When At A Job Interview, She Says: "I Can Do Anything..."

Back in the day, I used to hustle for a television station. Prior to my stint, the only thing I knew about television was picking up the remote and changing channels. I hadn’t been inside a station and probably would never, had it not been for my close friend – Elvis Wavamunno who, offered me a job as a producer on Showtime Magazine. I also had no idea what a producer did, but I figured, since I had watched enough foreign television, it wouldn’t be hard to replicate what they do and adapt it to Uganda. Through luck, or maybe the determination to succeed, Showtime Magazine became a must watch show with the help of Tilly Muwonge and Christopher Eritu.  

Tilly Muwonge Oozed Talent At WBS

In the years I spent there, I never quite grasped how people were hired. Was it because Elvis took risks on people like I, who he thought could deliver? Okay, some had experience and had come from UBC. Others like Godfrey Kivimubi and Ramathan Khan, were exceptionally accomplished in graphics. Some were eloquent and had that TV face while a certain Dan Nankunda, knew everything there was to know about the masts in Kololo. However, there were many who came in without purpose or direction.

I was loitering in reception when she walked in. She wore slick heels that made a ‘click’ sound when she walked. Her clothes were immaculate. The scent about her, was not from a perfume bought in some Kampala boutique, but oozed Duty Free - London, Paris or Dubai. She sparkled and sizing her up and down, she was in my opinion, a woman with more than a degree of purpose about her - ambitious, strong and with direction. She had a conversation with Jane, the receptionist who called me over. It turns out Woman With A Purpose had been sent from Nakawa to be offered a job.

She Was Was Sharply Dressed When She Walked In

Seeing she was very different from many who came looking for jobs, I eagerly waited to hear what her contribution to television would be. What she would improve, what were her ideas and so forth. I envisioned a challenging and stirring meeting/interview that would last for hours-on-end.

When we sat down and I asked her what she knew about television, it was something about watching a show – a Spanish series that had been dubbed into English. Hmm, not what I was expecting. My next question was direct and to the point: “What would you like to do at WBS?” Her answer – for a girl in classy heels, expensive duty free perfume and stylish clothing literally floored the intestines out of me. “I can do anything.”

Woman With A Purpose was not the first person I had interviewed and who gave the “I can do anything” answer. In fact, I always have a great sense of ‘achievement’ when I get given that answer. It’s like I have arrived, I have won the gold medal and I have been made a national hero for I knew how to deal with her.

Without hesitation, I took Woman With A Purpose who by now, had been relegated to Woman Without A Purpose to the 4^th floor and marched her to the broom cupboard. With a smirk about me, I pulled out a mop and told her she would be mopping the corridor at least twice a day. At that, her jaw literally wiped the floor.

She Was Not Amused When I Told Her She Will Be Mopping The Corridors

Looking me up and down with utter contempt, she whipped out a phone, a slick phone that then, only people like Patrick Bitature, Sudhir Ruparelia, Bob Kabonero and a few others could afford and made a call. Minutes later, she hung up, stood legs akimbo, crossed her arms and waited. Then my phone rang. When she saw the: “Oh sh**, oh sh**t, I am so fu**ing screwed” look on my face as I answered, it was now her turn to smirk. And she did.

Taking the call, all I could say was: “Yes chairman, I understand. I am sorry, I will apologize to her and place her in the library.”         

Picture Credits: target.com, ebay.ie, eu.clipdealer.com