Summer's Placement 4: The Final Cut

People say all's well that ends well. I used to hold the same view. Now, I believe all's well that ends. Bringing you the concluding part of the six day saga that brought me into very close contact with my soul, forced me to ask lots of questions and helped me know lots of people inside out. Key learnings...isn't that the term? Nywayz lets join our protagonist at the beginning of Slot2.

Day5:
8:30 am
Okk so a new day and a new beginning awaited me as I brought out my 3rd new shirt and hoped for the best. Lots of shortlists. Today I'm bound to be busy. Lets hope things get over early. Wishful thinking!!!
Day starts. Nestle calling. GDs. How I hate them. Its like letting loose herd of hungry lions on a rabbit. You never know what the interviewers are looking for in a GD. What are the criteria? The maximum airtime? The critical points? The moderator role? I don't know. Never will. But one thing I made sure on this day. Maximum effort. I redefined my GD styles. More as the day wears on.

11:00 am
Have had 4 GDs I guess till now. Pretty insipid stuff till now. Problem now seems to be that I meet the same motley group of people in every GD. Guess Controls is using some optimal scheduling algorithm. I'll work for Controls in the finals, I think. This is interesting stuff. Complex non linear programming I guess. NP hard ???

12:00-4:00 pm
Flurry of GDs. From one room to another. Oh btw, I actually start a GD. Hehe. This is fun. Who am I? I no longer know myself. Somehow manage to squeeze in lunch. These packet lunches are fun, too. Seems like a picnic. Life is fun.

4:00-8:00 pm
Or is it? Entering the double digit GD region now. And I know I have the SAP 2nd round interview sometime in the evening. I need some time to chill out before that! Do I have time? Spend 1 hour waiting for a guy to make it 8 guys for a GD. Lady on the panelist want to ride a bike around the campus. Infra team frantically search for equipment. This is one team I won't join! What a life! Place rep calling on cell. SAP at 8:30.

8:30-9:30 pm
Nervewracking half an hour wait before the interview. Another telephonic round. Start scribbling notes. The phone rings at 9. Pick it up. Rehearsed opening line. The guy starts speaking. And keeps speaking. Arre lemme speak, too! I must do something. So I do. After every two sentences, I rephrase his words and throw it back at him. Nice strategy. Seems to be working. I don't know what this interview was meant to judge. Anyway, he hangs up and wishes me luck. Is that a good sign or a bad sign? Do I need the luck elsewhere?

Dude no time for that crap. Next stop Agrotech GD. Hurry up. The whole group is waiting for me. How do they expect me to come out of my interview inertia so soon! This is ridiculuous!

9:30-11:00 pm
I felt like screaming "I told you so!" when I came out of the room after the GD. Never opened my mouth even once. By the time I realised that a GD was in progress, it was too far gone!
Next stop ITC interview. Oh well, finally ITC realizes my worth and shortlists me after the GD.
Good goin, ITC but I guess our only relationship will be Wills Navy Cut. Made for each other? Don't think so. 11:00 pm and still not done. Can you believe it? I can't. Times Group calling. Get it done with.

11:30 pm
Finally I make it back to the arena. Whew!!! What a day. Can't believe so much action in one day. I don't know where I'm getting the energy after 5 long days. Pure adrenalin? People I did not know yesterday are friends now. Sharing the same adversity brings people much closer, I guess. And not sharing it or even trying to does alienate people. Lots of lessons life teaches. And finally, now that I have time to think, the goosebumps start all over again. What if not SAP? When will they declare the damn result? Why is the placerep not calling? Why does the front desk never call my reg no and send me to the place office? Why not? Why me?

Day 6

7:30 am
Know what? I have a direct interview call from Coats India. Lucky me! After a very nervewracking night and desperately seeking to stay calm, I wait in the arena. Breakfast? No thank you, sir! Oh btw my cuffs are dirty. RR's room and his shirt. His tie proved lucky for RS. Will the shirt do the same for me? Lets see. But I guess the term lucky was fast losing significance!!!

8:30 am
Front desk calling. Where to, dude? Which GD? Place office. My heart skips a beat. Place office, finally??? Will my prayers be answered finally? Try not to think. The next few minutes are a happy daze. I got through. I am supposed to tank interviews for the rest of the day.

I feel like sinking to the ground. Relief. Nothing else. I am numbed.

And I am happy. For the simple reason that I can now officially tell the bloody interviewers to go to hell and stay there, for all I'm concerned. Go to hell, people. Enough is enough. Bahut ho gaya nautanki!!!

Rest of the Day
Go around in that suit, which now feels like second skin, screwing up interviews left, right and centre and leaving behind baffled interviewers in my wake. This is fun. This is absolute bliss. Life never felt so good. Perverse pleasure maybe, but pleasure nevertheless. Retribution, perhaps? Finally changed to my jeans and kicked off the shoes. Ahh how good does it feel to have the simple things in life!

That's about the end of the story. Fantastic experience, without a doubt. Missed only two things in the entire process. Otherwise seen all and done all. Couldn't do the voluntary stuff and hence, missed the chance of helping others. And two, did not savour the experience of companies making a pitch. However, no regrets. You never get all the good things at one go! But how do you define the good things in life? Okk...I won't get philosophical...enjoy!!!