, decent enough to not be mistaken for someone who got lost. And funny enough, I did get lost. Classic me. But I met a kind stranger who helped me find the place. Shoutout to that anonymous angel!
I got there 3 HOURS early. That’s not punctual — that’s panic on steroids. When I finally knocked on the door (like someone selling Herbalife), a white man opened it, and my anxiety did a full tap dance in my chest. He was calm, kind, not what I expected.
The interview started and immediately I felt exposed. He asked, "What do you know about me?" and my brain said, “We’re not doing this.” I knew NOTHING. I was blank. I couldn’t even make something up. I just smiled awkwardly, already knowing this was the beginning of the end.
Then he asked about my life. And what did I say? "My life is not that interesting." Imagine. An opportunity to sell myself, and I said my life was mid. I wasn’t lying — I had no experience. But sometimes, you’ve got to romanticize your life just a bit, and I failed at that.
The man tried to make it better by saying, "Life is a gift." That helped… until he asked me what I think I should earn. And this is where I fumbled the bag hard. I said, with my full chest, "R5,000 or more."
Pause. Let me explain. I didn’t mean to be boujee. I wasn’t being greedy. I was just manifesting. But with zero experience? ZERO?! The man laughed — not in a mocking way, but in that way that says, "Sweetheart, no." He said, "With no experience, you cannot expect that." And I said, "Okay, sir." Inside? I was folding like cheap laundry.
The actual pay was R28 per hour. Let that marinate. From five thousand to twenty-eight rand per hour. I was hurt, but still trying to be grateful because the truth is: I needed that job.
Then came the bombshell: over 1,000 people had applied for the position. He was shocked. I was shocked. I was among the chosen few… from a thousand! And I had NO experience. NONE. ZILCH. That was a small win — a little hope nugget.
After the interview, we spoke nicely. He thanked me. I thanked him. And I went home — heavy, but not hopeless.
Now here’s the part where I get wise:
To all the unemployed students, gap year hopefuls, and Grade 8 to 12 dreamers out there — listen. Your parents might say, "Don’t work yet, focus on school," but experience is gold. Without it, doors won’t open easily unless you have connections. Learnerships, apprenticeships, internships — grab them. Even if it's one day of volunteering. Do it.
And PLEASE — don’t be like me. Before your interview, RESEARCH the owner. Know the business. Memorize key facts. If I had just done that, maybe I would’ve walked out with a job offer. Instead, I walked out with a moral lesson and 50kg of humble pie.
So what’s the moral of this messy, beautiful journey? Sometimes being discarded doesn’t mean you’re worthless. Sometimes being overlooked doesn’t mean you're unseen. And sometimes, even the most unqualified person can be noticed. If not for their experience, then maybe for their courage to show up.
And baby, I showed up.
Moral of the Story: Prepare. Show up. Be honest. Be humble. And if life discards you — let it. Just wait for the part where it finds you again.
