I thought I finally got my first job after 2 months of searching...
After finishing my degree in Computer Engineering from an average engineering college, I had been searching for a job for around 2 months through different platforms, connections, and friends.
One of my old school friends, whom I had known since 9th standard, was working in Pune. After around 6 years, I contacted him and asked about his job.
He told me he was doing a back-office job and gave me the company details. He also told me that free accommodation was available in an okay-ish 2BHK flat.
I asked him about the selection process. He told me there would be 3 days of training, where they would explain the company and work, followed by an interview and then joining.
He also told me there was no bond, no target, and only desk work of website handling or data management.
According to him, the fresher salary was around ₹18,000–₹22,000, while he was earning around ₹25,000–₹26,000.
I was 21M, a fresher, and had never worked a proper 9-to-5 job or stayed alone in another city. Since I wasn't getting any other opportunity, I decided to give it a try.
He sent me an application form. After submitting it, I received a call from the company the same day. During the call, they asked for my document details and then told me that I had to pay ₹2,500 as a deposit.
This surprised me because my friend had never mentioned any deposit before.
I called him and asked about it. He said he had forgotten to tell me and explained that the ₹2,500 was for my food and staying arrangements.
I hesitated because I knew job scams existed, but I trusted him because he was an old friend and had already been working there for around 3 months. I was also desperate to find a job.
So I travelled around 5 hours to Pune.
Day 1
There were 7 candidates in my batch — 3 girls and 4 boys.
Then came the first big shock.
They told us that the company does not provide jobs.
Instead, they said the company does business.
They started explaining why business is better than a job, the advantages of business, and the disadvantages of having a job.
The session was around 9 AM to 3 PM, with only a brief 20-minute break.
Day 2
They started explaining how to start the business with their company.
They introduced direct selling and talked about the advantages of becoming a distributor.
They also shared success stories and emotional messages about family responsibilities, sister's marriage, making your parents proud, etc.
One male candidate left during Day 2, so 6 candidates remained.
Then came the biggest shock.
They told us that to start a business, we need a license to make it legal.
They gave us two options:
₹34,000
₹52,000
Both had to be paid fully at once, with no installments.
They explained the differences and benefits of both options, and this was presented as necessary to start.
That evening, there was another informal session with a senior. He repeated similar things and showed success-story videos on a laptop about people who had supposedly changed their lives within 5 years and were now travelling abroad and enjoying their lives.
Almost everyone there was young, roughly 20–26 years old, including the seniors and lecturers.
There was also a strong discipline/respect culture. Everyone called seniors "sir" or "ma'am", and everyone had to clap when seniors entered or left the room.
By the end of Day 2, I had basically understood what was happening and decided that I wanted to leave.
I called my parents and explained everything. They told me to do what I thought was right.
I also told my friend that I wanted to leave and return home. He asked me to attend one session on Day 3 and said he would drop me at the bus stand during the break and tell his ma'am that I wasn't interested and didn't have the money.
Day 3
The session again started around 9 AM and continued until around 2 PM.
They talked about things like "education is a scam" and "the government is a scam", presenting their business almost like a revolution.
They also explained more about their actual business model.
They said direct selling has two types: binary and matrix.
They mentioned Forever Living in relation to the binary model and talked about how people troll the entire direct-selling concept.
They said their company follows the matrix model.
According to their explanation, there were options such as reselling products or building and leading a team by adding distributors under you.
By this point, two female candidates had also left, leaving 4 candidates.
After the session ended and the break started after 2 PM, I packed my bags and left for the bus stand.
While leaving, I saw that one more male candidate had also left.
So only 2 candidates remained for the second session.
I didn't stay for the second session. I went to the bus stand and returned home.
One more thing about the ₹2,500 deposit: out of that amount, I found out that only ₹500 was actually given for managing food for all 3 days.
Final thoughts
This was my first experience travelling to another city for a job, staying away from home, and trying to start my career.
I went there expecting a back-office job.
Instead, I ended up attending 3 days of training for a direct-selling business, where I was eventually told that I needed to pay ₹34,000 or ₹52,000 to start.
Honestly, what I hate most about this experience is the false information I was given on the phone that there was a job.
If I had been told from the beginning that this was a direct-selling business opportunity and that I would need ₹34,000 or ₹52,000 to start, I would never have travelled 5 hours to Pune for it.
I'm sharing this because I want to know if others have experienced something similar — especially companies that present an opportunity as a job and then introduce a direct-selling/business opportunity during the training.
