The Yellow Pages job technically was not my first endeavour towards earning a livelihood. On a very small scale, I had also started a small academy for teaching after my FSC in Sector G-8, Islamabad. I also tried to start a magazine, “The Citizen”, around that age. All those failed ventures became part of the journey.

I also worked in a toy shop for a few days after matriculation, but that was a rather depressive experience, as the shop owner was not entrepreneurial enough to teach anything about life ahead—except how to clean the shop in the morning. In any case, it was a hard learning at that age.

The Yellow Pages job at 3A Advertising was for a brief period, around four months, but my boss taught some lifetime lessons. Those were meant to be essential (from his perspective) for a salesperson, but to me they were lessons in mannerism as well, applicable to day-to-day life.

Some of those lessons were about how to knock on a door—if needed! With which finger, rhythm, and tone, and how to avoid inappropriate loudness. He taught it like playing tabla on a table; according to him, a knock shouldn’t be thunder but music to the ears. Another lesson was how to open a door and enter a room (office), how to shake hands, and how to wait for an invitation to get seated.

I remember Mr. Shah was very talkative. I didn’t idealise him much; his style of conversation was a bit imposing, and his eye gestures were not very polite. The lips-to-eyes movements were out of rhythm. I don’t know how much I learned from those facial expressions, but they stayed in my memory.

Some colleagues there, along with the boss, taught me how to wear a necktie—the knot that is hard to unlearn even after decades. I don’t remember much about my colleagues at my first workplace, but one person around forty years old—almost double my age—I do recall, because of one particular concern of his at that time: the unavailability of green tea in the office.

Our boss was very strict about office timings, attire, and morning energy. I remember that the more I was worried about the day’s sales in the morning, the more he was concerned about green tea. His attitude towards work was so relaxed that I always felt envious of his life. He seemed least worried, but everyone has their own story. I never got to hear his, but the “green tea guy” was a nice fellow.

At 3A Advertising, I got introduced to a software called CorelDRAW, which was extensively used for black-and-white ad design. For those unfamiliar with Yellow Pages, it was a business directory carrying business addresses and contact details in alphabetical order, where some businesses placed advertisements near their listings or within specific industry sections.

It was mostly print-based—ads prepared on paper, cards, or film, which were later used in printing. As far as I remember, all ads were black and white.

Since 3A Yellow Pages focused on Islamabad market data, the initial target was the entire Blue Area. Each and every office and shop was meant to be registered, and we were supposed to persuade them to advertise.

Islamabad in 1992—and the Blue Area at that time—was a very happening place, much like today. It felt like the epicentre of the city’s economy, at least to my naïve eyes back then.

Businesses I remember encountering included carpet shops, marble companies’ corporate offices, architectural firms, travel agencies, small hospitals, and teaching academies. One name I can recall is “House of Knowledge”, owned by Mr. Rauf in Super Market.

Since I have named this series as work, career—or what I may call a professional biography—I am trying to skip every possible detail that tilts toward the personal self. Yet I feel our work shapes who we are, and vice versa.

However, during this job, I was also managing some side hustles, one of which was giving home tuitions in various sectors of Islamabad after office hours.

I will also talk about my side hustle; even home tuitions were part of my work journey too.

Last note: I am thankful for the feedback from friends on my last post. I truly appreciate and respectfully feel obliged to those who have read my humble attempt at documenting my career journey.

To be continued..