This is a real life experience shared with the CLN news desk by an extremely dashing, intelligent and promising young adult with starry eyes and an ambition to fulfill. We have obviously withheld the name but are delighted that the individual concerned has a good opportunity to grow and realise his aspirations to potential.
This is not an uncommon story for youngsters these days. Parents make huge sacrifices to secure their childrens education, in many instances relocating to a city and worse by mortgaging their properties to meet the fees and related expenses. Prevalent amongst many communities – Tulu, Sardars, Parsis, Jains and Marwaris, Sindhis and many more, have Career Guidance Centres in their respective Communities. Some are fortunate to even have a “mentoring” programme. This is where well established organizations like the Kodava Samajas and The Coorg Education Fund – collectively find platforms for career counselling, guidance and mentoring.
Extraordinary young students should be given adequate financial support and in general aptitudes must be assessed to seek job oriented education. Everyone gets an expensive degree these days, but parents and children should seek an outcome based education where a job is in place before the final exams are taken. Skills based education that is more entrepreneurial in nature is a real alternative to supplementing the agricultural income that most of us are privy too. – CLN Newsdesk
I travelled all the way from Coorg for a Job Interview – what happened next left me disappointed and disillusioned.
My day began with mist hanging low over the hills and rain gently tapping against the window. I had just woken up early, thinking about how I wanted my day to look.
After spending my morning at the estate, I was on my way home around noon when my phone rang. It was an unidentified number. Naturally, I was curious.
“Hi Anand, I’m Reethu, HR from XYZ Technologies.”
My mood instantly changed — a mix of nervousness and hope.
“You have been selected for a walk-in interview in Bangalore.”
She asked me to come the next day. Without hesitation, I said “yes”!
Coming from a humble middle-class background, that one call genuinely made my day. I rushed to my parents and, with excitement, told them, “I have an interview tomorrow. I need to reach Bangalore by tonight.”
Before leaving, I called the recruiter again and asked her to share the job description and company details so I could prepare myself properly. She said she would send them by EOD.
I even told her, “I’m travelling all the way from Coorg for this.”
She reassuringly replied – “Okay”.
I packed my bags and started my journey.
Sitting by the window on the bus, I kept imagining how I would present myself, what questions they might ask, what my next corporate chapter could look like and where this opportunity might take me.
For a while, I wasn’t travelling to Bangalore for an interview.
I was travelling towards an exciting dream.
I reached Bangalore late that night and went straight to bed, hoping to wake up early for the day I had been waiting for.
But before leaving for the interview, I decided to check the location once again.
That’s when things started feeling strange.
The address looked suspicious. I checked the company’s website and other available information. To my surprise, the company appeared to be based in Chennai, and I couldn’t independently verify a functioning Bangalore office.
Then I opened the location link.
The pin took me to an area around Brookbond, and the exact location appeared to point towards a jewellery store.
That was the moment I stopped and thought:
“Am I actually walking into a job interview, or am I walking into a trap?”
I started searching further — Reddit, online reviews, company information and other sources. I found discussions from other job seekers describing similar recruitment drives and raising concerns about registration fees, original document collection and further payment demands.
I was lucky.
I hadn’t reached the location yet. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how easily this could have gone wrong.
Sometimes, when we are excited about an opportunity, we don’t stop to question the details.
That is one thing this experience taught me.
So, to every job seeker and working professional looking for a new opportunity, please take a few minutes to verify:
1. Official company-domain email confirmation
2. Exact and verifiable office address
3. Official job description
4. Recruiter’s designation and company identity
5. Confirmation that the recruiter is authorised to conduct the interview
A job search is already emotionally exhausting. When someone gives you hope and you travel hundreds of kilometres believing in that opportunity, finding out that something doesn’t add up can be extremely disturbing.
We are not just travelling for an interview.
We are travelling with hope, time, money and a dream of a better future.
And that hope deserves to be respected.
– Anonymous
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A timely and important cautionary tale. Opportunity can make even sensible people suspend skepticism for a moment. Verify the employer, verify the recruiter, verify the address — before investing your money, documents and, most importantly, *your hope*