A young woman in China claims she was tricked into taking a job at a cosmetic surgery company, only to be pressured by her employer into getting a nose job and charged 25,000 yuan (US$3,500).
The woman, surnamed Chen, accepted a receptionist position at the company on November 21, with a salary of 4,100 (US$560) a month.
During the interview, the hiring staff asked questions about her interest in cosmetic surgery, which Chen initially thought was routine because “it’s a cosmetic surgery company, so these questions didn’t seem strange.”
However, after signing the employment contract, two employees persistently pressured Chen to undergo cosmetic surgery, saying it would boost her career prospects.
Chen would try to push back saying that she had not yet graduated from university and could not afford plastic surgery.
However, when Chen explained her financial constraints, her colleagues continued to pressure her to take out an installment loan.
Eventually, the woman was induced to consult another clinic, where she got a loan of 25,000 yuan for a nose job that she would pay off over the next two years.
“Everything happened so quickly that I didn’t even have a chance to refuse,” he recalls sadly.
However, after returning to work after her recovery, Chen felt inclined to change her employer. Her job duties shifted from receptionist to consultant and her colleagues criticized her professional skills.
“They would say I’m sabotaging potential customers and claim I made them lose money,” Chen said.
At this point, Chen thought her job offer might be a trap, and negative online reviews confirmed her suspicions.
“The company didn’t need a receptionist and I believe the job offer was bait to lure me into taking out a loan for the surgery. After the treatment, they started finding reasons to fire me,” he said.
After resigning on December 10, Chen discovered further discrepancies in her contract. the actual salary was only 3,000 yuan (US$420), not the 4,100 yuan originally promised. For six days of work, he was paid just 690 yuan.
“I wanted to start working young to ease my family’s financial burden, but instead, I ended up with tens of thousands of yuan in debt. The only way out is to earn money and pay it off slowly,” Chen told a local media outlet Fengmian News.
Her story resonated with many online observers.
“This is not hiring employees. it gets customers,” one person said.
Another said: “Companies that cheat students will eventually go under. They have no conscience!’
A third added: “Companies like this should be thoroughly investigated. They hurt people, especially new graduates with no experience. Businesses should not take advantage of students’ innocence.”
