It is strange, how days can be entirely different. One day, you fail in everything you do. And the next day everything starts falling into place and the same you succeed in what you are doing. How it happens is the intricacy of the human brain. But it sure does happen.
The exam time was a tough, sleep depriving time. But the tougher times had to follow - the summer placement time. When you see 250 people sitting in a room, vying to become the couple of people that a company selects – then you know what competition is! Actually the same happens in during MBA entrance also but somehow it didn’t feel that way then. Things here are definitely different considering that the 250 people with you are the ones that have been creamed out of 35000 in the country.
Anyways, the first day of the summers was a big disappointment. Around 10 companies, 5 shortlists for GD’s and not a single convert. It was the first time I experienced mass recruitment – that means many companies coming in a single day within hours of each other. As soon as you are out of 1 GD and reach the waiting room, calls are being made to locate you for the second one. And to add to it, you need to submit CV’s for another 2 companies. It can be quite harrowing at times. More so when you are not getting selected. Starting the day at 6.30 and running to college with no breakfast. 3 Group Discussions in a row and it is almost lunch time. And when you are called for another discussion without anything in your tummy for 20 hours, then sometimes the expected happens – a black out. Blanked mind. That was exactly what I experienced on day 1.
Day 2 started not very differently. No breakfast and running quickly to be in time for CV submission. First GD was a surprise for me. I had never done that well. Result: selected for the interview. A considerably long interview and as I come out of the room, I am being looked for another GD. Then as soon as I am out of that, I am being called for another interview. The mind actually gets numb and sometimes you mechanically move around. And one thing I noticed. When before the interview you have time in hand to think about things, then inside the room it doesn’t go well. When you have time to think, it allows the nerves to get in and sometimes a mixture of negative thoughts. It happens the same way in cricket also. When you start thinking about the next ball you are going to face, about the bowler, about how he spun the last ball viciously etc, you are bound to get out. That is a question I have always wanted to ask greats like Sachin that what do they think between balls. Rahul Dravid once said that he concentrates on his breathing between balls. That is how he keeps himself from distractive thoughts.
Anyways coming back to interview. With 4 people before me, I had plenty of time to think before the 1st one. And that reflected during the process. It didn’t look natural. To some of the standard questions like Why MBA, Why marketing etc, there was no spontaneity – all answers coming from the short term memory where they had been stored minutes before the interview. The second one was different. It was almost like out of the GD room and into the Interview room. No time to think and so the answers came more naturally instead of vomiting all the crammed answers. Result: on spot selection after the interview. The thought is bit scary though. When you know that a spot offer policy is being followed and when at the end of the interview the panel just says, “Ok. Thanks for your time sidharth” – there is a definite feeling of uneasiness.
Anyways as they say, everything is well that ends well. And sure it did.
