Cntd..
So there I was waiting outside the Interview room..everybody who came out said that the panelists were very chilled out..not bad..I could do with some chillin ;)
Just before me, there was this guy who had been quite aggressive in the GD..wen he came out, he gave a somewhat different report, he said that the panelists had completely grilled him and this, believe me, is something like what they asked him:
Panelist: Do you have a girlfriend?
Guy: No, sir..
Panelist: I don't wonder why, since you don't let the girls talk!!
LOL!! That guy was a not so happy!! Anyway, I was next..so in I went..
The three men asked me to sit down..let me describe them..one was a complete rock-star..he has long hair..wasn't young..but looked like the kinds who loves to have fun..the second was this man from the industry..pretty jovial and kind looking..typical bengali dude..and the third loked a lil strict..
I was asked about my work, and then my career goals..the man from the industry asked me whether I would be able to balance my home and my career..I started to asnwer..but I was interrupted by the Rock-Star dude(henceforth referred to as RS)..below is an extract from the conversation:
RS: Hey, I have noticed that you only ask the girls this question, huh? Why is that man?
Ind-guy(IG): No no, nothing like that..
RS: The previous girl also you asked the same question! And you don't ask the any of the boys this question! Why the bias?
IG: It's like this, I have seen a lot of divorces happening in my company because of women being so career oriented that they do not have enuff time for their families..tat is y..
N so on it went..those guys were chatting with each other bindaas..
The third guy, who looked a lil strict was asking me lotsa techie questions, some of which I could not answer..I would have been able to, had I given it some more thought..but I suppose, I got a lil flustered..
But one of the questions he asked me, got the RS guy to tell him:
RS: Hey, what man, you asking her such questions! How will she know? This was way before her time!! She's too young to know this!! LOL!!
They asked me a lot of general knowledge questions, some of which I could answer and some I could not..they were basically very conversational..they enquired about how I was planning to get back to Pune..how I was planning to fund my MBA..what my CAT score was..etc..
The conversation was just flowing..there was no structure..and I was getting the feeling that something was not quite right, as in, that they were just pulling my leg by being so friendly!! :)
Anyway..so it ended..I did not know what to think..Aldo,they had been very nice..I did not have the feeling that I had done well..There were just a couple of questions that I had answered to my satisfaction, the remaining were, frankly speaking, not upto the mark..for example, when they asked me about the first Nobel Laureate from India, all I could think of was Sir C.V Raman..the answer was Rabindranath Tagore and then they went on to ask me about how many Indians had won the Nobel prize, and Amartya Sen did not come to mind!! There were some more of these things..so all in all, I was not 'firing on all cylinders' that day!!
The day had been quite a series of ups and down..I lived quite a lot in that one day..and like life..it was not all good but one hell of an experience!! :D
P.S: I did not make it to C..probably because of my GD, or the interview, or the fact that my Quant percentile was some 92.xx and I have heard that is less as far as C is concerned..it probably was a combination of all of these..
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Let us continue!!
After Lucknow, it was IIM C...it was on the 13th of March..aldo, I am not superstitous by nature, I do not like the number 13 too much:) Still, that I suppose, was the last thing on mind that day!
The interview was again at 2..at DCC (Dadar Catering College)..I followed my usual routine of waking up at 8, reading newspaper, getting together documents, forms, etc..
I reached the place well in time..and met a few people I knew..
Was called in for the GD..and lo and behold ;) There were 11 people in my group which included three girls..now 11 people is not such a good idea..
N I was a teeny bit nervous coz it was Calcutta!
There were three people on the Panel..two professors and one from the Industry..they came and called out our names..then gave us the GD topic..
It was..'Only the tax-paying population of the country should be allowed to vote'..I quickly jotted down some points..and waited for them to throw the GD open..
I usually do not compose what I will say or how I will say it..I just sort of make a general list of points and then decide to play it by ear..can't say it's the best possible tactic..a lot of people who compose some sort of a cracker opening statement or something will obviously have an edge..but somehow, I can never think of a 'cracker' opening statement! I always bank on good soft skills..a fair amount of knowledge..sans the facts and figures (I have always been terrible at remembering the exact numbers)..and listening skills..
So I was sitting there and waiting for the GD to start, thinking, yeah, it will be cool, we will have a nice discussion, like all the other GDs I have been in..I couldn't have been more wrong!!
The guy signalled for us to start and immediately to my left..the girl sitting shot forth with her opening..she had a nice loud voice..the kind that carries..and she was sounding like she was not gonna take any kinda interruption too well..and she verily demonstrated that..none of the guys could also cut her in..she was just too good, for the time that she spoke..which was not all that much..but I knew she had made a good impression..
The other guys caught on..they jumped into the fray with equal energy..loud voices..vehement opinions..frenzied gestures..et al..
Poor old me just kept trying to break into the GD..but evertime I would open my mouth..someone would start speaking..in the beginning..I refrained from cutting in..as is my policy..which I have already mentioned earlier..after a while, it dawned on me, beta..abhi nahi bola, toh kabhi nahi bol paoge..yeh log aasaani se chupp nahi hone waale :) So I tried to cut in..I tried some 5 times..could manage to cut in some couple of times :D
It was as close to the proverbial 'fish-market' as it could have got ;)
The third girl was extremely soft spoken..she realized very early that she is not going to get a chance to break in, she had probably faced a similar situation before..so she, instead, did a very smart thing..she noted down everything..coz people who do not speak much are usually asked to summarize!
Well, we were all asked to summarize, but it was in ascending order of peoples' talking-time..so she was the first one to be asked to speak..I was the second :) I do not even remember what I reeled off..I should have planned it out better..should have given that thought instead of sitting and getting agitated about not being able to get enough air-time :)
So you see, the GD sucked! :)
But hold your horses, there was more to come!
After the GD got over, we all trooped out and sat and spoke with each other, discussing it and stuff..the interviews started..a couple of people came out and told us that the panel was extremely chilled out and that they were almost conversing with the candidates..
I realized that my turn would come a lot later since I was the 'last but one' person, out of a group of eleven..and that would mean waiting till around 6 o clock..
At around 3:30, I happened to glance at the form of one of the people sitting there and a shiver went down my spine..I saw it stamped..I inquired..did we have to get the form attested? Turns out we did!
O my god!! I had an interview in some time and my form, which was supposed to be attested and stamped by a 'gazetted' officer, was nowhere near being that!
Where would I find a gazetted officer (G.O) at such short notice?
I debated for approximately 10 seconds about whether to come clean in front of the panelists, but then decided against it..already my GD hadnt gone well..I didn't need them to know what a grade 'A' ass I was too! :)
I decided to dig out some G.O from somewhere..there had to be one in Dadar!!
I thanked my lucky starts that my interview was so late and ran out of DCC..I went to one of the nearest paan shops and asked a customer standing there, whether he knew of a G.O somewhere in the locality..he told me about the BMC ward office..
Gleam of hope!! It also struck me that my Junior College - Ruparel was some little distance away and if nothing else worked, I would try getting it signed by my college principal (aldo I had never met him/her in my entire life, did not even know where he/she sat, or whether he would be around that day..but it was an alternative)..
I caught a cab (the situation reminds me of Taxi no 11, coz it was a race against time that I was running and the cab played a pretty important part :D)..so I caught the cab and asked him to take me to the ward office..once I reached there, I went in and inquired from some people about a G.O, any G.O! They told me that there wldnt be any G.Os there and I could perhaps try in some other office nearby..I nevertheless, asked a couple more officers and they told me the same thing..so I took off for the other Samiti office..I don't remember what its name was..but it was on the ground floor of the same building..
So there I went..the lady I asked directed me to another man in the same office..I went flying to that man's cubicle and I was told that he would not be coming in that day! I related my predicament to some people outside his cube and one of the ladies told me to try at the office of the Janshakti Congress Samiti (or something similar) along the road!! She even gave me the name of the G.O there..
I ran out and asked my cabbie to take me a lil further..I jumped out of the cab when I located the office and went in..there was this room where a man was sitting playing with a cat..I asked him about the G.O that the woman had told me about..he turned out to be very helpful..he told me to sit down and calmly informed me that the man in demand had gone home to have lunch!!
O man!! How many more hurdles!! :) On being asked when he would be back, this guy told me that I could go to his house and get my stuff attested!! He lived nearby, apparently! He gave me his home number and I called him up..he asked me to tapko at his house..
So I gathered some seals and left, after taking directions of course..me and my cabbie found the place..I found his apartment and rang the bell..this woman opened..the man in question made an appearance..he was extremely helpful..he took some 10 minutes though getting his pens and seals ready..and I was getting very impatient..but finally, it got done..
I had the all-important ATTESTED interview form with me..I thanked him profusely..he was very nice about it..and left!
To the cabbie: 'Back to DCC!!' :D
I reached back and I cldnt help feeling that I had handled it pretty well:) It was just around 4:30 and I still had some four people to go before me..moreover, I was extremely happy and grateful to all the people who had helped me get it done..
So there I was, outside the interview room, exhausted but very happy, adrenaline rush can do wonders sometimes..
to be contd..
After Lucknow, it was IIM C...it was on the 13th of March..aldo, I am not superstitous by nature, I do not like the number 13 too much:) Still, that I suppose, was the last thing on mind that day!
The interview was again at 2..at DCC (Dadar Catering College)..I followed my usual routine of waking up at 8, reading newspaper, getting together documents, forms, etc..
I reached the place well in time..and met a few people I knew..
Was called in for the GD..and lo and behold ;) There were 11 people in my group which included three girls..now 11 people is not such a good idea..
N I was a teeny bit nervous coz it was Calcutta!
There were three people on the Panel..two professors and one from the Industry..they came and called out our names..then gave us the GD topic..
It was..'Only the tax-paying population of the country should be allowed to vote'..I quickly jotted down some points..and waited for them to throw the GD open..
I usually do not compose what I will say or how I will say it..I just sort of make a general list of points and then decide to play it by ear..can't say it's the best possible tactic..a lot of people who compose some sort of a cracker opening statement or something will obviously have an edge..but somehow, I can never think of a 'cracker' opening statement! I always bank on good soft skills..a fair amount of knowledge..sans the facts and figures (I have always been terrible at remembering the exact numbers)..and listening skills..
So I was sitting there and waiting for the GD to start, thinking, yeah, it will be cool, we will have a nice discussion, like all the other GDs I have been in..I couldn't have been more wrong!!
The guy signalled for us to start and immediately to my left..the girl sitting shot forth with her opening..she had a nice loud voice..the kind that carries..and she was sounding like she was not gonna take any kinda interruption too well..and she verily demonstrated that..none of the guys could also cut her in..she was just too good, for the time that she spoke..which was not all that much..but I knew she had made a good impression..
The other guys caught on..they jumped into the fray with equal energy..loud voices..vehement opinions..frenzied gestures..et al..
Poor old me just kept trying to break into the GD..but evertime I would open my mouth..someone would start speaking..in the beginning..I refrained from cutting in..as is my policy..which I have already mentioned earlier..after a while, it dawned on me, beta..abhi nahi bola, toh kabhi nahi bol paoge..yeh log aasaani se chupp nahi hone waale :) So I tried to cut in..I tried some 5 times..could manage to cut in some couple of times :D
It was as close to the proverbial 'fish-market' as it could have got ;)
The third girl was extremely soft spoken..she realized very early that she is not going to get a chance to break in, she had probably faced a similar situation before..so she, instead, did a very smart thing..she noted down everything..coz people who do not speak much are usually asked to summarize!
Well, we were all asked to summarize, but it was in ascending order of peoples' talking-time..so she was the first one to be asked to speak..I was the second :) I do not even remember what I reeled off..I should have planned it out better..should have given that thought instead of sitting and getting agitated about not being able to get enough air-time :)
So you see, the GD sucked! :)
But hold your horses, there was more to come!
After the GD got over, we all trooped out and sat and spoke with each other, discussing it and stuff..the interviews started..a couple of people came out and told us that the panel was extremely chilled out and that they were almost conversing with the candidates..
I realized that my turn would come a lot later since I was the 'last but one' person, out of a group of eleven..and that would mean waiting till around 6 o clock..
At around 3:30, I happened to glance at the form of one of the people sitting there and a shiver went down my spine..I saw it stamped..I inquired..did we have to get the form attested? Turns out we did!
O my god!! I had an interview in some time and my form, which was supposed to be attested and stamped by a 'gazetted' officer, was nowhere near being that!
Where would I find a gazetted officer (G.O) at such short notice?
I debated for approximately 10 seconds about whether to come clean in front of the panelists, but then decided against it..already my GD hadnt gone well..I didn't need them to know what a grade 'A' ass I was too! :)
I decided to dig out some G.O from somewhere..there had to be one in Dadar!!
I thanked my lucky starts that my interview was so late and ran out of DCC..I went to one of the nearest paan shops and asked a customer standing there, whether he knew of a G.O somewhere in the locality..he told me about the BMC ward office..
Gleam of hope!! It also struck me that my Junior College - Ruparel was some little distance away and if nothing else worked, I would try getting it signed by my college principal (aldo I had never met him/her in my entire life, did not even know where he/she sat, or whether he would be around that day..but it was an alternative)..
I caught a cab (the situation reminds me of Taxi no 11, coz it was a race against time that I was running and the cab played a pretty important part :D)..so I caught the cab and asked him to take me to the ward office..once I reached there, I went in and inquired from some people about a G.O, any G.O! They told me that there wldnt be any G.Os there and I could perhaps try in some other office nearby..I nevertheless, asked a couple more officers and they told me the same thing..so I took off for the other Samiti office..I don't remember what its name was..but it was on the ground floor of the same building..
So there I went..the lady I asked directed me to another man in the same office..I went flying to that man's cubicle and I was told that he would not be coming in that day! I related my predicament to some people outside his cube and one of the ladies told me to try at the office of the Janshakti Congress Samiti (or something similar) along the road!! She even gave me the name of the G.O there..
I ran out and asked my cabbie to take me a lil further..I jumped out of the cab when I located the office and went in..there was this room where a man was sitting playing with a cat..I asked him about the G.O that the woman had told me about..he turned out to be very helpful..he told me to sit down and calmly informed me that the man in demand had gone home to have lunch!!
O man!! How many more hurdles!! :) On being asked when he would be back, this guy told me that I could go to his house and get my stuff attested!! He lived nearby, apparently! He gave me his home number and I called him up..he asked me to tapko at his house..
So I gathered some seals and left, after taking directions of course..me and my cabbie found the place..I found his apartment and rang the bell..this woman opened..the man in question made an appearance..he was extremely helpful..he took some 10 minutes though getting his pens and seals ready..and I was getting very impatient..but finally, it got done..
I had the all-important ATTESTED interview form with me..I thanked him profusely..he was very nice about it..and left!
To the cabbie: 'Back to DCC!!' :D
I reached back and I cldnt help feeling that I had handled it pretty well:) It was just around 4:30 and I still had some four people to go before me..moreover, I was extremely happy and grateful to all the people who had helped me get it done..
So there I was, outside the interview room, exhausted but very happy, adrenaline rush can do wonders sometimes..
THE SUSH AURA
There is something about Sushmita Sen that I really like.
Everytime I come across any of her interviews, I am struck by how well that woman talks! She projects such a 'strong-woman' aura that I am, frankly, very inspired at the end of all my encounters with her..
She lives her life the way she wants to..with supreme confidence and fearlessness..and that is the most desirable quality a woman, or anyone for that matter, can ever have..
Kudos to her..
There is something about Sushmita Sen that I really like.
Everytime I come across any of her interviews, I am struck by how well that woman talks! She projects such a 'strong-woman' aura that I am, frankly, very inspired at the end of all my encounters with her..
She lives her life the way she wants to..with supreme confidence and fearlessness..and that is the most desirable quality a woman, or anyone for that matter, can ever have..
Kudos to her..
Monday, May 22, 2006
HIGHWAY TO HELL!!
We are all in the grip of this whole reservations thing..I recently read an interview that Arjun Singh had with Karan Thapar..and it makes my blood boil.
This guy A.S knows absolutely nothing..he is unaware or so he pretends, of some very basic information, that as HRD Minister, should have been at his fingertips..for example, he does not know the percentage of OBCs in our population..and the worst thing is that he does not care..the one line that he keeps throwing is 'The Parliament is infallible'!
He has no idea what reforms, measures are going to be taken to ensure that the general population does not suffer, all he says is 'There are ways, which are being examined..I am not free to talk about them'!
It is an absolute farce..we all know that India, progress, reforms are the last things on his mind..all the greedy old buzzard wants is power, money and looks like he is going to get away with it..
Even after all the protesting that we did..such a wave of sentiment against this policy..these people get away with it.
He categorically denies that there is any logic in ensuring that the people who have got reservations once, don't pass it on to their children..he out-n-out rejects all the figures that are presented to him..his excuse 'The kind of figures that have been brought out, in my perception, do not reflect the realities. Realities are something much more'..
Makes me think, are we a nation of impotent people?
We are all in the grip of this whole reservations thing..I recently read an interview that Arjun Singh had with Karan Thapar..and it makes my blood boil.
This guy A.S knows absolutely nothing..he is unaware or so he pretends, of some very basic information, that as HRD Minister, should have been at his fingertips..for example, he does not know the percentage of OBCs in our population..and the worst thing is that he does not care..the one line that he keeps throwing is 'The Parliament is infallible'!
He has no idea what reforms, measures are going to be taken to ensure that the general population does not suffer, all he says is 'There are ways, which are being examined..I am not free to talk about them'!
It is an absolute farce..we all know that India, progress, reforms are the last things on his mind..all the greedy old buzzard wants is power, money and looks like he is going to get away with it..
Even after all the protesting that we did..such a wave of sentiment against this policy..these people get away with it.
He categorically denies that there is any logic in ensuring that the people who have got reservations once, don't pass it on to their children..he out-n-out rejects all the figures that are presented to him..his excuse 'The kind of figures that have been brought out, in my perception, do not reflect the realities. Realities are something much more'..
Makes me think, are we a nation of impotent people?
Monday, May 15, 2006
Before I move on to my next tryst, on Public Demand, here is a brief account of my preparation for the interviews:
I will start from when I came to know that I had calls..
I started attending those IMS workshops..there was this person called Raj Iyer there, most of the IMS students will know him..he is an IIM C alumnus and has done a lot of stuff..service, entreprenuership and is currently into counselling B-school aspirants..I am sure there are other things he does/has done that I don't know about..btw, this is not an advertisement for IMS!! :)
So this man along with some other staff, plus the workshop that I have talked about earlier, gave us some fundas about GDs and PIs..very basic stuff..but stuff that was important..
More importantly, these sessions gave us a lot of interaction and hands-on experience of being in GDs and with people that you didn't know..the group was different for every GD, and so, was excellent practice!
As far as reading up goes, I have always been aware of current affairs..I do not think being aware of each and every detail about every bit of news is what is important. Also it is not important to have knowledge like 'GDPs of every country in Asia' or the 'Length, breadth, population, staple diet etc' of every country in India..you get the drift..all this is data, not information, and definitely not knowledge! All this information can be brought to you at the click of a mouse, why do you need managers for it!! :D (Some people are of the opinion, that managers, as they exist today, are wholly unnecessary..but let's hold that for now)!
What one does need is the ability to form opinions about most things that are going on..the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff..N we all know, considering all the news channels that are 'a dime a dozen', that there is A LOT of chaff!!
So I did some intelligent reading up, magazines like Business World, India Today, The Week, The Economic Times, etc..anything of interest that I could find basically..I also did a lot of reading up Online..
A couple of workshops I attended cleared out my fundas of Finance, the Budget (not that I am a pundit now, far from it, but it got me started)..so I then followed up on that..took an interest in the Budget for the first time ever..learnt to actually think and read up on and about stuff like the 'nucleur deal', how it will help us (btw, I think this nucleur deal is just a whole lot of hog-wash..we have better sources of alternative energy, more financially viable and less dangerous, also more freely available..some people are of the same opinion..ull can read up on stuff like the benefits of nucleur energy etc online..an eye-opener')!
I did a lot of introspection..in fact, there was no other choice I had, considering that the forms had such disgusting questions:) Forced me to think about myself with a vengeance like never before!
Engineering subjects! Yeah, I was really apprehensive about this one, I didn't remember anything from those days..me decided to pick up a few subjects, some that I liked and might be asked about, some of my core subjects, etc and do some minimal brushing up..
So I picked up the TVV (Television and Video) textbook (Gulati for all those who earned their stripes as telecom engineers too)..and read the first chapter..I was satisfied with that much..aldo in the interview, they might ask me some stuff that even Gulati might have a tuff time answering;)..I was satisfied that I knew some basic stuff about the subject..they cannot expect me to know more than that after two years after it's been mugged and regurgitated;)
I read a lil bit of OFC..again first chapter and that's where it stopped because I could not locate any other books:) I went through my Final Year project though, such as it was!
So that was it, my preparation for the GDs and PIs..all in all, I can safely say that those were good times!
I will start from when I came to know that I had calls..
I started attending those IMS workshops..there was this person called Raj Iyer there, most of the IMS students will know him..he is an IIM C alumnus and has done a lot of stuff..service, entreprenuership and is currently into counselling B-school aspirants..I am sure there are other things he does/has done that I don't know about..btw, this is not an advertisement for IMS!! :)
So this man along with some other staff, plus the workshop that I have talked about earlier, gave us some fundas about GDs and PIs..very basic stuff..but stuff that was important..
More importantly, these sessions gave us a lot of interaction and hands-on experience of being in GDs and with people that you didn't know..the group was different for every GD, and so, was excellent practice!
As far as reading up goes, I have always been aware of current affairs..I do not think being aware of each and every detail about every bit of news is what is important. Also it is not important to have knowledge like 'GDPs of every country in Asia' or the 'Length, breadth, population, staple diet etc' of every country in India..you get the drift..all this is data, not information, and definitely not knowledge! All this information can be brought to you at the click of a mouse, why do you need managers for it!! :D (Some people are of the opinion, that managers, as they exist today, are wholly unnecessary..but let's hold that for now)!
What one does need is the ability to form opinions about most things that are going on..the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff..N we all know, considering all the news channels that are 'a dime a dozen', that there is A LOT of chaff!!
So I did some intelligent reading up, magazines like Business World, India Today, The Week, The Economic Times, etc..anything of interest that I could find basically..I also did a lot of reading up Online..
A couple of workshops I attended cleared out my fundas of Finance, the Budget (not that I am a pundit now, far from it, but it got me started)..so I then followed up on that..took an interest in the Budget for the first time ever..learnt to actually think and read up on and about stuff like the 'nucleur deal', how it will help us (btw, I think this nucleur deal is just a whole lot of hog-wash..we have better sources of alternative energy, more financially viable and less dangerous, also more freely available..some people are of the same opinion..ull can read up on stuff like the benefits of nucleur energy etc online..an eye-opener')!
I did a lot of introspection..in fact, there was no other choice I had, considering that the forms had such disgusting questions:) Forced me to think about myself with a vengeance like never before!
Engineering subjects! Yeah, I was really apprehensive about this one, I didn't remember anything from those days..me decided to pick up a few subjects, some that I liked and might be asked about, some of my core subjects, etc and do some minimal brushing up..
So I picked up the TVV (Television and Video) textbook (Gulati for all those who earned their stripes as telecom engineers too)..and read the first chapter..I was satisfied with that much..aldo in the interview, they might ask me some stuff that even Gulati might have a tuff time answering;)..I was satisfied that I knew some basic stuff about the subject..they cannot expect me to know more than that after two years after it's been mugged and regurgitated;)
I read a lil bit of OFC..again first chapter and that's where it stopped because I could not locate any other books:) I went through my Final Year project though, such as it was!
So that was it, my preparation for the GDs and PIs..all in all, I can safely say that those were good times!
Friday, May 05, 2006
Time we got on with the interviews..At this rate, I will never finish and my audience (such as it is) will be deprived of my pearls of wisdom ;)
Stop #3: Lucknow!
This was on the 11th of March..again at Dadar Catering College. I arrived there nice and early for the 2 o' clock thing..I met a girl I knew from IMS..it was her first interview, she was kinda nervous..I was as cool as ever..LOL!
There was this other dame from Tata Motors who upon learning that I was working in Infy, proclaimed that the reason so many Infy people get calls is because Infy dsnt give enuff work to us!:) I beg to differ..I think its simple mathematics..there are more of us of this age-group in Infy than other companies..so it stands to reason that more of us get calls..see, simple! :)
I was actually quite relaxed for this interview, it was the afternoon, I had woken up at a comfortable time and read all the newspapers possible and still had lots of time left to just chill..
So anyway, we were called in for the GD..we had some 8-9 people in our group..the panel consisted of one man and one stern-looking woman!
They asked us to first write an essay on the GD topic and then discuss it..sheets were given to us..the topic was 'Peace and Harmony cannot exist without the threat of violence'! Wow! Never really given that any thought!
It took me five seconds to decide which side of the arguement to be on..some stuff like 'No good without evil..they are two sides of the same coin..' etc floated into my head..I got down to write..
The discussion turned out to be great..so many points of view came up! Threat of violence in the context of national harmony, communal tensions, international relations..people brought up instances from history..the world wars, the subsequent cold war..most of us seemed to agree with the fact that 'Peace and harmony could not exist without the threat of non-violence'..there were a few who were trying to argue otherwise..the discussion did get a little loud at some points, but there was this guy who had this extremely pleasant and conciliatory attitude..he always somehow managed to soothen some of the tempers which got a bit ruffled with his sound points and friendly attitude..
My contribution to the GD was strictly ok..I delivered well, my tone was good, people were agreeing with me, I was listening and building up..but I felt that I sorely lacked content..I did not come up with too many innovative interesting points of view:) The 'body language and soft skills' part of it was bang-on..
Anyway..later outide we got talking..the girl from TM and the friendly guy..it turned out the FG had already had a year at Symbi and was looking for a change, we were discussing his answer to the inevitable question 'Why do u want to change'..and he said that aldo the placements at Symbi were excellent, the teaching was not upto the mark and he needed more..good fun, meeting such people..
I was called in for the interview - third methinks..the lady looked extremely strict! I sat down..the man asked me some stuff abt my work..the lady asked me something about the different delivery mechanisms of communication:) I was like on fire! I spoke at length about the different ways in which signals can be communicated and she then asked me about the advs/disadvs..Ha!! I bombarded her with information about signal strength and power and repeatability and bandwidth and what-not..it was pretty clear that she was not following all of it..but it seemd to have taken the wind outta her sails for some time:)
But she had an ace up her sleeve..she told me 'Yes, you know the technology, now tell us about a way in which you will use this technology to change the lives of people, say, the people in the villages of India'! I thought for a second, some recent article I had read swam into my mind..and I started talking about how broadband should be taken to the villages..how teachers should make use of the Internet, how the kids should be taught to use it and how it would also help the craftsmen, the farmers and the labourers, blah blah..she cut me short there with
She: 'Have you ever been to a village?'
Me: 'Not really, but I have been to places almost like..'
Cut short again..
She: 'Do you even know how they live? They do not have water, food, etc..and you say that setting up a computer in each village is going to solve all their problems?'
Me: 'Err..yeah, ur right..'
She: 'Come up with a plan, using your technology, how will you change the lives of these people?'
Me: 'Can I take some time to think?'
She: 'Sure, take as much time as you want.'
I thought very hard for some 10 seconds..then slowly an idea started to form itself..
I started to speak about setting up a system in which the villagers could take their grievances to a body of people who would be responsible for a group of villages, the villagers would contact them for whatever problems they might have, a road, a school, new teachers, more wells, or to provide feedback..basically, to get the whole country wired in this manner so that every village has some accountable body to go to..and their finances, the administration, the communication between them, could all be managed by technology..
Now when I think back, my answer was not extremely revolutionary or anything..but it seemed to go down well..the lady relaxed visibily..from a tigress all out to devour me, she became this cute kittenish thing ;) LOL!
The man, who looked extremely good-natured, told me that such a system had been tried out in Andhra P and had probably succeeded..they both seemed happy with me!! They asked me some other chindi questions which I answered to my satisfaction..
After that, the lady asked me to name the first Prez of India..methinks she didnt expect me to know..coz she looked like she was at a loss for words when I answered correctly!! Then she went on to ask me to name all the presidents of India in the correct order! I did not know..N frankly speaking, I had a feeling that I was already through and they were looking for some closure..
Aside: I strongly believe that an interview never gets over until and unless the interviewee says: 'I DO NOT KNOW'! LOL!!
Thus ended my third interview..I was very happy with this one..I knew somehow that I would get through and I did..
I have always been good at academics..have done moderately well at vivas..but all of that is no big deal..anybody who studies and is moderately intelligent can do it..but these interviews have taught me much more than that..the fact that I can handle questions - answers to which I have never thought of before..that I can keep a cool head and make some sense has instilled a lot of confidence..
I am sure there are many out there who have this kinda confidence already, they have it through their daily interactions with people and with superiors and stuff..not me, my learning curve has been vertical as far as these interviews are concerned :)
Stop #3: Lucknow!
This was on the 11th of March..again at Dadar Catering College. I arrived there nice and early for the 2 o' clock thing..I met a girl I knew from IMS..it was her first interview, she was kinda nervous..I was as cool as ever..LOL!
There was this other dame from Tata Motors who upon learning that I was working in Infy, proclaimed that the reason so many Infy people get calls is because Infy dsnt give enuff work to us!:) I beg to differ..I think its simple mathematics..there are more of us of this age-group in Infy than other companies..so it stands to reason that more of us get calls..see, simple! :)
I was actually quite relaxed for this interview, it was the afternoon, I had woken up at a comfortable time and read all the newspapers possible and still had lots of time left to just chill..
So anyway, we were called in for the GD..we had some 8-9 people in our group..the panel consisted of one man and one stern-looking woman!
They asked us to first write an essay on the GD topic and then discuss it..sheets were given to us..the topic was 'Peace and Harmony cannot exist without the threat of violence'! Wow! Never really given that any thought!
It took me five seconds to decide which side of the arguement to be on..some stuff like 'No good without evil..they are two sides of the same coin..' etc floated into my head..I got down to write..
The discussion turned out to be great..so many points of view came up! Threat of violence in the context of national harmony, communal tensions, international relations..people brought up instances from history..the world wars, the subsequent cold war..most of us seemed to agree with the fact that 'Peace and harmony could not exist without the threat of non-violence'..there were a few who were trying to argue otherwise..the discussion did get a little loud at some points, but there was this guy who had this extremely pleasant and conciliatory attitude..he always somehow managed to soothen some of the tempers which got a bit ruffled with his sound points and friendly attitude..
My contribution to the GD was strictly ok..I delivered well, my tone was good, people were agreeing with me, I was listening and building up..but I felt that I sorely lacked content..I did not come up with too many innovative interesting points of view:) The 'body language and soft skills' part of it was bang-on..
Anyway..later outide we got talking..the girl from TM and the friendly guy..it turned out the FG had already had a year at Symbi and was looking for a change, we were discussing his answer to the inevitable question 'Why do u want to change'..and he said that aldo the placements at Symbi were excellent, the teaching was not upto the mark and he needed more..good fun, meeting such people..
I was called in for the interview - third methinks..the lady looked extremely strict! I sat down..the man asked me some stuff abt my work..the lady asked me something about the different delivery mechanisms of communication:) I was like on fire! I spoke at length about the different ways in which signals can be communicated and she then asked me about the advs/disadvs..Ha!! I bombarded her with information about signal strength and power and repeatability and bandwidth and what-not..it was pretty clear that she was not following all of it..but it seemd to have taken the wind outta her sails for some time:)
But she had an ace up her sleeve..she told me 'Yes, you know the technology, now tell us about a way in which you will use this technology to change the lives of people, say, the people in the villages of India'! I thought for a second, some recent article I had read swam into my mind..and I started talking about how broadband should be taken to the villages..how teachers should make use of the Internet, how the kids should be taught to use it and how it would also help the craftsmen, the farmers and the labourers, blah blah..she cut me short there with
She: 'Have you ever been to a village?'
Me: 'Not really, but I have been to places almost like..'
Cut short again..
She: 'Do you even know how they live? They do not have water, food, etc..and you say that setting up a computer in each village is going to solve all their problems?'
Me: 'Err..yeah, ur right..'
She: 'Come up with a plan, using your technology, how will you change the lives of these people?'
Me: 'Can I take some time to think?'
She: 'Sure, take as much time as you want.'
I thought very hard for some 10 seconds..then slowly an idea started to form itself..
I started to speak about setting up a system in which the villagers could take their grievances to a body of people who would be responsible for a group of villages, the villagers would contact them for whatever problems they might have, a road, a school, new teachers, more wells, or to provide feedback..basically, to get the whole country wired in this manner so that every village has some accountable body to go to..and their finances, the administration, the communication between them, could all be managed by technology..
Now when I think back, my answer was not extremely revolutionary or anything..but it seemed to go down well..the lady relaxed visibily..from a tigress all out to devour me, she became this cute kittenish thing ;) LOL!
The man, who looked extremely good-natured, told me that such a system had been tried out in Andhra P and had probably succeeded..they both seemed happy with me!! They asked me some other chindi questions which I answered to my satisfaction..
After that, the lady asked me to name the first Prez of India..methinks she didnt expect me to know..coz she looked like she was at a loss for words when I answered correctly!! Then she went on to ask me to name all the presidents of India in the correct order! I did not know..N frankly speaking, I had a feeling that I was already through and they were looking for some closure..
Aside: I strongly believe that an interview never gets over until and unless the interviewee says: 'I DO NOT KNOW'! LOL!!
Thus ended my third interview..I was very happy with this one..I knew somehow that I would get through and I did..
I have always been good at academics..have done moderately well at vivas..but all of that is no big deal..anybody who studies and is moderately intelligent can do it..but these interviews have taught me much more than that..the fact that I can handle questions - answers to which I have never thought of before..that I can keep a cool head and make some sense has instilled a lot of confidence..
I am sure there are many out there who have this kinda confidence already, they have it through their daily interactions with people and with superiors and stuff..not me, my learning curve has been vertical as far as these interviews are concerned :)
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