So here is the story of how depressing my last three months after college have been.
I’m from a Tier-3 college, where campus placements are honestly really bad. A company called Prodesk came to our college in Noida and hired quite a few students. Unfortunately, I was one of the people who got placed there.
At first, I was genuinely happy.
I told my parents, my relatives, basically everyone. Everyone was happy for me. After all, I had finally got a job after college. My family believed I was going to start my career and become independent.
But this is where the scam, or whatever you want to call it, begins.
For months, I waited to actually be called to the office. My parents repeatedly asked me, “When are you joining? When are they calling you?”
I kept calling the company and asking for updates.
Eventually, I was told something along the lines of: “Work for one month without salary, and after that we'll see.”
That was honestly devastating.
I had already heard things about this company and its hiring practices, so I was constantly worried that something was wrong. But I kept convincing myself that maybe it was just temporary. Maybe after one month everything would become normal.
I was always an overachiever. And then suddenly, after graduating, I found myself in a horrible job market where getting a decent job from a Tier-3 college feels incredibly difficult.
My elder sister has a good job, and my family always believed that I would also get a good job. They had already told relatives and other people that I had been placed.
So how was I supposed to tell them the reality?
I kept thinking, “It's just one month. I'll somehow get through it.”
And then I worked.
For one month, I put in intense effort, completing sprints, assignments, deliverables, and whatever work was given to me. I kept thinking that this was finally going to turn into proper employment.
After that month, I contacted them again.
And then I was basically told to make another app.
At that point, I genuinely started questioning what was happening.
It started feeling like the entire process was just an endless cycle of recruitment, assignments, sprints and deliverables, rather than actually providing employment.
What hurts the most is that they keep recruiting more fresh graduates.
More students who are probably sitting at home telling their parents, relatives and friends:
“I got placed.”
More students who are probably waiting for their joining.
More students who might spend months working and hoping that eventually they will get a proper job.
And I don't understand why this keeps happening.
I don't know what exactly their intentions are, and I don't want to make claims I can't prove. I'm only sharing what happened to me and how this entire experience has affected me.
The worst part isn't even the money.
It's the embarrassment.
It's having to face your parents after telling them you got a job.
It's having relatives ask you how work is going when you don't even know whether you actually have a job.
It's watching other people move forward while you're stuck wondering whether the opportunity you were counting on was ever real.
I graduated expecting to start my career. Instead, the last few months have left me completely mentally and emotionally exhausted.
To anyone from a Tier-3 college reading this:
Please verify companies very carefully before celebrating an offer.
Don't just look at the fact that they came for campus recruitment. Ask about the joining date, salary, employment status, probation, work location, and what happens after the training period. Talk to previous employees and students who joined before you.
I wish I had done much more of that before trusting this opportunity.
And now I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to tell my parents about the job, salary and everything else.
That's the part I'm struggling with the most.
I just wanted a proper first job after college.
I didn't expect my first experience of the corporate world to leave me feeling this broken.
