5 things I learned this week (Part 10)

Three years to this day, on a sunny Monday afternoon, I bid goodbye to my college life officially. The last hurdle that I had to pass was called the “Course Viva”, in which I had to prove to a complete stranger that whatever I had mugged up over the course of four years is still somewhere inside of me. Thanks to the lord almighty, I scrapped through the ordeal without too much questioning of my credentials as an electrical engineer.

Such experiences are one too many these days. Those of us, who were lucky enough to have had a chance to attend campus placements, have also had the curse of goof ups at interviews to content with. I’ve had my fair share of them. My first interview in my life was epic in many terms.

It was the first company on campus. A respectable IT MNC. Everyone in our 2010 batch from all departments sat for it. We had gone through 4-5 levels of elimination on the first day. A two hour aptitude test, then multiple group discussions, and in the end, those who were left standing where told to make a computer program to solve the Conway’s way of life in a matrix form. (It’s an interesting puzzle. Read about that here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway's_Game_of_Life)

I am not humble enough to say that I just got through, nor am I an egomaniac to say that I aced it, but yes, I was asked to be one of the 10 odd people to attend the interview the next morning. I had started working on my resume a month back, so I was able to go into the interview with two full pages of “achievements” and “recognitions”.

But the interview was anything but smooth. I wasn’t able to answer any question properly. He was asking some advanced technical questions related to database creation and query retrieval. And being just a little better than a novice in that, I wasn’t able to answer properly. Then, I heard that grunt. You know the one who hear the interviewers make when they’ve had enough of you. That grunt.

With that, he picked up my resume, went through it, then made a remark which still rings in ear.

“Oh!! You are from the electrical stream, are you?? I thought you were a computer science student.”

I don’t have words to express my feeling at that moment. Even if I had the words, I don’t think that I can make you understand the pain and anger I felt at that moment. I’ve never hated a moment in my life as much as that till now.

Anyways, the whole saga was brought to your notice for one thing. The summer has ended. Most have got their yearly increments. Most are unhappy with it. Now, the time for jumping ships is upon us.

And in that respect, I am going to theme this week’s blog on interviews – what to say, what not to say, and what to do if you say what you shouldn’t have said. :D

Did you know…

1. …that there is more chance of you being asked “Tell me about yourself” than not?

And it pays to keep a premeditated answer for that - something fancy if possible. If you can make a first impression on your interviewers that you are strong and confident, it’ll hold you in good stead over the course of the rest of the interview. For more information on what to say and what not to say as your answer, refer: http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/10-good-ways-to-tell-me-about-yourself

2. …that looking your best is not an option, but a necessity?

Imagine the me of today going for an interview. I haven’t shaved in two weeks; wearing an oddly bright shirt with arms folded up; a fading jeans; shoes which have been enjoying its time out in the dirt and dust. It would take two seconds for the interviewer to know I’m not that interested in the job. So, keep a clean profile for this day at least. And yes, if you see someone clean shaven in the middle of the week, it means that he has been to an interview the day before.

3. …that anything you say in your resume can and will be used against you in a court of interview?

I learnt this the hard way. It is a whole other interview story, but the gist of it is that I filled my resume with stuff I just looked into, not worked actually. And to say that I was technically raped by the interviewer would be an understatement. So, please my dear friends, your resume should hold only those things which you can substantiate convincingly.

4. …that you have to say the right things, even if it is not the truth or if it goes against what you believe in?

Interviewer: “How do you study during a semester?”

Candidate: “Because of the fests and other extracurricular activities I  participate in, I mostly study the week before the exam.”

This candidate was kept in the “Waiting List” after this incident. He was given one more chance to redeem himself.

Interviewer: “How do you study during a semester?”

Candidate: “I have prepared a time table for what to study on each day and follow it religiously.”

Interviewer: “You said you do a lot of extracurricular activities. How do you keep your schedule when you have other work to do?”

Candidate: “I improvise. I shift my time table around and so that I effectively do the same work every week.”

This is a true story. This is how I got my first job offer. I usually am a very honest, open person, but I lied my ass off to make sure that I got a job in the recession years. I don’t think I need to explain my point any further.

P.S. Luckily, I got the job offer from GS soon after, and hence didn’t have to join up at this said company.

5. …that no matter how hard you prepare, irrespective of how correct you answer, there is always a chance that the interview can go wrong?

Take my case for an example. If you want more, think of all the government jobs/seats in colleges that you will miss out on because of reservation, corruption, gender bias and what not. What you can do is send a prayer in the general direction of whomsoever you believe as your God, and hope that you get what you are looking for. I’m not saying that this is all you can do, or that this will work, but it is just the least you can do to unburden yourself.

Well, that’s all for this week folks. Catch you next week.

Have a great weekend!!!