Power and influence aren't necessarily bad things, as we all want to acquire them for different purposes. The downside, though, is that it can be intoxicating; that's, it can get to one's head to the point where they use it to their advantage at the expense of others, which isn't ideal or a good way to do things. Through the years and on several occasions in my life, I've been a victim of these, and believe me, it's not a pleasant experience at all because I felt dejected, annoyed, and hungry to possess them. Today, I'll be sharing a few of those experiences with you.
A couple of years ago, while job hunting from pillar to post, I got to an organization where it seems as though finally I'll be getting the job because I'm probably one of the best candidates that applied for the position, but one thing I noticed throughout all the stages of the interview and vetting process is that there is this particular guy who isn't really as good as others, well, I can say this based on the qualifications we saw and how composed he was during the screening, but regardless of these demerits, he seems to be slacking his way through each segment and keeping a close tap on me, and that continues till the final stage, when we ended up being the last two candidates to be screened together via an oral interview.
It happened that during the course of the interview, in which we were asked questions simultaneously, it was as though they obviously wanted to give him the job because they were asking him simple questions such as what year the organization was founded, who's the executive director, and so on, while on the other hand, I was asked what's the name of the gateman of that branch and what's the name of the parents of the chair. I mean, I was just dumfounded, but there's nothing to prove because I felt those were things I ought to have researched before coming, and I felt bad for myself until.
After the interview and seeing how poorly I did in the final stage, I went to use their restroom before leaving, and while inside the restroom, I heard footsteps and then a conversation regarding the just concluded interview. Apparently, it was the other guy and one of the interviewers who were congratulating the guy, telling him to extend his greetings to his parents when he's home, and assuring them that he'll get the job. I didn't even move an inch; I just felt dejected knowing that these guys just wasted my time. Why not give him the job straight away rather than waste my time when they've already made a decision on who to employ for onset? I knew the other guy's parents influence was what got him the job and gave him an edge over me.
Another of such scenarios was during a confrontation with a colleague at my former place of work a few years ago. I was fighting for an allocation of some tools in my department, and so was this other guy too, but the management already said only one department can get the allocation, so I was trying my best to make sure those working in my segment will put in the best effort that'll attract attention to us and make them send me those tools to facilitate our work, and then this other guy who lives the leader of the other segment approaches me to drop our interests in that allocation or else I'll have myself to blame.
I was like, What the heck, it's just factory work and not personal beef? Well, I guess he sees it the other way around because he probably belongs to it. A cult group, he started threatening me and my workers. I guess he extended the threat to the family of my workers to the point where they had no choice but to stand down and as well plead with me to let go of our bid for the allocation because, on a normal basis, we would have won the allocation hands-on because of the turnout of our work.
Well, due to the threat he poses to me and my coworkers, including their families, I had no choice but to stand down and tell the management that we are not interested in the allocation again. The management can't seem to understand why, but I didn't give them a concrete reason. In the end, they won it, and life continues. In the end, it's better we're all safe and not endangered again by his threat alongside his gang members.
Although the guy ended up getting fired when the organization didn't see a concrete result for the investment they made in his department, that's about that. I'm not pleased by either of those experiences, and at a point I even wished I had the same power or influence to get a decent job then or the power to protect myself when the other guy threatened me, but in the end, all of these aren't meant to be used to oppress our fellow man but to be used to help others in a fair race, not bypassing ways to help yourself or loved ones alone.
All photos taken and edited on canva.