25th March
The Grass is always greener on the other side, well it sure couldn’t have been more worse than the one I was dwelling on. It was brown. It wasn’t always that way though. When I started out, it was as green as a person with envy. But post 7-8 months and a severe battering of aspirations meted out through consistent rejections, the sheen of my green side seems to have worn off. Now I’m turning a new leaf – the leaf of Work Experience. The one step in my ladder I skipped while I was dwelling with my previous leaf i.e., an MBA degree.
It’s always been exciting, you know, turning a new leaf. It gives you this sense of unexpectedness, anticipation and something that is most typical of me – pipe dreams of reaching the highest echelons of what the new venture has to possibly offer. I feel like a traveller at the start of his journey dreaming and visualising the different lands he’s going to visit, contemplating on the various challenges he’s going to face and feeling an uneasy restlessness to start out right away. I’ve never worked in my life, never felt the joy of the first self earned rupee (well I have won bets and have been particularly lucky at gambling but this is something different). And to think that my first job would be doing something I’ve been doing since primary school makes this leaf I’ve turned to even greener. Writing, it’s something I’ve done all my life. When I’ve felt alone (I was the only child of my parents), when I’ve fallen for a girl, when I’ve been dejected, nostalgic, or plain lazy. It’s always been my ticket away from the big bad world, a place where I contemplate and rejuvenate myself. It’s my dope alright.
I’m celebrating today. A quiet recognition to a new phase in my life. A celebration for lost causes and new horizons, the beginning of a new chapter. I’ve gotten over the disappointment of not getting a Management seat in any of the prestigious B-Schools of India. Gotten over the disappointment but not the dream. I’m going back much wiser and stronger than I was. Seeing success from such close quarters I now know even more about what is required to get to that next level. My dreams are the same, but it just seems like I need to make a few important pit stops before I get to where I’m headed. And work experience is definitely one of them. And what better way to start from, than writing – creative writing.
Aki…
Species: Homo sapiens
Class: Copius Writerous
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
GOA (GIM), THE NEXT BEST THING…
Venue: St.Xavier’s College, Kolkata
Date: 5th March ‘08
Time: 8:45 A.M.
My time was 8:45 A.M. so I left around 7:50 because the venue was St.Xaviers College which doesn’t take very long to reach. Although, I just about got there in time. There were 16 people in our batch and all of us were taken to a classroom (which was to be our makeshift GT, Group Task, room and also Interview room). Things got rolling with the attendance and I don’t know if its with everyone or not but I always have this strange feeling of ‘what if my name doesn’t get called’ or ‘I’m not on the list’ in these situations. My name was called out on the 12th call. A quick guess/calculation meant that I’d be on the second group. There were two persons conducting the whole process and due to shortage of time and personnel, they weren’t checking our certificates which was absolutely fine with me (the Amrita experience still fresh on my mind). Attendance was followed by a short interactive session about GIM and we were allowed to pose questions. I really don’t know if this is a universal rule or not but, there’s always a really smart prick in my groups. Well this genius was asking about the placement companies and consultant offers and also what kind of a job profile they’d be offering. I’m sure the faculty, at the process, wanted to tell him that he should be worried about more imminent things at the moment, such as converting his call before he thinks of judging the positions offered (at least that was what I thought). And yeah, he was in my group.
The Group Task consisted of a case study where we were supposed to discuss the case and at the end of the discussion, each one of us would have to give a concluding statement. Then we were to jot down a few lines on the Group Task itself. Personally I had quite a good experience, I credit myself of giving the group a direction initially and then added some innovative points to the discussion. The concluding statement too went by satisfactorily (contrary to my apprehensions). The case was about one Meera’s MNC firm having to choose from two suppliers for high-end hardware products. The choice was basically between a local efficient firm and a well established hot-shot. After the Group Task’s, we were called in one by one for the interview. My no. was 12 and considering that on an average an interview lasted for 12-15 minutes, I waited nervously for near about 3 hrs (not very enjoyable).
THE INTERVIEW…
Panel 1: An HR lady, 40 something, very smart.(P1)
Panel 2: A finance professor, 30 something, male.(P2)
Me: Scapegoat (M)
P2: (Ushers me to come in through the door glass)
M: (Enter in and greet both of them.)
P2: Take a seat and introduce yourself to us.
M: (Caught a bit unawares by the immediate question) Told my name, about my place back home, my parents and my graduation in Kolkata.
P1: Where have you graduated from?
M: (Proudly) Jadavpur University.
P1: What is special about Jadavpur University?
M: Treats us like adults, everyone is different and has a distinct character- a vibrant environment. (something along those lines)
P1: Oh, you graduated in Philosophy? (Smelling Blood)
M: (There we go again) Yes Ma’am.
P2: (Pouncing on me like a Bengal tiger, sir was a bengali) What is sattva Philosophy or Existentialism?
M: (Oh Sweet Mary Jesus…!) …………Umm……Sir, I can’t seem to remember it that well sir.
P2: Haven’t you done it?
M: I do remember coming across it but, I’m sorry I seem to have forgotten it.
P1: What exactly did you learn in Philosophy?
M: Indian and Western Philosophy, Logic, Psychology…
P2: What all from Indian Philosophy?
M: Carvaka, Nyaya, Jaina, Nyaya, Baudha…
P2: Tell me about Carvaka Philosophy?
M: (Grinning) Told them how it was a materialist Philosophy and taught about experiencing maximum pleasure in this life as it was not certain whether we’d have another life. Told that they didn’t believe in gaining valid knowledge from Inference. (Here I asked them whether they’d like me to elaborate more on what inference was).
P1: Yes, go ahead.
M: (They took the bait)…I elaborated on what was my favourite topic and they were visibly amused at the smoke on the hill theory.
P1: So what do the Carvaka’s think of when they see smoke on the Hill?
M: (What kind of a question is that…) Umm… they don’t believe in what they don’t see so as long as they don’t see the fire they wont believe it fully.
P1: Tell me about some other Philosopher.
M: (Seizing the opportunity)…Full Gyan on Descartes and his ‘I Think Therefore I Exist’ concept.
P1 & P2 (Even more amused)
M: (Feeling Good)
P1: Ok so how would Descartes react to the ‘smoke on the hill’?
M: (Now I was regretting bringing in Smoke and Fire concept…she’s really got a thing for it)…Umm Descartes being a rationalist, I think he would reason out that there was a relation between smoke and fire and apply it here.
P1 (Appears to be satisfied)
P1: So Philosophy and MBA are two different things. Can you explain that to me?
M: (For a moment I was beginning to think they weren’t gonna ask me that question…that obvious question) Some more talk on how Philosophy changed my perspective in life and I came to know more about myself etc.
P1: What did you know about yourself?
M: That I always wanted to be in control of things and was always looking to manage things. (Which was the truth…in a way at least.)
P1: Give us an example?
M: Ma’am I don’t know how much it applies here but in my flat I was always trying to manage things be it dealing with the land lord, broker, grocery store or even allocating chores (which can be a cause of altercation). More example’s of how I was the cricket captain and was always working out strategies and batting orders based on the different skills.
P2: So why do you need a management degree?
M: To learn more and have more knowledge (something like that…I realized later that I could have answered this much better)
P2: How can Philosophy be applied to Management?
M: Say that it can be applied to anything in life. Give examples of cause and effect and link it with a business scenario.
P1: Give me all the causes that resulted in your poor Graduation scores?
M: (Feeling like a fool, like someone shot me in the head with my own bullet) Gave lame excuses and showed them my improvement in the last year.
P1: Ok, would you like to ask us anything?
M: I’d like to know about a normal day in GIM for a student.
P1: Blah…Blah…Blah…for a long time.
M: (Regretting having asked that question)
P1: Anything else.
M: The Project that you said we could do during the 2nd year. Is it something different from the summer intern-ship.
P1: Yes it is. Blah…Blah.
P1 & P2: Thank you.
M: Thank you Sir, Ma’am.
So there it was. I have mixed feelings about his one. Group Task went by fine. The interview was, well there was nothing that should dishearten me. In fact I gave full knowledge on Philosophy apart from the first question, and no question on my Mathematical void. Optimistic on this one…it’s my last hope now. It well and truly is.
Date: 5th March ‘08
Time: 8:45 A.M.
My time was 8:45 A.M. so I left around 7:50 because the venue was St.Xaviers College which doesn’t take very long to reach. Although, I just about got there in time. There were 16 people in our batch and all of us were taken to a classroom (which was to be our makeshift GT, Group Task, room and also Interview room). Things got rolling with the attendance and I don’t know if its with everyone or not but I always have this strange feeling of ‘what if my name doesn’t get called’ or ‘I’m not on the list’ in these situations. My name was called out on the 12th call. A quick guess/calculation meant that I’d be on the second group. There were two persons conducting the whole process and due to shortage of time and personnel, they weren’t checking our certificates which was absolutely fine with me (the Amrita experience still fresh on my mind). Attendance was followed by a short interactive session about GIM and we were allowed to pose questions. I really don’t know if this is a universal rule or not but, there’s always a really smart prick in my groups. Well this genius was asking about the placement companies and consultant offers and also what kind of a job profile they’d be offering. I’m sure the faculty, at the process, wanted to tell him that he should be worried about more imminent things at the moment, such as converting his call before he thinks of judging the positions offered (at least that was what I thought). And yeah, he was in my group.
The Group Task consisted of a case study where we were supposed to discuss the case and at the end of the discussion, each one of us would have to give a concluding statement. Then we were to jot down a few lines on the Group Task itself. Personally I had quite a good experience, I credit myself of giving the group a direction initially and then added some innovative points to the discussion. The concluding statement too went by satisfactorily (contrary to my apprehensions). The case was about one Meera’s MNC firm having to choose from two suppliers for high-end hardware products. The choice was basically between a local efficient firm and a well established hot-shot. After the Group Task’s, we were called in one by one for the interview. My no. was 12 and considering that on an average an interview lasted for 12-15 minutes, I waited nervously for near about 3 hrs (not very enjoyable).
THE INTERVIEW…
Panel 1: An HR lady, 40 something, very smart.(P1)
Panel 2: A finance professor, 30 something, male.(P2)
Me: Scapegoat (M)
P2: (Ushers me to come in through the door glass)
M: (Enter in and greet both of them.)
P2: Take a seat and introduce yourself to us.
M: (Caught a bit unawares by the immediate question) Told my name, about my place back home, my parents and my graduation in Kolkata.
P1: Where have you graduated from?
M: (Proudly) Jadavpur University.
P1: What is special about Jadavpur University?
M: Treats us like adults, everyone is different and has a distinct character- a vibrant environment. (something along those lines)
P1: Oh, you graduated in Philosophy? (Smelling Blood)
M: (There we go again) Yes Ma’am.
P2: (Pouncing on me like a Bengal tiger, sir was a bengali) What is sattva Philosophy or Existentialism?
M: (Oh Sweet Mary Jesus…!) …………Umm……Sir, I can’t seem to remember it that well sir.
P2: Haven’t you done it?
M: I do remember coming across it but, I’m sorry I seem to have forgotten it.
P1: What exactly did you learn in Philosophy?
M: Indian and Western Philosophy, Logic, Psychology…
P2: What all from Indian Philosophy?
M: Carvaka, Nyaya, Jaina, Nyaya, Baudha…
P2: Tell me about Carvaka Philosophy?
M: (Grinning) Told them how it was a materialist Philosophy and taught about experiencing maximum pleasure in this life as it was not certain whether we’d have another life. Told that they didn’t believe in gaining valid knowledge from Inference. (Here I asked them whether they’d like me to elaborate more on what inference was).
P1: Yes, go ahead.
M: (They took the bait)…I elaborated on what was my favourite topic and they were visibly amused at the smoke on the hill theory.
P1: So what do the Carvaka’s think of when they see smoke on the Hill?
M: (What kind of a question is that…) Umm… they don’t believe in what they don’t see so as long as they don’t see the fire they wont believe it fully.
P1: Tell me about some other Philosopher.
M: (Seizing the opportunity)…Full Gyan on Descartes and his ‘I Think Therefore I Exist’ concept.
P1 & P2 (Even more amused)
M: (Feeling Good)
P1: Ok so how would Descartes react to the ‘smoke on the hill’?
M: (Now I was regretting bringing in Smoke and Fire concept…she’s really got a thing for it)…Umm Descartes being a rationalist, I think he would reason out that there was a relation between smoke and fire and apply it here.
P1 (Appears to be satisfied)
P1: So Philosophy and MBA are two different things. Can you explain that to me?
M: (For a moment I was beginning to think they weren’t gonna ask me that question…that obvious question) Some more talk on how Philosophy changed my perspective in life and I came to know more about myself etc.
P1: What did you know about yourself?
M: That I always wanted to be in control of things and was always looking to manage things. (Which was the truth…in a way at least.)
P1: Give us an example?
M: Ma’am I don’t know how much it applies here but in my flat I was always trying to manage things be it dealing with the land lord, broker, grocery store or even allocating chores (which can be a cause of altercation). More example’s of how I was the cricket captain and was always working out strategies and batting orders based on the different skills.
P2: So why do you need a management degree?
M: To learn more and have more knowledge (something like that…I realized later that I could have answered this much better)
P2: How can Philosophy be applied to Management?
M: Say that it can be applied to anything in life. Give examples of cause and effect and link it with a business scenario.
P1: Give me all the causes that resulted in your poor Graduation scores?
M: (Feeling like a fool, like someone shot me in the head with my own bullet) Gave lame excuses and showed them my improvement in the last year.
P1: Ok, would you like to ask us anything?
M: I’d like to know about a normal day in GIM for a student.
P1: Blah…Blah…Blah…for a long time.
M: (Regretting having asked that question)
P1: Anything else.
M: The Project that you said we could do during the 2nd year. Is it something different from the summer intern-ship.
P1: Yes it is. Blah…Blah.
P1 & P2: Thank you.
M: Thank you Sir, Ma’am.
So there it was. I have mixed feelings about his one. Group Task went by fine. The interview was, well there was nothing that should dishearten me. In fact I gave full knowledge on Philosophy apart from the first question, and no question on my Mathematical void. Optimistic on this one…it’s my last hope now. It well and truly is.
SDM-IMD, THE DESPERATE TIMES
Venue: South India Club, Hindustan Park
Kolkata.
Date: 27th February ‘08
Time: 9:00 A.M.
Things change, a month ago I was comfortably placed with around 9-10 confirmed ‘GD/PI’ calls and a complacent hope that I’d convert at least one of the calls. I was quite confident too when I started out, in myself and my chances. Things were looking good.
Post 3 interviews, 2 back to back rejects, add to that a disastrous third interview and a battering of my confidence – I was understandably feeling, quite small. Back then SDM-IMD had been a purely back up college, well not anymore. I’d suffered a rude wake up call and I was feeling the heat. I was desperate for at least one convert.
The venue was close to the place from where I stay in Kolkata. It was slightly better than the one where Amrita GD/PI was held, but still not even close to SCMHRD’s venue. The process here comprised of a GD, apart from the customary Interview. We were divided into two groups of at least 12 people each, I was in the second group. Before the actual process, the Admission Co-ordinator of SDM-IMD spoke a little bit about the college, its placements, etc. The average package for the last batch they said was 6-7 lakh’s which I felt was highly exaggerated. The topic for our discussion was "Should Income Tax be exempted." The Group Discussion was slightly on the louder side but not exactly a fish market too. My performance was Average or slightly above average but definitely not poor. I put in some decent points and entered the GD 3-4 times. After the GD we were made to wait for our turn with the Interviews. The process was refreshingly efficient and my turn came up rather quickly.
THE INTERVIEW…
As I went inside (the same room where I’d had my GD) I was asked to take a seat and hand over my papers. There were two people in the panel and one of started scanning my papers.
P1: A Finance Professor.
P2: The Admission Co-ordinator.
M: Me (on the chopping board…again)
P1: What actually did you take in your graduation?
M: (Not there Please…) Arts Sir…Philosophy.
P2: What is your CAT percentile?
M: (#$%ck) 80.54 %ile.
P2: So, an 80 percentiler.
P1: Why do want to study Management Education?
M: Blah ! Blah ! (was quite well prepared).
P2: What were the other subjects you studied during your Graduation?
M: Sir, European History, Social Work, Environmental History…(Damn)…hmm…Tribes of India, Physical Education.
P1: So, you haven’t done any Math related courses.
M: (There goes another College). No.
P1: Can you cope up with a Management Curriculum which deal’s with a lot of Mathematical concepts.
M: Yes. (Desperate Yes).
P1: But you haven’t got much exposure to Maths?
M: Actually I did a lot of brushing up while preparing for the CAT.
P1: Ok. Tell me a Mathematical theory that’s applied practically?
M: (Wishing the ground below would swallow me) Err… Percentages, Statistics (regretted the moment I told it).
P1: (With a devious smirk on his face) What is Median and Mode?
M: (Seeing some ray of light at the far end of the tunnel) Answered the Median one correctly but I’m not very sure about the mode.
P2: Why would you think a company should hire someone like you?
M: (Gave a desperate attempt to sell myself…whatever that means.)
P2: How would you address the attrition rate of a company?
M: (The light at the end of the tunnel just about became a beam) I scored a six in this question…thanks to Economic Times and Avinash Da who had enlightened me about attrition rates (God bless him).
P2: Give us one reason why we should take you and two reasons why we should not take you?
M: A whole lot of boasting of my qualities for the first part of the question. For the second part "Sir, if there are others who are better than me and I do not make the merit list. And secondly if you feel that I’m not competent enough to complete the course. (I felt something as soon as I said that…and it was not a good feeling.)
P2: What other calls have you got?
M: Sir, GIM, IISWBM, SCMHRD, Amrita.
P2: Which one of these is your first priority?
M: Sir, at this moment, definitely GIM but apart from that SDM-IMD without a doubt because it’s got a great faculty, campus and placements too. (That was my disgusting attempt at being DIPLOMATIC, I know I totally blew it…)
P2: Ok Akhilesh, You seem to be pretty intelligent, can you explain the low marks in your Graduation?
M: (There we go again) Lame duck excuses, but added that it was quite tough to score in Philosophy and also showed them my improvement in my final year.
P2: Would you like to ask us something?
M: (Will I get a seat…Had to be obvious). Sir can you describe what a normal day would be like in your campus?
P2: Blah.Blah. Anything else. Thank You.
The Interview was pretty intense, I thought it could have gone awry but I think I proved my mettle today. I was really challenged and I felt I did well.
Just as I was about to leave the venue, P2 was coming after me calling my name. Before he told me I realized that I’d left my original papers out there in the room. "You’ll be miserable without them" he told me which just about summed up how I felt at that moment. What an anti-climax?
Kolkata.
Date: 27th February ‘08
Time: 9:00 A.M.
Things change, a month ago I was comfortably placed with around 9-10 confirmed ‘GD/PI’ calls and a complacent hope that I’d convert at least one of the calls. I was quite confident too when I started out, in myself and my chances. Things were looking good.
Post 3 interviews, 2 back to back rejects, add to that a disastrous third interview and a battering of my confidence – I was understandably feeling, quite small. Back then SDM-IMD had been a purely back up college, well not anymore. I’d suffered a rude wake up call and I was feeling the heat. I was desperate for at least one convert.
The venue was close to the place from where I stay in Kolkata. It was slightly better than the one where Amrita GD/PI was held, but still not even close to SCMHRD’s venue. The process here comprised of a GD, apart from the customary Interview. We were divided into two groups of at least 12 people each, I was in the second group. Before the actual process, the Admission Co-ordinator of SDM-IMD spoke a little bit about the college, its placements, etc. The average package for the last batch they said was 6-7 lakh’s which I felt was highly exaggerated. The topic for our discussion was "Should Income Tax be exempted." The Group Discussion was slightly on the louder side but not exactly a fish market too. My performance was Average or slightly above average but definitely not poor. I put in some decent points and entered the GD 3-4 times. After the GD we were made to wait for our turn with the Interviews. The process was refreshingly efficient and my turn came up rather quickly.
THE INTERVIEW…
As I went inside (the same room where I’d had my GD) I was asked to take a seat and hand over my papers. There were two people in the panel and one of started scanning my papers.
P1: A Finance Professor.
P2: The Admission Co-ordinator.
M: Me (on the chopping board…again)
P1: What actually did you take in your graduation?
M: (Not there Please…) Arts Sir…Philosophy.
P2: What is your CAT percentile?
M: (#$%ck) 80.54 %ile.
P2: So, an 80 percentiler.
P1: Why do want to study Management Education?
M: Blah ! Blah ! (was quite well prepared).
P2: What were the other subjects you studied during your Graduation?
M: Sir, European History, Social Work, Environmental History…(Damn)…hmm…Tribes of India, Physical Education.
P1: So, you haven’t done any Math related courses.
M: (There goes another College). No.
P1: Can you cope up with a Management Curriculum which deal’s with a lot of Mathematical concepts.
M: Yes. (Desperate Yes).
P1: But you haven’t got much exposure to Maths?
M: Actually I did a lot of brushing up while preparing for the CAT.
P1: Ok. Tell me a Mathematical theory that’s applied practically?
M: (Wishing the ground below would swallow me) Err… Percentages, Statistics (regretted the moment I told it).
P1: (With a devious smirk on his face) What is Median and Mode?
M: (Seeing some ray of light at the far end of the tunnel) Answered the Median one correctly but I’m not very sure about the mode.
P2: Why would you think a company should hire someone like you?
M: (Gave a desperate attempt to sell myself…whatever that means.)
P2: How would you address the attrition rate of a company?
M: (The light at the end of the tunnel just about became a beam) I scored a six in this question…thanks to Economic Times and Avinash Da who had enlightened me about attrition rates (God bless him).
P2: Give us one reason why we should take you and two reasons why we should not take you?
M: A whole lot of boasting of my qualities for the first part of the question. For the second part "Sir, if there are others who are better than me and I do not make the merit list. And secondly if you feel that I’m not competent enough to complete the course. (I felt something as soon as I said that…and it was not a good feeling.)
P2: What other calls have you got?
M: Sir, GIM, IISWBM, SCMHRD, Amrita.
P2: Which one of these is your first priority?
M: Sir, at this moment, definitely GIM but apart from that SDM-IMD without a doubt because it’s got a great faculty, campus and placements too. (That was my disgusting attempt at being DIPLOMATIC, I know I totally blew it…)
P2: Ok Akhilesh, You seem to be pretty intelligent, can you explain the low marks in your Graduation?
M: (There we go again) Lame duck excuses, but added that it was quite tough to score in Philosophy and also showed them my improvement in my final year.
P2: Would you like to ask us something?
M: (Will I get a seat…Had to be obvious). Sir can you describe what a normal day would be like in your campus?
P2: Blah.Blah. Anything else. Thank You.
The Interview was pretty intense, I thought it could have gone awry but I think I proved my mettle today. I was really challenged and I felt I did well.
Just as I was about to leave the venue, P2 was coming after me calling my name. Before he told me I realized that I’d left my original papers out there in the room. "You’ll be miserable without them" he told me which just about summed up how I felt at that moment. What an anti-climax?
THE AMRITA DEBACLE…
Date: 24th February ’08
Venue: Amrita Viswavidyalaya,
Taratala, Kolkata
Time: 9:00 A.M.
I reached the venue an hour before (as always). I met some guys there and they didn’t regard Amrita that highly. Anyways came to know that there was no Group Discussion, only an interview. I was relieved but a part of me (a very small part) was disappointed because a GD would’ve given me some more experience. The venue, which was a primary school, was still under construction with workers, piles of sand, bricks, etc lying here and there.
The process began with the verification of documents and they grilled me right there. The woman even calculated that 1/3rd of my course was passed through back papers, which was an understatement (to be frank), but anyways hardly the kind of impression I’d have wanted to get things started. The second part of the process consisted of a long speech by the same people who scrutinized our documents (I was beginning to fear whether they would be taking our interviews too…). The speech was more about the great achievements of ‘Amma’ and her ‘benevolence’ (something I wouldn’t mind receiving at that time), but barely things you’d be even distantly interested in before an interview with your nerves all messed up. After the painfully long ‘presentation’ made even longer by my smart ass competitors pretending to be genuinely interested and asking questions. The next part of the process consisted of a test of writing skills wherein we were asked to write on any one of the 3 topics (Budget 2008, Business and Ethics and something). I choose ‘Budget 2008’ and started quite enthusiastically but, if you ask me, I’d say it was a below par performance. The final part of my process was the Interview itself and it was almost 12:00 P.M. by then. As luck would have it, I was the third last person to be called. And, yes, the same two people were taking the interviews as well. They were running a two man show on an under-construction building with the sounds of hammering and cutting making up the ambience of the interview (in a classroom).
THE INTERVIEW…
P1: An HR professor.
P2: A Finance professor, the one who calculated my back paper percentage.
(Both Females)
M: Me
P1: Tell me something about yourself?
M: Blah! Blah! (Thinking this is so predictable)
P1: Why MBA after Philosophy?
M: Blah! Blah! (All prepared stuff, you know). P2, meanwhile, is looking at me with a bewildered look on her face, as if she’s shocked by whatever it is that I’m saying. She was freaking me out alright.
P2: I didn’t quite understand about the back paper stuff. Why did you have so many of them?
M: (Not that please…!!!) Gave a lame duck excuse like language problem (medium of lecture was Bengali) and stuff like sickness and showed them my improvement in the last year. Not very convincing overall.
P2: (The I’m not convinced look.)
P1: What is P***** ???? (Don’t even remember it)
M: (A bewildered look, much like the one P2 was sporting) "I don’t remember having come across that". (Which was really the truth.)
P1: What about Teleological and De-Ontological Theory?
M: (Ok, that I remember coming across, JUST COMING ACROSS…nothing else) I’m sorry, I seem to have forgotten.
P1: What do you think is more important for you, the end’s or the means?
M: Quote something from the Bhagavad Gita. Even say stuff like, "Krishna told Arjun that if the end was justified than there was no harm in even killing someone". Something like that. Basically spoke on Duty.
P2: Is that what Lord Krishna told Arjun?
M: Not in that way but something like that.
P2: That’s a very crude way of saying it. (The look on her face fast changing from bewildered to horrified.)
M: I’m sorry Madam’.
P1: Ok. We’ll give you a topic to speak on and you’ll have to speak on it for about a minute. Your topic is "Tourism is destroying our beaches".
M: (Nervous as hell because I felt I’d fucked up my interview) Talked about a middle path by spreading awareness in tourists and basically the same thing with a different set of words. And in the end concluded by saying something about how people should make a habit of leaving a place little better than it was before they came.
*P2 seemed quite happy with that last bit of info. But she was still holding that bewildered look on her face (maybe it was a permanent look).
P2: What are your hobbies?
M: Reading, Trekking, Football, Cricket, etc.
P2: Trekking?
M: Told about my treks to Sandakphu and Tinjurey.
P2: What was the altitude of the place you went to?
M: (%$#&^%!!!) I think it was 18000 ft. (I really wasn’t sure, although I think I had seen a signboard when I was there stating the height)
P2: "18000 ft"! ! ! …she said seemingly shocked (Ok now I could make out she was enjoying this).
M: (feeling really tense, I hope I hadn’t seen the 18000 ft in my Geography text book, beside the Mt.Everest.).
P1: Would you like to ask us something?
M: What are your HR and marketing placements?
P1: Said something…but I don’t remember because I asked so that I wouldn’t look like a fool.
P1: Anything else.
M: No. (Hell NO…!!)..
P1: Thank You.
M: (Glad its over…)
I didn’t expect much from this and frankly speaking I wasn’t really looking forward to study in Amrita looking at the unprofessional way they conducted their Interview Process. Think I sound like sore loser, couldn’t care less man.
By the way, the place I trekked was 16000 ft. which was not very far from 18000 ft.
Venue: Amrita Viswavidyalaya,
Taratala, Kolkata
Time: 9:00 A.M.
I reached the venue an hour before (as always). I met some guys there and they didn’t regard Amrita that highly. Anyways came to know that there was no Group Discussion, only an interview. I was relieved but a part of me (a very small part) was disappointed because a GD would’ve given me some more experience. The venue, which was a primary school, was still under construction with workers, piles of sand, bricks, etc lying here and there.
The process began with the verification of documents and they grilled me right there. The woman even calculated that 1/3rd of my course was passed through back papers, which was an understatement (to be frank), but anyways hardly the kind of impression I’d have wanted to get things started. The second part of the process consisted of a long speech by the same people who scrutinized our documents (I was beginning to fear whether they would be taking our interviews too…). The speech was more about the great achievements of ‘Amma’ and her ‘benevolence’ (something I wouldn’t mind receiving at that time), but barely things you’d be even distantly interested in before an interview with your nerves all messed up. After the painfully long ‘presentation’ made even longer by my smart ass competitors pretending to be genuinely interested and asking questions. The next part of the process consisted of a test of writing skills wherein we were asked to write on any one of the 3 topics (Budget 2008, Business and Ethics and something). I choose ‘Budget 2008’ and started quite enthusiastically but, if you ask me, I’d say it was a below par performance. The final part of my process was the Interview itself and it was almost 12:00 P.M. by then. As luck would have it, I was the third last person to be called. And, yes, the same two people were taking the interviews as well. They were running a two man show on an under-construction building with the sounds of hammering and cutting making up the ambience of the interview (in a classroom).
THE INTERVIEW…
P1: An HR professor.
P2: A Finance professor, the one who calculated my back paper percentage.
(Both Females)
M: Me
P1: Tell me something about yourself?
M: Blah! Blah! (Thinking this is so predictable)
P1: Why MBA after Philosophy?
M: Blah! Blah! (All prepared stuff, you know). P2, meanwhile, is looking at me with a bewildered look on her face, as if she’s shocked by whatever it is that I’m saying. She was freaking me out alright.
P2: I didn’t quite understand about the back paper stuff. Why did you have so many of them?
M: (Not that please…!!!) Gave a lame duck excuse like language problem (medium of lecture was Bengali) and stuff like sickness and showed them my improvement in the last year. Not very convincing overall.
P2: (The I’m not convinced look.)
P1: What is P***** ???? (Don’t even remember it)
M: (A bewildered look, much like the one P2 was sporting) "I don’t remember having come across that". (Which was really the truth.)
P1: What about Teleological and De-Ontological Theory?
M: (Ok, that I remember coming across, JUST COMING ACROSS…nothing else) I’m sorry, I seem to have forgotten.
P1: What do you think is more important for you, the end’s or the means?
M: Quote something from the Bhagavad Gita. Even say stuff like, "Krishna told Arjun that if the end was justified than there was no harm in even killing someone". Something like that. Basically spoke on Duty.
P2: Is that what Lord Krishna told Arjun?
M: Not in that way but something like that.
P2: That’s a very crude way of saying it. (The look on her face fast changing from bewildered to horrified.)
M: I’m sorry Madam’.
P1: Ok. We’ll give you a topic to speak on and you’ll have to speak on it for about a minute. Your topic is "Tourism is destroying our beaches".
M: (Nervous as hell because I felt I’d fucked up my interview) Talked about a middle path by spreading awareness in tourists and basically the same thing with a different set of words. And in the end concluded by saying something about how people should make a habit of leaving a place little better than it was before they came.
*P2 seemed quite happy with that last bit of info. But she was still holding that bewildered look on her face (maybe it was a permanent look).
P2: What are your hobbies?
M: Reading, Trekking, Football, Cricket, etc.
P2: Trekking?
M: Told about my treks to Sandakphu and Tinjurey.
P2: What was the altitude of the place you went to?
M: (%$#&^%!!!) I think it was 18000 ft. (I really wasn’t sure, although I think I had seen a signboard when I was there stating the height)
P2: "18000 ft"! ! ! …she said seemingly shocked (Ok now I could make out she was enjoying this).
M: (feeling really tense, I hope I hadn’t seen the 18000 ft in my Geography text book, beside the Mt.Everest.).
P1: Would you like to ask us something?
M: What are your HR and marketing placements?
P1: Said something…but I don’t remember because I asked so that I wouldn’t look like a fool.
P1: Anything else.
M: No. (Hell NO…!!)..
P1: Thank You.
M: (Glad its over…)
I didn’t expect much from this and frankly speaking I wasn’t really looking forward to study in Amrita looking at the unprofessional way they conducted their Interview Process. Think I sound like sore loser, couldn’t care less man.
By the way, the place I trekked was 16000 ft. which was not very far from 18000 ft.
THE SYMBIOSIS EXPERIENCE…
Date: 2nd February ‘08
Time: 09:00 A.M.
Venue: International Convention Centre
Senapati Bapat Road, Pune
This was undoubtedly the Big One. I arrived in Pune on the 30th. I had quite a few days off (31st and 1st ) before the Big Day. The day before my interview I went to the venue, ICC, for a trial run as to how long it would take me to reach the venue from where I was putting up. By the way, I was staying at my Aunt’s place. It took me almost an hour and just about a hundred rupee’s to reach the place. The rest of the day I spent checking out PagalGuy (The one stop website for MBA aspirants). The thread on SCMHRD where people had posted their experiences pointed to the fact that they were rejecting a lot of people on the Group Process stage, people who were too bossy and dominating, and obviously people who were too meek and spoke nothing. In the evening I just brushed up on my Academics and prepared on some HR questions… (Things like Why MBA? Strengths? Weaknesses? Etc. I slept that night with butterflies in my stomach.
Mornings in Pune are quite chilly during early February, especially if you’re riding in an auto rickshaw open on both sides. Add to that the open roads around 7 in the morning allowing the auto driver to drive at full throttle, and nothing to guard me shoulders (I was wearing a half sweater) from the chilly winds. By the time I got to the venue I could hardly feel my shoulders (talk about a cold shoulder). At reaching the venue which was this huge modern building, I waited for some time and gathered my self one last time. The interiors of the building was , well, intimidating to say the least. There were already some people waiting, you know those executive like one’s I met at Christ only even more executive-like and confident here. All this made me feel uneasy, it was only after a few minutes that I realized that the uneasiness was largely because I was feeling like a shit. So I added ‘ICC’ to an illustrious list of places where I’d taken a crap.
The actual process began with registration and verification wherein we were allotted our ID’s and divided into groups. My group consisted of 9 people (4 Guys and 5 Girls), some Group discussion we were gonna have…I mean, without trying to be a sexist, girls are known to be Big mouthed. After the initial formalities we were taken to the fifth floor and made to wait for a while. Then a lady came and took us to our Group Process room which was a real board room (no kidding). It was a huge room with a big oval table with nothing in the middle (like an oval tyre). Normally such a sight would’ve made me feel even more nervous but strangely I felt at home and felt like an executive myself. Two people came in and asked us to sit in our allotted places. We had a small microphone each in front of us too, but we weren’t required to use it. The process was divided into two parts, the first part was where we had to choose a brand ambassador for a car called ‘Ninja’, which was competing with the Tata Nano. I did well, after all I was feeling like a Manager, and put in some innovative points. The second part was kind of a rescue operation for a soft drink company after some of it’s products were found to be contaminated and had hospitalized a few people. I continued my good form in the second half too. The whole group I thought had performed quite well and every one got a fair chance to put forward their points. After the Group Process which took around 50 mins, we were made to wait for around half an hour. Then the results came and as expected I was selected for the Interview process, and so was everyone in my group barring one person. I guess the guy didn’t add any value to the discussion and all I could remember was that he was saying ‘Yes, Yes’ to every one’s point and in the process forgot to put in his own points, kind of like a rubber stamp. But it’s my take and I may be wrong.
The Interview was next and it was a long wait. I mean every body in my group had already been called and I was still waiting. Actually I had wanted to go to the toilet for a pee right after the Group Process but I had decided against it, thinking that I’d go after the results were out. As it turned out, I forgot all about it in the ecstasy of making it through to the next round. So the wait was even more painful with a flared up bladder, I couldn’t go to do my thing fearing that I’d miss my call. While waiting I met a senior from SCMHRD who was from Gangtok and she gave me some tips for the interview, she told me that they liked out spoken and bubbly people, she also told me that they preferred to have people from all backgrounds so they could have a healthy mix of students in the campus. This bit of information really added fuel to my aspirations. Finally the call came…
The interview was held in a small room by two panellists. I came to know that I was going to be the last person in before they went off for lunch.
P1: A 50+ man wearing a brown tweed coat with white hair and white moustaches. (Experience Personified)
P2: A 35-40 year old man wearing a red T-Shirt.
M: Me (A nervous wreck)
M: May I come in Sir.
P1 or P2 (Don’t remember who): Come in. Come in.
P1: So, Gurung ? Where are you from?
M: From Kalimpong Sir.
P2: Are you a Nepali?
M: Yes Sir.
P1: When did you come to Pune?
M: On the 30th.
P1: Where are you staying?
M: Near Kondhwa, in my Aunt’s place. (Feeling relaxed now after a few general questions.)
P2: Tell me what’s the situation in Darjeeling now? It’s been coming in the news of late?
M: Tell them about the new party coming up against the GNLF and their want for a separate state.
P1: What language do you speak at home?
M: Nepali.
P1: Is it different from what the Nepalese speak in Nepal?
M: Quite the same but there’s some difference in the accent.
P2: (Looking at the details in my application) So, you graduated in Philosophy?
M: Yes.
P1: (Looking very interested) Tell me about the Philosophy of the youth of today in India?
M: Tell them that youth of today are liberal and like to take their own decisions. They are basically more independent.
P1: So, a guy and girl having sex before marriage is fine according to the youth of today?
M: (Shell Shocked) I guess it is if both of them are consenting and know what they are doing.
P1: Does your Father let you take your own decisions?
M: Yes. He’s always been very lenient but only as far as I know my limits.
P1: And what are the limits within which you can take your decisions?
M: I mean he hasn’t told them explicitly but you tend to know these things automatically.
P1: Taking decisions on your own is fine as far as you’re not dependent on anyone, but if you’re still dependent on your Dad you must consider what he says too. Don’t you think so?
M: Yes Sir.
P2: Why do you want to do MBA?
M: Rattle on a prepared answer. Full Gyan on career growth, and self improvement, etc.
P2: What are the placements that you can get from a Philosophy Degree?
M: (Tell them about how a Philosophy lecturer was retiring in my place and that if I’d done my Ph.D I’d have probably got a job there, but I didn’t want it because I wanted to do an MBA)
P1: So, Don’t want to be like us?
M: (Ok …I realised that I’d just rubbed up the wrong side…Damage control)…Sir its not that, I actually love teaching and the prospect of teaching things to people. Its just that I feel that one need’s to get a few years of experience behind their back before one gets to teaching rather than doing it right out of college, so I will get into teaching at a later part of my career. (Wow…I was proud of myself with that blockbuster answer) P1 was nodding to P2…I think in acknowledgement of my brilliant answer.
P2: What are the different Philosophies you studied?
M: Sir in Indian Philosophy segment we had Carvaka, Nyaya, Baudha, Jaina…
P2: Before I’m finished he asks me What is carvaka philosophy?
M: It’s basically a Materialistic Philosophy.
P2: (Nods looking satisfied) Ok.
P2: Have you read things by Ayn Rand?
M: (Can’t believe my luck, Almost jumping out of my seat) Yes Sir I have.
P2: Did you look at his expression?
P1: Yes.
P2: So what are the books you’ve read?
M: Sir I’ve already read the ‘FountainHead’ and the ‘Atlas Shrugged’ and I just picked up ‘The Virtue of Selfishness’ a few days ago.
P2: You’ve read the Atlas Shrugged? I’ve interviewed a lot of students but you’re the first one who’s read that book? Tell us the story?
M: (Rattle on. But I seemed to have forgotten about the female protagonist) I say that I’m getting mixed with the lady from the other book.
P2: What was the lady in the other book’s name?
M: Dominique.
P2: Ok, we’re convinced you’ve read the book but what did you learn from it.
P1: What’s the Philosophy of the book?
M: Some more Gyan, I even put in a quote sayings from the book. (This time P2 nods looking at P1, I’m thinking…SCMHRD here I come)
P2: What is this particular type of Philosophy called, there’s a specific name for it?
M: Objectivism, it’s called Objectivism Sir.
P2: Akhilesh, have you faced any setbacks in life?
M: Sir, a recent setback I faced is the CAT.
P2: Apart from academics?
M: None that I can think of.
P1: Never been slapped by a girl?
M: No Sir.
P1: If you were given a chance to go back a few years in your life, when you’re just out of school, would you still choose to take Philosophy?
M: Yes Sir definitely. Philosophy has changed my life. I would still choose Philosophy.
***** Now, the part where I think I blew it******
P2: Tell me, Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
M: (Oh God I hadn’t thought about this one) Sir, 5 years from now I would like to see myself in a big company holding an important position. (Something of that sort…I may have sounded a bit unsure about this one.)
P2: The Indian Railways is a big company and the position of a driver is a very important position, would you like to be working there?
M: (Feeling I could turn back 10 seconds of my life…rather than 5 years P1 had offered me earlier)…I didn’t mean that Sir.
P2: So be more specific.
M: Sir a place where I will be enjoying my work, etc, etc.
P1: What other exams did you give?
M: Sir CAT-80.54, XAT-99.3 and MAT-98.5.
P1: I think I’m done.
P2: Me too. Thank you Akhilesh, it was a pleasure meeting you.
M: Thank You, Sirs.
That was That, I thought I’d done pretty well and the Ayn Rand stuff was pretty cool too, I mean I got really lucky. And the panel too seemed really impressed with me…they nodded in approval quite a lot.
As I was returning home I checked the Christ website and found out that I’d been rejected for Christ. I was pretty confident about Christ as I was about SCMHRD, so I prayed to God that Christ was just a one off incident. But as they say Lightning does strike twice…(On the same person.) (sic.)
Time: 09:00 A.M.
Venue: International Convention Centre
Senapati Bapat Road, Pune
This was undoubtedly the Big One. I arrived in Pune on the 30th. I had quite a few days off (31st and 1st ) before the Big Day. The day before my interview I went to the venue, ICC, for a trial run as to how long it would take me to reach the venue from where I was putting up. By the way, I was staying at my Aunt’s place. It took me almost an hour and just about a hundred rupee’s to reach the place. The rest of the day I spent checking out PagalGuy (The one stop website for MBA aspirants). The thread on SCMHRD where people had posted their experiences pointed to the fact that they were rejecting a lot of people on the Group Process stage, people who were too bossy and dominating, and obviously people who were too meek and spoke nothing. In the evening I just brushed up on my Academics and prepared on some HR questions… (Things like Why MBA? Strengths? Weaknesses? Etc. I slept that night with butterflies in my stomach.
Mornings in Pune are quite chilly during early February, especially if you’re riding in an auto rickshaw open on both sides. Add to that the open roads around 7 in the morning allowing the auto driver to drive at full throttle, and nothing to guard me shoulders (I was wearing a half sweater) from the chilly winds. By the time I got to the venue I could hardly feel my shoulders (talk about a cold shoulder). At reaching the venue which was this huge modern building, I waited for some time and gathered my self one last time. The interiors of the building was , well, intimidating to say the least. There were already some people waiting, you know those executive like one’s I met at Christ only even more executive-like and confident here. All this made me feel uneasy, it was only after a few minutes that I realized that the uneasiness was largely because I was feeling like a shit. So I added ‘ICC’ to an illustrious list of places where I’d taken a crap.
The actual process began with registration and verification wherein we were allotted our ID’s and divided into groups. My group consisted of 9 people (4 Guys and 5 Girls), some Group discussion we were gonna have…I mean, without trying to be a sexist, girls are known to be Big mouthed. After the initial formalities we were taken to the fifth floor and made to wait for a while. Then a lady came and took us to our Group Process room which was a real board room (no kidding). It was a huge room with a big oval table with nothing in the middle (like an oval tyre). Normally such a sight would’ve made me feel even more nervous but strangely I felt at home and felt like an executive myself. Two people came in and asked us to sit in our allotted places. We had a small microphone each in front of us too, but we weren’t required to use it. The process was divided into two parts, the first part was where we had to choose a brand ambassador for a car called ‘Ninja’, which was competing with the Tata Nano. I did well, after all I was feeling like a Manager, and put in some innovative points. The second part was kind of a rescue operation for a soft drink company after some of it’s products were found to be contaminated and had hospitalized a few people. I continued my good form in the second half too. The whole group I thought had performed quite well and every one got a fair chance to put forward their points. After the Group Process which took around 50 mins, we were made to wait for around half an hour. Then the results came and as expected I was selected for the Interview process, and so was everyone in my group barring one person. I guess the guy didn’t add any value to the discussion and all I could remember was that he was saying ‘Yes, Yes’ to every one’s point and in the process forgot to put in his own points, kind of like a rubber stamp. But it’s my take and I may be wrong.
The Interview was next and it was a long wait. I mean every body in my group had already been called and I was still waiting. Actually I had wanted to go to the toilet for a pee right after the Group Process but I had decided against it, thinking that I’d go after the results were out. As it turned out, I forgot all about it in the ecstasy of making it through to the next round. So the wait was even more painful with a flared up bladder, I couldn’t go to do my thing fearing that I’d miss my call. While waiting I met a senior from SCMHRD who was from Gangtok and she gave me some tips for the interview, she told me that they liked out spoken and bubbly people, she also told me that they preferred to have people from all backgrounds so they could have a healthy mix of students in the campus. This bit of information really added fuel to my aspirations. Finally the call came…
The interview was held in a small room by two panellists. I came to know that I was going to be the last person in before they went off for lunch.
P1: A 50+ man wearing a brown tweed coat with white hair and white moustaches. (Experience Personified)
P2: A 35-40 year old man wearing a red T-Shirt.
M: Me (A nervous wreck)
M: May I come in Sir.
P1 or P2 (Don’t remember who): Come in. Come in.
P1: So, Gurung ? Where are you from?
M: From Kalimpong Sir.
P2: Are you a Nepali?
M: Yes Sir.
P1: When did you come to Pune?
M: On the 30th.
P1: Where are you staying?
M: Near Kondhwa, in my Aunt’s place. (Feeling relaxed now after a few general questions.)
P2: Tell me what’s the situation in Darjeeling now? It’s been coming in the news of late?
M: Tell them about the new party coming up against the GNLF and their want for a separate state.
P1: What language do you speak at home?
M: Nepali.
P1: Is it different from what the Nepalese speak in Nepal?
M: Quite the same but there’s some difference in the accent.
P2: (Looking at the details in my application) So, you graduated in Philosophy?
M: Yes.
P1: (Looking very interested) Tell me about the Philosophy of the youth of today in India?
M: Tell them that youth of today are liberal and like to take their own decisions. They are basically more independent.
P1: So, a guy and girl having sex before marriage is fine according to the youth of today?
M: (Shell Shocked) I guess it is if both of them are consenting and know what they are doing.
P1: Does your Father let you take your own decisions?
M: Yes. He’s always been very lenient but only as far as I know my limits.
P1: And what are the limits within which you can take your decisions?
M: I mean he hasn’t told them explicitly but you tend to know these things automatically.
P1: Taking decisions on your own is fine as far as you’re not dependent on anyone, but if you’re still dependent on your Dad you must consider what he says too. Don’t you think so?
M: Yes Sir.
P2: Why do you want to do MBA?
M: Rattle on a prepared answer. Full Gyan on career growth, and self improvement, etc.
P2: What are the placements that you can get from a Philosophy Degree?
M: (Tell them about how a Philosophy lecturer was retiring in my place and that if I’d done my Ph.D I’d have probably got a job there, but I didn’t want it because I wanted to do an MBA)
P1: So, Don’t want to be like us?
M: (Ok …I realised that I’d just rubbed up the wrong side…Damage control)…Sir its not that, I actually love teaching and the prospect of teaching things to people. Its just that I feel that one need’s to get a few years of experience behind their back before one gets to teaching rather than doing it right out of college, so I will get into teaching at a later part of my career. (Wow…I was proud of myself with that blockbuster answer) P1 was nodding to P2…I think in acknowledgement of my brilliant answer.
P2: What are the different Philosophies you studied?
M: Sir in Indian Philosophy segment we had Carvaka, Nyaya, Baudha, Jaina…
P2: Before I’m finished he asks me What is carvaka philosophy?
M: It’s basically a Materialistic Philosophy.
P2: (Nods looking satisfied) Ok.
P2: Have you read things by Ayn Rand?
M: (Can’t believe my luck, Almost jumping out of my seat) Yes Sir I have.
P2: Did you look at his expression?
P1: Yes.
P2: So what are the books you’ve read?
M: Sir I’ve already read the ‘FountainHead’ and the ‘Atlas Shrugged’ and I just picked up ‘The Virtue of Selfishness’ a few days ago.
P2: You’ve read the Atlas Shrugged? I’ve interviewed a lot of students but you’re the first one who’s read that book? Tell us the story?
M: (Rattle on. But I seemed to have forgotten about the female protagonist) I say that I’m getting mixed with the lady from the other book.
P2: What was the lady in the other book’s name?
M: Dominique.
P2: Ok, we’re convinced you’ve read the book but what did you learn from it.
P1: What’s the Philosophy of the book?
M: Some more Gyan, I even put in a quote sayings from the book. (This time P2 nods looking at P1, I’m thinking…SCMHRD here I come)
P2: What is this particular type of Philosophy called, there’s a specific name for it?
M: Objectivism, it’s called Objectivism Sir.
P2: Akhilesh, have you faced any setbacks in life?
M: Sir, a recent setback I faced is the CAT.
P2: Apart from academics?
M: None that I can think of.
P1: Never been slapped by a girl?
M: No Sir.
P1: If you were given a chance to go back a few years in your life, when you’re just out of school, would you still choose to take Philosophy?
M: Yes Sir definitely. Philosophy has changed my life. I would still choose Philosophy.
***** Now, the part where I think I blew it******
P2: Tell me, Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
M: (Oh God I hadn’t thought about this one) Sir, 5 years from now I would like to see myself in a big company holding an important position. (Something of that sort…I may have sounded a bit unsure about this one.)
P2: The Indian Railways is a big company and the position of a driver is a very important position, would you like to be working there?
M: (Feeling I could turn back 10 seconds of my life…rather than 5 years P1 had offered me earlier)…I didn’t mean that Sir.
P2: So be more specific.
M: Sir a place where I will be enjoying my work, etc, etc.
P1: What other exams did you give?
M: Sir CAT-80.54, XAT-99.3 and MAT-98.5.
P1: I think I’m done.
P2: Me too. Thank you Akhilesh, it was a pleasure meeting you.
M: Thank You, Sirs.
That was That, I thought I’d done pretty well and the Ayn Rand stuff was pretty cool too, I mean I got really lucky. And the panel too seemed really impressed with me…they nodded in approval quite a lot.
As I was returning home I checked the Christ website and found out that I’d been rejected for Christ. I was pretty confident about Christ as I was about SCMHRD, so I prayed to God that Christ was just a one off incident. But as they say Lightning does strike twice…(On the same person.) (sic.)
CHRIST CALLING…
Date: 27th January ‘08
Time: 2:30 P.M.
Venue: Christ College, Bangalore
It was finally here, the season of Group Discussions, Interviews and a whole lot of nerves. This was my first call and also my first real Group Discussion (GD).
I had reached Bangalore the day before after a long and protracted journey. I was putting up at Arnav’s. Just a day before I was leaving for Bangalore I got the information that our Group Discussion would be preceded by an oral presentation of 90 seconds. They had given out a list of 90 topics to prepare…90 TOPICS out of which around 50 I had not even heard of!!! So the morning of 27th I spent around 2-3 hrs frantically searching through wikipedia pages for a little idea about the topics. I had given my formals for ironing and I went to collect them after I had finished with the internet, that was around 11:30. After collecting my formals I went to Arnavs place and it was locked, which was strange because he had left from the internet café before me. So I waited for quite some time calling him around a dozen times. He didn’t show up even around 12:30. I was already really nervous thinking about the GD and the situation was freaking me out. I knew that I could get into his veranda through a ledge and if the kitchen door was open I could get inside. So having no choice I climbed onto the ledge and got in courtesy of the open kitchen door. I went inside and found out that I couldn’t open the door from inside. Now I was inside and my formals were outside, because I had to leave them behind to climb on the ledge. I was getting scared that someone would take them away…quite a day I was having. So I went out again and brought the formals in with me (through the ledge). I was planning to change and go out through the ledge later if Arnav didn’t show up. Around 1 P.M. Arnav came and he was quite confused to see me inside. Apparently he was still there in the café and thought that I was there with him too!! Anyways, I had no time to explain stuff…I was getting late. It was really some prelude to the GD; however, I still wonder how I would’ve looked in full formals climbing on to the ledge.
Well that was that, I reached Christ College in time (which was the most important thing). There was a huge crowd in front of the Building, people all dressed up in formals and looking really executive like. I felt very small and nervous, and lonely especially after Arnav left me. The process was spanned out something like this; first we were shown a presentation about the College and a speech from the Director. The Auditorium looked really posh and the seats were comfortable but somehow these things make you more uncomfortable in such circumstances (at least to me they do). Then we were divided into groups and taken away to separate rooms for the GD. There were around 12 people in my group and the process was held in a classroom. Each one of us first had to give an extempore on a topic of their choice, I got ‘lean management’ and thanks to wiki I managed to get in a few lines and a whole lot of examples. I felt good after speaking something, calmed my nerves down. Then we were given the topic of our GD which was Income Tax should be scrapped for more Sales Tax. I thought we would be getting some time to collect our thoughts but Bang! , a guy started right away…was caught unawares which probably resulted in the first 5 mins of the GD being without any contribution from me. It was a Fish Market alright and I was feeling the heat as I was one of the few who hadn’t put in a single point. Luckily for me a girl stood up and told every body that we should give a chance to speak to every one, which was the opening I was looking for and I never looked back. I put in some great points which everyone agreed to. At the end of it all I was pretty much satisfied, but I’d had a close shave. As I was coming out a senior who was also there in our room during the GD came up to me and said that I had performed well and that I might get selected for the Interview process tomorrow. I felt elated and went home with a wide smile on my face. As expected I was called for the interview the next day. (So far So Good)
The Interview
28th January’08
Christ College
My slot was for 11:30 and was there by 11. Was a bit nervous, however, I was really high on confidence after what had transpired yesterday. We were made to sit on a long hallway full of aspirants like me and wait. I think the waiting thing is part of the process because the waiting really freaks you out, not to mention the sharing of rumours about the college among the aspirants which I’m sure made everyone feel uneasy. My turn finally came after what seemed like an eternity. The room was quite big and I immediately got the impression that three interviews were being held simultaneously on that very room. I got the one right in front of the room.
P1 (Panel 1); P2 (Panel 2) and M (Me).
P2: Please take a seat.
M: Good Afternoon Sir’s
P2: Tell us something about yourself?
M: Blah Blah …
P2: Oh Tashi Namgyal Academy!! (When I tell that I did my schooling from there)
M: (Feeling Good) J
P1: Do you know a famous football player from your School?
M: (Duh… Do I know my name) Yes … Baichung Bhutia.
P1: Do you play football too?
M: Not much. I used to play cricket.
P2: When did you come to Bangalore?
M: Two days ago.
P2: So, you graduated from Philosophy? (Something I would hear a lot of in all my successive interviews…but I didn’t know it back then.)
M: Yes.
P2: Tell us, we are really interested because I think this is the first time we’ve had a student from Philosophy background, (at this point P1 interrupts to say "Yes Yes") Why MBA after Philosophy?
M: (Cooked up answer. Was prepared. Although the ‘first time’ part made me feel a bit uneasy) I even remember putting in a phrase like ‘I believe that when I die I can look back at my life and realize that it was all worth it’. (Don’t ask me in which context man, I was going haywire)
P1: What were the subjects apart from Philosophy that you studied?
M: Umm…Western History, Environmental History, Social Work…Umm…P.Ed…Umm… (Had it been that long…?)
P2: (Putting me out of my misery) Nothing with Mathematics?
M: (I didn’t like where this was taking me)…No Sir.
P1: Till which standard did you study Math?
M: Till Std. 10. (Rather Apologetically) . L
P2: The thing is that the MBA course comprises of large parts where complex Mathematic concepts are applied, Do you think that you can cope with such things since you don’t have much exposure to Maths?
M: Defended myself by saying that I would work hard and after all it was there to understand and moreover I had a pretty good percentile in Maths in MAT.
P2: Ok. (But he didn’t look very convinced).
P2: Tell me something about the Indian Economy?
M: Told something about the steady growth of the economy and how infrastructure was necessary to sustain that growth. (Which I thought was a pretty appropriate answer)
P2: Tell me something about the infrastructure of Bangalore?
M: Spoke about how the roads in Bangalore were quite narrow compared to Kolkata and absence of hawkers, then flyovers and stuff like that.
P2: Tell me about a Philosopher you studied?
M: Descartes…I think therefore I exist.
P1: Oh yes. (To P2) Mr.X has named his office after this saying I.T.T.I.E.
P2: Ok. (To P2)
M: (Feeling Good all over again.) J
P1: So do you all own a farmland out there?
M: Yes, a little bit.
P1: What do you grow there?
M: Maize, Chillies…
P1: Have you worked in your farm?
M: Yes, I enjoy it very much (which was a complete lie). I’ve even grown chillies and sold them…(that’s the truth and my turn over that harvest season was 40 Rupees.) Didn’t tell them that though.
P1: I think I’m done.
P2: Me Too.
M: Thank you Sirs.
M: (Thinking that Christ is in the Bag) J J J
I come out feeling very satisfied with the interview and quite confident that I’ll make it. The awkward part of the interview (the Math inadequacy part) had been conveniently been wiped off my memory. I think that’s down to my optimistic lookout, where I look into only the positive things. I would repent it, later.
Time: 2:30 P.M.
Venue: Christ College, Bangalore
It was finally here, the season of Group Discussions, Interviews and a whole lot of nerves. This was my first call and also my first real Group Discussion (GD).
I had reached Bangalore the day before after a long and protracted journey. I was putting up at Arnav’s. Just a day before I was leaving for Bangalore I got the information that our Group Discussion would be preceded by an oral presentation of 90 seconds. They had given out a list of 90 topics to prepare…90 TOPICS out of which around 50 I had not even heard of!!! So the morning of 27th I spent around 2-3 hrs frantically searching through wikipedia pages for a little idea about the topics. I had given my formals for ironing and I went to collect them after I had finished with the internet, that was around 11:30. After collecting my formals I went to Arnavs place and it was locked, which was strange because he had left from the internet café before me. So I waited for quite some time calling him around a dozen times. He didn’t show up even around 12:30. I was already really nervous thinking about the GD and the situation was freaking me out. I knew that I could get into his veranda through a ledge and if the kitchen door was open I could get inside. So having no choice I climbed onto the ledge and got in courtesy of the open kitchen door. I went inside and found out that I couldn’t open the door from inside. Now I was inside and my formals were outside, because I had to leave them behind to climb on the ledge. I was getting scared that someone would take them away…quite a day I was having. So I went out again and brought the formals in with me (through the ledge). I was planning to change and go out through the ledge later if Arnav didn’t show up. Around 1 P.M. Arnav came and he was quite confused to see me inside. Apparently he was still there in the café and thought that I was there with him too!! Anyways, I had no time to explain stuff…I was getting late. It was really some prelude to the GD; however, I still wonder how I would’ve looked in full formals climbing on to the ledge.
Well that was that, I reached Christ College in time (which was the most important thing). There was a huge crowd in front of the Building, people all dressed up in formals and looking really executive like. I felt very small and nervous, and lonely especially after Arnav left me. The process was spanned out something like this; first we were shown a presentation about the College and a speech from the Director. The Auditorium looked really posh and the seats were comfortable but somehow these things make you more uncomfortable in such circumstances (at least to me they do). Then we were divided into groups and taken away to separate rooms for the GD. There were around 12 people in my group and the process was held in a classroom. Each one of us first had to give an extempore on a topic of their choice, I got ‘lean management’ and thanks to wiki I managed to get in a few lines and a whole lot of examples. I felt good after speaking something, calmed my nerves down. Then we were given the topic of our GD which was Income Tax should be scrapped for more Sales Tax. I thought we would be getting some time to collect our thoughts but Bang! , a guy started right away…was caught unawares which probably resulted in the first 5 mins of the GD being without any contribution from me. It was a Fish Market alright and I was feeling the heat as I was one of the few who hadn’t put in a single point. Luckily for me a girl stood up and told every body that we should give a chance to speak to every one, which was the opening I was looking for and I never looked back. I put in some great points which everyone agreed to. At the end of it all I was pretty much satisfied, but I’d had a close shave. As I was coming out a senior who was also there in our room during the GD came up to me and said that I had performed well and that I might get selected for the Interview process tomorrow. I felt elated and went home with a wide smile on my face. As expected I was called for the interview the next day. (So far So Good)
The Interview
28th January’08
Christ College
My slot was for 11:30 and was there by 11. Was a bit nervous, however, I was really high on confidence after what had transpired yesterday. We were made to sit on a long hallway full of aspirants like me and wait. I think the waiting thing is part of the process because the waiting really freaks you out, not to mention the sharing of rumours about the college among the aspirants which I’m sure made everyone feel uneasy. My turn finally came after what seemed like an eternity. The room was quite big and I immediately got the impression that three interviews were being held simultaneously on that very room. I got the one right in front of the room.
P1 (Panel 1); P2 (Panel 2) and M (Me).
P2: Please take a seat.
M: Good Afternoon Sir’s
P2: Tell us something about yourself?
M: Blah Blah …
P2: Oh Tashi Namgyal Academy!! (When I tell that I did my schooling from there)
M: (Feeling Good) J
P1: Do you know a famous football player from your School?
M: (Duh… Do I know my name) Yes … Baichung Bhutia.
P1: Do you play football too?
M: Not much. I used to play cricket.
P2: When did you come to Bangalore?
M: Two days ago.
P2: So, you graduated from Philosophy? (Something I would hear a lot of in all my successive interviews…but I didn’t know it back then.)
M: Yes.
P2: Tell us, we are really interested because I think this is the first time we’ve had a student from Philosophy background, (at this point P1 interrupts to say "Yes Yes") Why MBA after Philosophy?
M: (Cooked up answer. Was prepared. Although the ‘first time’ part made me feel a bit uneasy) I even remember putting in a phrase like ‘I believe that when I die I can look back at my life and realize that it was all worth it’. (Don’t ask me in which context man, I was going haywire)
P1: What were the subjects apart from Philosophy that you studied?
M: Umm…Western History, Environmental History, Social Work…Umm…P.Ed…Umm… (Had it been that long…?)
P2: (Putting me out of my misery) Nothing with Mathematics?
M: (I didn’t like where this was taking me)…No Sir.
P1: Till which standard did you study Math?
M: Till Std. 10. (Rather Apologetically) . L
P2: The thing is that the MBA course comprises of large parts where complex Mathematic concepts are applied, Do you think that you can cope with such things since you don’t have much exposure to Maths?
M: Defended myself by saying that I would work hard and after all it was there to understand and moreover I had a pretty good percentile in Maths in MAT.
P2: Ok. (But he didn’t look very convinced).
P2: Tell me something about the Indian Economy?
M: Told something about the steady growth of the economy and how infrastructure was necessary to sustain that growth. (Which I thought was a pretty appropriate answer)
P2: Tell me something about the infrastructure of Bangalore?
M: Spoke about how the roads in Bangalore were quite narrow compared to Kolkata and absence of hawkers, then flyovers and stuff like that.
P2: Tell me about a Philosopher you studied?
M: Descartes…I think therefore I exist.
P1: Oh yes. (To P2) Mr.X has named his office after this saying I.T.T.I.E.
P2: Ok. (To P2)
M: (Feeling Good all over again.) J
P1: So do you all own a farmland out there?
M: Yes, a little bit.
P1: What do you grow there?
M: Maize, Chillies…
P1: Have you worked in your farm?
M: Yes, I enjoy it very much (which was a complete lie). I’ve even grown chillies and sold them…(that’s the truth and my turn over that harvest season was 40 Rupees.) Didn’t tell them that though.
P1: I think I’m done.
P2: Me Too.
M: Thank you Sirs.
M: (Thinking that Christ is in the Bag) J J J
I come out feeling very satisfied with the interview and quite confident that I’ll make it. The awkward part of the interview (the Math inadequacy part) had been conveniently been wiped off my memory. I think that’s down to my optimistic lookout, where I look into only the positive things. I would repent it, later.
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