placement sentiment-2

hi, to continue from where I had left.
There were 20-odd guys (by guys i mean, only boys, no females at all!)
shortlisted for the interview/s (v didnt know beforehand whether it was just
tech or only a HR).I was made to wait for a marathon 3 hrs in an A/C room (yep,as
if dat was a consolation).In the 3 hrs ,I made a trip to the snackyteria twice.
People on the way probably thought I was done with the I'view.

Later we were informed that, it was just HR, which made it even more
difficult .With two u had a chance of "making up" if at all u got jacked
in one. But here i had just a solitary chance.The candidates who went in came out, well, mostly wid smilin or non-crying faces. The interview time for each candidate just came decreasing all the time like a geometric series. After wat seemed to be an eternity ,my turn came.

I had observed all the previous guys subjecting themselves to ..well.. wat i would call "pre-nterview check-ups" (clearing the parched
throat,adjusting the straight tie,positioning the belt correctly, shuffling and
reshuffling all the contents of the folder,checkin their pant zip..) ,inumerable
times. I dint feel like doin any of those. Maybe I was too eager to rush into the
interview room and finish it off for the sake of my starved tummy, whose growls had
now assumed dangerous proportions or because I was so confidence
personified (or a bit of both maybe!).

There were 3 dudes in the AC filled room. All of them looked pretty
disinterested n exhausted.I identified the extreme 2 as the ppt
dudes. The ol' man was comfortably perched at the left end of the table, facing
me.The "slightly" younger dude was working away furiously on his lap-top. The
man in them middle (middle man)was the one who ,I thought, would ask me the bulk of the questions. And so he did.

Me: (Opening the door), excuse me sir?
All 3 in unision: Yes Yes, come come!!

Me: God evening Sirs (managed yet another broad, 32-bit smile of mine)!
All: Good evening..er.. Vishwanath. Please sit down. Sorry to keep you waitin
for so long!

Me: (smilin)Sir, its ok. Its worth waitin for a company like yours.
I couldnt help marvelling at myself for such an effortless, spontaneous ,
straight-faced,white lie. I mentally gave myself a pat on the back.

Middle man : (lookin disinterested in my comment as he glanced through my
resume ,at least he appeared to do so)
" So, u are from meta . wat type of job do u want?"(Sir , basically an
investment banking profile wont be bad.)

Me: "I am interested in the marketing profile that you offer."

Middle man:(sounding serious) " Actuaaally, we dont have any vacancy or
requirements in that profile.Any other profile?

Me: "Sir, I have given mfg as the next preference."

Middle man: "hmm... Actuallly even that seems to be difficult." (Sheesh..Was
this some kind of an employment exchange office.)

Me: (sounded undaunted): " Sir,anything remotely connected with mfg or meta
would also be interesting."

Ol' man:( His debut in the interview): Tell me abt...(middle man cuts him
off).. obviously the Q was " tell me something about urself?". A Q which many
dread the most and the need behind so many countless personality-development
classes and cramming "know-urself" notes.

I was just about to open my mouth when middle man (obviously feelin left
out) ,asked
" So , u r prepared for any thing our company offers,huh?"

Me: "Yes sir.It would be a very rewarding association, no matter wherever I
work in ur organization" (Jhoot boley Kauva kaatey!)

young man: (finally breaking his mouna-vrat): " You dont mind travellin also?
Because v have a plant comin up in this state X(one of the "relatively new
states" he mentioned)."

Me:"Yes sir, i dont mind it at all.It would be a new learning experience for
me.New place, new people"

young man: " Good.The profile in the new plant is of Y mfg, (then he went about
the
intricacies.. blah blah..given a chnace i would have yawned there itself.)

middle man: " Tell me something about his state X?

This simply wasnt a test of my geography knowledge.There was something more to
it , I realized by the expression on their faces. something said that these
dudes had already made up their minds on their final list and the were just
playing around with me, giving it the semblance of a casual hr interview so dat
I wouldnt return to hostel disappointed. True realization descended " Vishwesh
u r not getting thru, by any stretch of ur imagination. its over." everything
was over. To bad dude!!

Everything after that ..well.. seemed ordinary, even though it was normal Q-A.

Nevertheless,I politley gave them all they wanted on state X.


ol' man (still not satisfied wid the talk, it was already 8pm): Why do u want
this profile ?"

I built up some fundas somehow conecting meta wid the work in the profile. (No
matter wat the situation,the bluffing continued relentlessly.)

more followed on wat would be the ideal material for a car in terms of the
cost,properties etc if they were to make low-budget one.

I dug out my vast meta prowess. suggested a whole lot of new materials. they
appeared satisfies.
But I wasnt getting thru. that was the bottomline.

middle man: : " Do u have any Q's??"
I wasnt in a mood to ask anything . But I asked them about the allied activities of the organization, their dealings, their recent mergers and acquistions if any (displaying the curiosity of a loyal,retail shareholder.)

i shook my head blankly at the answers, couldnt wait to get the hell outta the place asap.

middle man: " thanks a lot. have a nice day"(shook hands)
Me: (smilin) "thank you sirs."

20 minutes of timepass had ended.

I was the penultimate candidate. I felt sorry for the dude after me. He would soon discover y.

my first "kela" of the placement season!


Regards

Vishwesh