33-year-old Ja’Naea Modest was caught in the most awkward of situations when a local news station broadcast footage of her filling out a job application.
That’s because the Champaign, Illinois, resident already has a job: she works for a nonprofit helping people with mental and physical disabilities, according to BuzzFeed News.
Modest explained that though she loves her current job, it simply doesn’t pay enough. So when she heard that a local middle school would be holding a job fair last Friday, she decided to walk over an apply for a position at the school. “I love my job but I’m trying to move so I need some money,” she told BuzzFeed News.
“I finished my shift that morning [and] during my break I hurried and went to change clothes, and went over to the job fair,” she said, attempting to convey how discreet she believed her maneuver to be. She filled out a job application and went back to work.
“I was focused on the application — I did not know [the local news] was there. I had no idea what was going on — I came back, changed my clothes, and did the rest of my shift,” said the part-time DJ.
It wasn’t until later that day that Modest was at a friend’s house and saw herself on the local news, concentrating as she filled out a job application. She said it was her friend’s dad who spotted her on the local CBS station and called her over to show her.
“He jokes a lot … and said, ‘They have a nice picture of you on TV right now!’ And I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ and he said, ‘No, I’m dead serious,’ and he pushes play, and there I am,” she told BuzzFeed News.
“They did a whole story on the job fair and at some point they zoomed in on me doing the application.” She said that at this point, all she could think about was now “it’s the 5:00 news, which means you’re gonna be on the 6:00 news. Then they’re going to put you on the 10:00 news.”
Modest figured she might as well double down on her misfortune, so she shared it to Facebook. “Well, they know now,” she said of her current job finding out she’s been on the hunt for a new one.
Her post quickly went viral as people cracked up at Modest’s misfortune and racked up over 45,000 shares in under four days.
Modest told BuzzFeed News that several people in her office found the situation funny, but that no higher-ups have approached her to discuss the SNAFU. “I’m not trying to see them — I’m avoiding everyone like the plague,” she said, but promises that she’ll come clean if a manager confronts her.
In the meantime, she’s helping coordinate a local shoe drive to collect donations and school supplies for local kids heading into the new school year. And yes, she’ll be DJing.
