They say that the best way to achieve our desired lives is to shoot high and see how far we get. We may think that we lack the skills or experience for a certain job, or be out of someone's league, but putting ourselves out there and giving a shot anyway may produce surprising results.
When Guy Goma went for his interview with the BBC, a leading Broadcasting Corporation known worldwide, he had high hopes. However, never did he expect that he would actually end up on their live broadcast on the spot. The funny thing is neither did they.
No matter where you are in your career today, we all started somewhere. There was a day when we went in for an interview, not sure what to expect and nervously hoping that someone would see our potential and take a chance on us.
Guy Goma was no expectation of the stress of job interviews as he was waiting in the lobby of the BBC for his turn. The possibility of a test run was possible, but you can imagine his confusion when he was called to be the expert interviewee on the show. All of a sudden, the cameras were rolling and questions were being asked, so all Goma could think to do, was to answer them.
You must be wondering how such a recognized professional corporation would make an error like this. Well, it was an honest mistake. Guy was waiting in the main reception area of the BBC Television Centre in London. He had applied for a job as a data support cleanser in the IT department.
In a different area but at the same time, British technology expert, Guy Kewney, was also waiting for an interview; only he was supposed to go on Live television to discuss Apple Computer's court case with the Beatles' record label.
A producer was sent to get Guy Keweny, only having just seen a picture of him five minutes before the interview. Not realizing two people named "Guy" were there that day, he asked Guy Goma, if he was "Guy". Hearing his first name, Goma said yes and was directed to the studio, where the cameras and mic were quickly set up before he was live.
It didn't take long before Guy Goma realized that he was definitely not supposed to be where he was. As soon as he was introduced by interviewer Karen Bowerman as "Internet expert Guy Kewney:, he could be seen struggling to take a breath.
However, he was already on live television, and at that point, there was not much he could do. Not wanting to make a scene, he did his best to answer the questions despite having very limited knowledge about the court case. Thanks to his field, he knew enough about downloading and cyber cafés to give answers that made sense.
Meanwhile, Kewney, was still in the waiting area, consfused to why someone had taken his place on the interview screen.
Here is a transcript of how the interview went:
Karen Bowerman: Well, Guy Kewney is editor of the technology website Newswireless. Hello, good morning to you.
Goma (visibly shocked): Good morning.
KB: Were you surprised by this verdict today?
Goma: I am very surprised to see... this verdict to come on me, because I was not expecting that. When I came, they told me something else and I am coming. "You got an interview," that's all. So a big surprise anyway.
KB: A big surprise, yeah, yes.
Goma: Exactly.
KB: With regards to the cost that's involved, do you think now more people will be downloading online?
Goma: Actually, if you can go everywhere, you're gonna see lot of people downloading through the Internet and the website, everything they want. But I think is much better for development and...eh...to improve people what they want, and to get on the easy way, and so faster the things they looking for.
KB: This does really seem to be the way the music industry's progressing now, that people want to go onto the website and download music.
Goma: Exactly. You can go everywhere on the cyber cafe, and you can take...you can go easy. It is going to be an easy way for everyone to get something through the Internet.
KB: Guy Kewney, thanks very much indeed.
As you watch the interview below, you can see the visible shock on Guy's face and the wheels turning in his head as he panics and tries to figure out how to get out of this situation. Being on live television, he didn't want to look like he had no idea what he was being asked.
Instead, he full-on committed to the experience and went along with the interview. His answers seemed credible enough, and he delivered them with confidence. You can see that he struggled to control his breathing at first, but he was able to use his knowledge about the IT field to still give some sort of insight.
Guy even predicted that more people would begin downloading music online and it would become a faster process. He turned out to be right!
Surprisingly, after going live on air and going through an unconventional interview, Guy didn't even get the job.
Twenty minutes after the television interview, Guy went to his actual intended interview. His job interview only lasted about ten minutes and he wasn't chosen.
As for his TV interview, BBC eventually realized their mistake and recorded an interview with Kewney for later broadcast. However, they never ended up showing it.
Guy Goma may not have gotten the job he wanted but his life definitely changed after that appearance anyway. It was the break he needed. The guy was a Congolese-French business studies graduate. There was speculation that he was in Britain illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa.[
However the truth eventually came out, and it was proven that he had met the requirements to indefinitely live and work in the UK some three years earlier. He was even represented by celebrity publicist Kizzi Nkwocha after his TV appearance. In fact, Guy became well known for the incident which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.
Since Guy Goma and Guy Kewney have also gotten to meet and laugh about the whole thing together.
Guy could have been disappointed that he didn't get that job, but the way his life played out shows that everything truly happens for a reason. Since then, he has appeared on other channels as a joke even once coming on Channel 4 News and jokingly be questioned by the presenter as a Venezuelan citizen, a lawyer and a doctor respectively.
He later appeared in a comedy skit on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2006. Film producer Alison Rosenzweig also started developing a film based on his life in 2006 as he was fascinated by the incident noting: "He's a fun, kind of internationally famous person that I think is an interesting source for movie material."
In 2016, ten years after Goma's appearance, the incident was named one of the BBC's most memorable interview bloopers, and Guy's prediction that more people would be using the Internet to download music and other media was noted!
Guy's life was completely unpredictable. The day he walked in for an interview in the BBC IT department completely changed his life. You never know what opportunities await for you around the corner. Take a quick zodiac reading here to find out what the universe has to say about you right now.
For more personalized information check out this personalized report based on date of birth. Understand your purpose and your potential so that you can take control of your emotions, your life, and your future by clicking HERE.
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