Ashwini Doiphode

I was always interested in journalism but without proper guidance and opportunity, I was not able to pursue it. I did a Bachelor of Management Studies and completed my graduation in 2015. There were still 3 months before my results were out, but I was adamant to have a summer job. With my friends, I started hunting for jobs but luck was not on my side, and despite lots of effort I couldn’t get a job offer. Finally, after daily applying for jobs through portals and attending any job interviews, I was called for, I got a job in a consultancy, PESHR services, with a stipend of 3Kin May 2015. I was elated and wanted to prove myself in my work. After working hard for 3 months as a temporary employee, got promoted to junior recruiter with a salary hike of 2K. I worked hard for a year but with each passing day, I felt I was underpaid and overworked. Finally, I decided to take a step forward and start searching for a better job even when my resignation was denied. After trying very hard, finally got an offer at ITM Group of Institutes with a salary of 10K. I was on cloud nine as I was not expecting such a good raise and a job opportunity in a big organization. All was great at my current company, I learned a lot from my seniors, made many new friends but irregular salaries were making it difficult for me to continue. Eventually, I started looking for a new job with better opportunities. 

 It was during this period when I needed to earn more to support my higher studies and my parents, my mom was approached by one of her friends with a business idea. Let’s call her Mrs. V and she was determined to help me. She kept on calling my mom and telling her how the business helped her to earn a lot and how it fulfilled her dreams. Finally, my mom gave up on her continuous pressure and convinced me to meet her. I was already disappointed with my job and my financial condition, so I decided to give this a try. What harm can it cause me anyway, I thought. As planned my mom and I went to a nearby mall to meet Mrs. V at a café.  We were taken aback when she came with her boss unannounced, we were not prepared for this sudden meeting, but when I look back to that day, I think that was her plan. She took us by surprise and gave us no room to ponder upon the business idea. 

They told us nothing about the actual business but tried their best to give me false hope and vibrant dreams and we were mesmerized by what they told us. Finally, before leaving they told us to get 3 lacs if we wanted to join the business, and the rest details will be shared only after getting money. My mom and I came back home, confused and brainwashed with no idea about the business. After getting continuous calls from her, finally I paid 50K and got enrolled for it. I paid 1.5 lacs more to be a part of the business and only after that I was told that it was a chain business. So now my task was to drag more people into this to continue being a part of it. I was shocked and not ready to do this but then I would have lost the money I gave them. I was told to not discuss it with anyone who is not a part and all my calls were monitored. I was trapped and had no choice but to drag my 3 friends into this. My friends didn’t like the idea of being deceived and started demanding back their money. They even threatened to go to the police and exposing me. I lost my money, my friends, my respect and was shattered with all this. It was really difficult to fight to take a stand against so many people but I had to do that as I was not a fraud. Finally, I fought back and got their money back although I lost mine.

That one meeting changed my life forever as I stopped trusting people and developed a protective coverall around me. I lost the trust and respect of my friends as they believed I did all with proper planning. Finally, with the help of my parents and few friends who were still there, I gained back my confidence and came out of my depression. I left my job at ITM Group of Institutes and took a new one at SciMagma Labs. This helped me to be strong and kick-start my life again. 

Slowly life started running at its own pace and people started treating me with the love and respect I deserved. When I look back at that time, I still feel a shiver down my spine.

Total Work Experience : 6 Years (PESHR Services, ITM Group of institutions , SciMagma Labs, Systenics Solutions , Exela Technologies