The Interview Room

If there’s one situation where you shouldn’t say, “Been there, done that”, ever, is when someone gets rejected in an interview. People like me, however, are allowed to say this, the reason for which will be explained later. Coz frankly speaking, no one and I mean NO ONE knows what goes inside that god-forsaken room except for that poor soul who faced the interview panel (the people in which seem look-alikes of Jigsaw, Frankenstein and Dracula). To us, every HR & Tech guy is a sadist... seeking pleasure in ripping us of our already-stingy self-respect and of the hope that we might walk from the placement cell with a smile on our face!

I have appeared for the interviews of 8 top-notch companies that have visited our campus. Excellent job-profiles, superfluous packages, posting in metropolitan cities... you name it. And I guess it’s time to tell you that we have a one-job-per-person rule in our college. So when I am saying that I have appeared in these 8 companies, I am definitely not boasting because I was rejected in all of them. And in this context, I happen to hold a record for a pretty pathetic feat... one that no one should ever achieve... appearing in 8 companies back-to-back and getting rejected in ALL of them. I know there may be some more wretched beings that share the same sickened fate as me or may be even worse. And that’s why I said that when people like me say “Been there, done that”, it counts.

Some people have claimed that their closest experience to hell was when they were sitting in the interview room. These are the people who are the first ones to go in. Except for one instance, I always landed up being last but fourth or fifth in the interview order. And trust me, as far as that waiting period is concerned... let’s just say that it is a very efficient method for military grade torture. You are lost in a different world. Your eyes fixed upon the clock. You shake your legs, not due to fear or nervousness but due to uncertainty. The morbid silence of the room makes your mind numb to be capable of perceiving of any constructive thoughts. You wait to hear the feedback to person who has just come out.

I never believed in Luck-Fate-Destiny trifecta. And then 5th September 2009 happened. My first interview for a reputed mobile software making company. Since then, there have been numerous instances where my hard-held belief was not only abrogated but annihilated. Anyway, let bygones be bygones. The most important thing that worked for me was that I was just not ready to give up. Even after what I had been through, I always went for the next interview, with much more confidence. Before entering the room, I used to say (and I literally did)... “Bring it on”. And one day, out of the blue, it just paid off. I got a job... a dream job... handsome salary, civil engineering related work and a PSU company. But trust me, I observed a paradigm shift in my belief system over the last few months. But as they say... All’s Well That Ends Well.