Goa trip

The night before:

Our train was to leave at 5:10 am on Friday. Since I knew that it would be difficult for me to get hold of a taxi which would take me to Dadar station in such wee hours in the morning I decided to spend Thursday night at the hostel. Atleast I would have some company while going to Dadar and whatever problems we might face we would tackle them in a group. I was told by my friends at the hostel that there was a group of hostelites who had gone to Goa and was yet to return and possibly would return by Friday morning. So, there would be plenty of vacant beds for me to occupy.
Two days before I was about to set out I came to know that another classmate of mine had also planned to stay the night at the hostel. Anyway, that didn’t bother me as I knew there were plenty of beds on offer.
So, I went to the hostel on Thursday night after I have finished my dinner. I reached around 10:30 pm.There we chatted for some time and then we were about to hit the sack when my friend Kushal’s roommate entered at around 11:30 pm (his name is Harshad Phadnis aka Phaga).He had a smile on his face as if to say “Gotcha buddy, I know what you were trying to do”. Phaga was not supposed to come back before Saturday or even Sunday. So,there goes one bed………but no problem……..there were still many more. But Phaga not only brought himself but also news that Halbe was planning to come as well. I found out that Halbe called up Phaga at around 8 pm and then it was 11:30 pm. So, I thought that Halbe might not turn up. But as luck would have it, he did and with Sirsikar in tow.
Still no problem…………there were still quite a few beds left. But now I have to act fast so that I get the bed of my choice. I quickly moved to another room and to my ‘pleasant’ surprise I found that Deep, Ronak, Veera gossiping with Manish in that room. But…..I told myself not to panic……no…there is nothing to get perturbed about. The group of hostelites which had gone to Goa was yet to return. As I left Manish’s room, I found myself facing a group of hostelites talking to Bakshi who was sharing his experiences in Goa. As you would have guessed by now, he was a part of that group of hostelites which was yet to return.
Some really scary thoughts crossed my mind……….would I have to sleep on the floor or in the corridor (the hostel rooms are so clean that I would rather stay awake than to sleep on the floor or anywhere else) or on Dadar station’s platform. I was running from this room to that one and to the next one. By God’s grace I came to a room which Mudassar shared and since he was away to Alibaugh I got his bed. I thanked my stars. Had it not been for them, my so called friends had almost ensured that I did not go to sleep and ‘burn the midnight oil for no reason’.
I wonder what was so elusive about the hostel that night. Everyone lived at well connected places but I. There were no particularly great facilities or amenities available at the hostel that could possibly entice them (Even I thought about it 142 times before I leapt for it). Nobody watched any movie or listened to any music or gossiped to spend the night. Everyone slept; so why not at their home???

to be contd..........

Too bad......

Company recruiter (CR), Boss(B)

CR(to boss) :Sir, we have received around 250 resumes for this post.
        How should we go about handling such a large number of people??

B: Do one thing........Call only the first 100 people who have 
  sent their resumes the earliest.

CR: But sir, then we may lose some good candidates and 
  it would also be very unlucky for them.

B: Well, I am sorry to say but 
  there is no place for unlucky people in this company. 

 

Interviews

This is a process which people have to go through when they apply to a company for a job or to an institute to pursue a course. Generally people loathe it. Some get tensed over it. Tension rises and turns into panic for a few people. But what for?

If we just split the word into two, we get ‘inter’(involving two or more entities) and ‘views’ (opinion, a way of looking). So, it would mean that we (interviewees) need to present our views on topics which would be asked by the interviewers. I sounds pretty simple. There should not be a problem with that. Is there anything to be scared of when we are asked about ourselves……or when we are asked about our goal(s) in life????

Well, there is a reason for which people get perturbed. It is because of the ‘other’ meaning of ‘inter’------to bury. That is what we have to do during interviews…..bury our genuine thoughts and come up with well-prepared , articulate, diplomatic, ‘beating around the bush’ answers. And that’s the reason people spend hours (some even days and a few others even months; they are actually ‘men of few words’) to prepare what is to be said about themselves (forget the issues around the world).

When we would be asked about our hobbies, we should mention only those activities, the details (history, geography, why financial investments, why not financial investments in that sector etc) of which we know thoroughly. The general perception about ‘hobby’ is that it an activity of interest which one carries out during one’s pastime. If that person is grilled like this about his hobby and he fails to give the answers and loses out, then would that activity ever remain as his hobby? The poor chap might spend sleepless nights after the incident and when he gets some sleep, he might get nightmares.(hobby to horrible).

If we are asked for our views on some controversial issue, then we should preferably give a ‘sitting on the fence’ view. We can give our genuine opinion as well but very few of us can defend that stand successfully. And please……don’t get emotional about the topic and blurt out some extremist view….never…..ever.(Even if they say that you were tied up and your sister got raped and murdered infront of you and now you, with a pistol in your hand, come face to face with the murderer, it would be better if you say that you wouldn’t kill the criminal;; you should say that you will take the course of law, the ‘mighty’ law).

Then comes the question regarding the strengths and weaknesses………….great people used to say that one who feels oneself to be the most intelligent is the biggest fool of all………so, is identifying oneself to be smart, a strength or a weakness?? When we state a few weaknesses, are we actually displaying the rare strength of self-evaluation and self-identification??? Here again, we would be better off not mentioning any ‘strong’ weaknesses that we possess as they might outweigh the ‘weak’ strengths that we were once proud of.

Then the trick question---- why this job? If you say ‘job profile’ then they will catch you on the wrong foot saying that you would go to some other company if they offer you a better profile; in short you are not in the company to stay, so there is no point in recruiting you.(As if they themselves have sworn never to leave the company come what may). If you say ‘salary’… then only a miracle can see you through………..no,no…not through to securing the job but through the exit door, with any kind of dignity. They will make you feel that you are a needy, greedy person who drools at the sight of money. So, what will get you in or atleast leave you with a chance to get in??? Singing praises of your prospective employer------but don’t go overboard with it……..sing in tune or you might sound flattery and you would see your chances fluttering away.

Well, the interviewers have many tricks and questions up their sleeve. We should not let down our guard even for a moment. Boy!!!! This process is tough……….I guess this grueling session comes next only to the interrogation procedure carried out by the police(We all know how friendly the police are with the criminals, don’t we).

to be contd......

Sir Don

Interviewer(to Sir Donald Bradman) : Sir,what do you think about                                                       England's present bowling attack?
Bradman     : I think I would be able to score atleast 60 odd runs...........
Interviewer: But Sir, you are forgetting that your test average is 99.94.                        Dont you think that 60 is too less??? 
                       I mean, arent you rating them very high??
Bradman     : Well, you are forgetting that I am 80 now.