After being unemployed I am quite excited to be back working, however I am a bit concerned that it is more for the fact that I have more content for my blog than I am making money again. Well lets face it, with the cedi down and almost out, this is basically an allowance, and Headhunting, recruitment, it is basically telesales. I did telesales somewhere after school, calling people to ask if they want a free vacuum cleaning demonstration, £3per hour and 50p for every demonstration booked. Saturdays and Sundays, I think it was 6 hours a week as I was between 14 & 16. I started out with a friend of mine, she lasted the first weekend, I lasted until the end of the second. I say it once and I say it again, I am really not cut out to call people and ask them to find jobs for my candidates. But I will continue to do so for as long as I last here.

So today, this about the people. They are a very nice bunch of people, there is something about working in a small organization that makes it more homely and there is less backstabbing going on. Apart from the managing director there are 4 ladies, including reception, and a lady that does recruitment for low skilled staff, the rest are guys although I think I have more balls than they do.

I start with the operations manager. I am guessing he is a pastor or a church elder, because every meeting sounds more like a sermon then a run through of the KPI’s. He is very confident when he speaks but ask him a question and you have thrown him off balance. Between 7-7.30 every morning we are supposed to do praise and devotion. I had been coming in at 8 every day because we are training but yesterday I got in and I thought that I had entered Action Chapel rather than my office. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for giving my life to Christ and putting my day in God’s hands, but i am used to a little prayer in the morning alone, not shouting and clapping and walking in circles. Leave that one for Sunday guys, I’m a catholic girl, sit down, stand up, prayer after communion and go home, not used to this and not in the workplace. Can’t see this on a Monday morning at the CPS office but hey I chose to be here.

I don’t think we will clash, but that’s because I can tell he is quite a timid character and doesn’t really like conflict, but sometimes I can see when I make a suggestion he is looking at me like do I not notice he is my senior colleague. But sorry, this is an internationally led company, no yes sir here my friend. My boss is called MD, I am the only person that calls her by her name, it just feels strange calling her that, so I don’t, and I don’t say please at the beginning of every sentence, just where they are normally used in an English sentence. I think that they got that it is because I am not from these parts, because sorry, “no please” does not make grammatical sense so I am not going to say it. I may say “no thank you” if the sentence requires politeness but that’s as far as it goes.

That’s another thing, Ghanaians love a title. When I first walked in the office, I was just another consultant, when the rest of the consultants realized I was here as a Senior Consultant, they became a bit shy. There is one guy here, so sweet, if he doesn’t grow a spine I may inadvertently start bullying him, it’s like whatever I ask, he’s like ok, rather sweet though.

The admin manager, he looks older than I think he actually is, his height and his weight deceive him I think. At first I thought he would be quite a strong character but he is quite a nervous soul and ask him something out of the box he just dithers. Today I asked if I could claim money to buy petrol so I could go and see a client. If I am going to have to do this telemarketing, at least once in a while let me go out and see someone face to face. I normally do better face to face, especially when talking to guys…haha, I didn’t want to take the company car, I have my own, and maybe someone else may need it in my absence so therefore just claim me petrol. He dithered, then he said he would check with “MD”, then he said I could use the company car, and I asked to use my own. Then he paused, and then I said, ok you check and get back to me. Then it was like I must have released him from chains as the way he said ok, it was like, you know when someone tells you to hold your breath then finally they tell you that you can breathe again and that relief when you finally get to breathe…that was him.

Another character is a new recruit. We have been doing the training together, and no offense, but for the life of me, I don’t understand how he got the job. It’s like he just doesn’t get it. For days we have been going through slides, it is pretty basic common sense coupled in with some scripts and forms, very self explanatory. You ask him if he understands, he says yes, but ask him to repeat or if a question is asked in relation to what was said, he either admits or goes off on a very strange tangent. Then I am sitting there thinking what the hell were you listening to.

I think he has been used to selling simple products, if you buy a lot, you get a discount, that kind of thing, because I don’t see him as someone who could effectively convince a company to hire his candidate where there is no vacancy listed, but we shall see. He may be a genius in the real world, but in the hypothetical world, he sucks. We were reading from our fake scripts and yes it is difficult to make it sound conversational, but this was just straight, I am reading from the script and not even going hear what the other person is saying.

The MD herself, she’s a nice person, but doesn’t really lead by example. This week we were told to come in at 8 for training at 9. Monday we started at 11, Tuesday 11, Wednesday not at all, Thursday 2 and looks like another late one again tonight as she still hasn’t called for the training. But it’s her company so what can I say. She says she is leaving for UK later on in the year, her successor, will be her brother, I say no more as I don’t want to be accused of being a hater.

Well that’s the end of week 1, finished my training and next week I will go out an pimp myself out for business. I have asked for some information this morning and as at 5pm I still haven’t got it, so looks like I am going to be working over the weekend..this is what I hate, you ask for something, it doesn’t get done, and so you apply small pressure and they say, this British girl is worrying me…