Job Interviews

No show-off time now, but it truly felt nice to get a pat on the back for my writing skills from Rashmi Bansal - editor in chief of the JAM magazine and from Vaibhav who's also on the editorial board of the same magazine.

Now to post what the title of this post mentions:

Job Interview – These are two words that, when used in unison, could paint people’s minds and faces with the widest variety of emotions and reactions: triumph, despair, frustration, anger, smiles, fits of laughter….it’s all there. If you have started skimming through this article expecting it to be one of those “How to crack it” gyaan bhandaars, stop! It doesn’t have what you expect to find. It’s just a college-goer’s account of a few memorably witty job interviews that I’ve been through, a few that I’ve seen around me and the subtle fundas that I picked up from these experiences.

In one of my friend’s interviews, the interviewer was gutsy enough to ask “What’s the difference between you and a bastard?” My friend thought awhile and snapped back “One table length!” Needless to say, he got through, despite having ridiculed the interviewer with his witty repartee. In my interview, I was mockingly asked about my chess nationals – “So you consider yourself a stud in chess?”. I said to the young man with a tinge of my naughtiness - “Yes I do! If you employ me, you never know when I might check-mate you!!”. He was thoroughly embarrassed as his colleagues on the panel broke into fits of laughter. In another interview, a friend was asked what he did in his spare time. The interviewer was obviously looking for a healthy, interesting hobby list that embellished the candidate’s personality or maybe a geeky extension of the candidate that made him code even during his spare time. My friend blurted out “I just chill out with my friends” and he was immediately asked to leave. Funda that I picked up: Set your rhythm to the pulse of the interviewer. Be perceptive enough to gauge what the interviewer is looking for. If he’s witty enough, your sharp wit, presence of mind and chill attitude are also appreciated. If he isn’t, you would do better to maintain a formal and serious tone when you answer.

As I entered the CTS interview room, the words of my gyaan-guru seniors rung in my ears – Mention ONE subject that you’re really confident of and they’ll grill you only on that. At the opportune moment, I mentioned ‘Operating Systems’ and boy! the next 45 minutes were spent asking me questions on every single subject I had studied in 3 years of engineering. When the storm was all over, the interviewer thought out loud “Anything else?” and I had a good mind to say: “Yeah! Thanks for quizzing me on every subject under the sun. You probably forgot English!”. Funda that I picked up: Surprises can spring up, totally contradicting even your most-trusted, been-there-done-that gyaan-gurus.

In one of my interviews, the interviewer’s last question to me was: Based on your experience, tell me one thing you’ve learnt about interviews and I honestly spoke up: I’ve learnt that you need not know the answers to everything! She applauded in admiration. But that obviously doesn’t mean you draw a blank on most of the questions posed.

In Toto, what I’ve learnt from some funny interview encounters, is that technical soundness alone gets one nowhere. A thorough read-up on the company and job profiles is a must. Confidence, wit, presence of mind, poise, sensitivity to what the interviewer is looking for and choosing one’s words carefully are a few traits that I’ve personally seen, working wonders and turning huge tides in the candidates’ favour.