... i remembered none of the fabled tricks to shrug off the nervousness and keep your calm ... i heard my name called, twice and both were feminine voices... i wiped my face my palms and wished the air-conditioning was a lot more cooler then it was right now! as i entered the cabin i was stumped by the sight in front of me... my heartbeat was on top gear... 'Panel C' consisted of two women... they offered me the seat and i had to consciously contain my grin...
... i had played and replayed the entire interview in my mind close to dozen times earlier!... i pictured myself in the hot seat and the furry of the questions and the answers i will be dishing out... subtle jokes or funny lines... their grueling and my rehearsed answers and their facial expressions and my composure and their rolling eyes and my smug and ... well... u got the idea...
... but i was not prepared for two women interviewing me! who said that there is pro-male gender bias in the industry? ... maybe it's there maybe it's not... but i was sitting in front of two ladies who were still reading my application form... i could see their gaze piercing through the paper... i was trying to calm my nerves counting numbers... and i was trying to breathe... and then it began
... lady 'one' remarked about my company being at just round the corner... and i immediately corrected that i am on the client's location so i'll be travelling from fifteen kilometers on the far side... and then the usual stuff "what do u do in the current profile?"..."how do u see MBA fitting into this?"..."is it for the learning purpose or a career enhancing option?"..."you said blogging and reading. what do u read?"..."what do u blog?"...some more stuff about the family and all...and then "whoz gonna fund ur education?" ...
... in all, it was good... "do u have any questions?" one of them asked... of course i had questions!! ..."do u have any tie-ups with banks for education loans?"..."you mentioned that the weekend classes and weekday classes may be merged... how come?"..."what about the timings? fixed or flexible?"..."attendance mandatory?" ... honestly i had no serious questions to ask! :-) ... these were trivial ones but still it is better to ask than to mull over them... and then i was asked to meet the co-ordinate if i still had any queries... and now i only had one issue... they never cross verified my documents!... i mean with the fake pilots and all ... they should be more vigilant na? ... so when i told them my thought i was asked to report back to the 'hall' and get them verified... the lady over there opened the file and shut it close and said it's fine! :-| ... i wanted to return the IDs we were wearing... however the lady at the counter smiled and said "oh! it's okay and u can keep 'em!" ... as a souvenir or wat?...
... and then while leaving the 'hall' i picked up a casual chat with another candidate and as we were leaving he told me that one of his friend is interested in the marketing dept of my client... and that he had to leave for Mumbai ... i offered him a ride to the nearest shuttle point... and when i reached there i realised that i can drop him further on the way towards Mumbai... and then once i dropped him at the next bus-stop i realised that it was only noon ... Sunday abhi baaki tha mere dost! ... so first i called mom and told her about the morning interview and all... and then called another friend and we planned for spending the Sunday like we like spending the Sunday... with a movie and lunch...
... but even before that the gleaming tarmac was right there in front of me and the music was loud and air conditioning was chilling... so i smiled and opened the throttle...
(to be continued)
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