I suppose I should have been alerted by the phone number displayed on my screen when I looked to see who was calling me this morning. ***\666\****. Okay, so I'm not one of those fundamentalist knee-jerk Christians who see the devil everywhere, but I am a bit suspicious of some things. The number 666 is one of them. Most people would request another number if offered one that included those infamous digits.
But, hey, I need a job, no problem. so I ignored it. I spoke with a heavily accented woman who told me that Mr. Khadivian had seen my resume on CareerBuilder and wanted to offer me a position at Bankers. I asked if it was selling insurance (I get tons of those offers) and she said that they were an insurance company but I would be a manager. Would I be supervising the sales reps? Never got more than a giggle from her. Well, maybe she's being vague because she really doesn't know. I need a job. So, I make the appointment for tomorrow morning at 10:00. Be early, she says, Mr. Khadiavian is very busy. Fine, I thought. Isn't everybody. But I agreed. I did ask about parking (a major concern here in the Valley). No problem, she tells me, we are in the US Bank building. Great, a parking lot. She agreed to send the details in an email and we ended the call.
I then hit google to check this place out. First it was hard to find any mention of the "main office" in North Hollywood that I would be going to, but I did see that Bankers was a very large nationwide company. With tons of complaints. Oops. Still, I had made the appointment and would follow through with it. Called my husband to let him know. Told my siblings to pray for me.
Then the email arrived. Dress business. Of course. Be Prepared. Naturally. Expect to spend at least 2 hours. Whoops. Interviews do not take that long. Free parking is available on the side streets. On the residential streets? What happened to the parking lot? More web searching. More complaints.
It seems that this wonderful offer is the usual mode of operations for this particular company. What apparently happens is that they call a lot of people, offer them positions to match the skills on their resumes, and the when the masses arrive to the "presentation" they are offered more interviews at which they are convinced to become an independent agent for Bankers.
The old bait and switch. Too bad that there are so many wolves in sheeps' taking advantage of a lousy economy. The good news (and it is the Good News!) is that the Lord's sheep are not as innocent as they appear. A good lesson learned; take nothing in this world at face value.
No wonder so many have trouble accepting Jesus' offer. Eternal life and all I have to do is accept it? I get it for free? (well, Jesus paid for it). He is the only thing that can be taken at face value. The only thing that sounds too good to be true - but is. Jesus gave his life on the cross for you. As we prepare to celebrate Easter, make sure that you have received the best gift of all, not a chocolate bunny, but a risen Savior. Hallelujah!
