People say 13 is an unlucky no. Bt fo me, its rather a different case. Der r several occasions in mah lyf wer I was associated wid dis “LUCKY 13” , as I call it so.. nd many a tyms, it did wonders.. When I was in cls 8th, I stood 2nd in clas for the 1st tym ever (was a topper since kindergarten) and scored 13 marks less dn the topper. I used to travel in bus no. 13 during my school days. It was 7/2/2011 (7+2+2+0+1+1=13) and I was travelg 4m Haridwar 2 Roorkee in a bus whose number was UP15 2410 (1+5+2+4+1+0=13), the moment I was struck wid an idea of writing dis post etc etc etc... The latest wonder is mah 1st JOB.. :) . Aftr being unsuccessful in several companies like Deutsche Bank, Direct I, Capital One, Schlumberger, ZS Associates, Rio Tinto, Verity Knowledge Solutions, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Oracle Financial Services, Reliance Industries & Futures First, it was my 13th round.
The LUCKY 13 provd its worth yet agn fo me.. It was 13th Dec, 13th company in which i had applied, finally 13 were recruited and i ws d 13th in d list [Viswas wid “V”, alws d last name :( ] and here I am.. “RESEARCH ASSOCIATE in INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS DIVISION” @ EVALUESERVE, Gurgaon.
EVALUESERVE, a pioneer in providing Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) services, was opened for all B.Tech, M.Tech & PhD students irrespective of any branch. In many earlier companies, I wasn’t evn able to get thru d initial round of written test and was quite nervous. I alws had a self confidence in mahslf dat qualifying GD’s & Interviews is a left hand play fo me & my self confidence was prvd in an earlier company ‘Verity Knowledge Solutions’ whch didn’t take any written test and had only GD & Interview rounds as a part f der recruitment process. During dat GD, I was d only person in da grp f 8, along wid one of mah btch mates, hu ws in favour f da topic given to us “Formation of new states in India” while all othrs wer against us. I did perform very well in da GD and was applauded by most f mah colleagues fo many relevant points whch I had raised during the GD. One f my senior in architecture praised me saying, “suna h tmne GD me sabki baja di :) ”. This added to my self confidence. Finally, as expected, I got thru the GD (only 3 wer selected 4m our grp fo d nxt round). I myslf didn’t giv da interview with enthu & interest ‘coz da interview result f RIO TINTO was about to b declared late in da evng, and as per our college Placement Policy, v had to go in d company whc declares its result first and RIO TINTO being a foreign company is alws our 1st preference. SO, I knew I just have to qualify this written test...Baaki toh m goin to beat ne1 out der in da GD etc..
It was 13th Dec, 2010.. “D LUCKY DAY” .. attended the Pre Placement Talk (PPT) of EVS in d mrng and the only thing interested me in dat boring ppt was da last 7-8 mins, in whc dy attracted us by showing 4 (intimate) party pics ;-) agn & agn. The head presenter sed, v don’t ve office during weekends & organise parties almost evry weekend and “smtyms some inappropriate stuff also happens :P ”.. hehehehe... Dis was was d point I decided that I ve to get into dis compny nehow..fo 2 reasons: one, dy r here to recruit fo IPR profile and IPR (whch v studied in three-one, ie, 3rd yr 1st semester, as an elective course) was one f da only few subs whc attarctd mah interest & secondly, I love partiesssssssssssszzzzz........ \m/ .. It was almost 12.50pm, haven’t had brkfst, was very hungry, whn dy announced dat d written test will b conducted in New Examination Hall (NEH) at 1.15pm sharp. Shit ! I ve to miss my lunch :( . “Saalo, tm log khana bhi na khane dena aaj ! ” was exactly wat came to my mind ryt dat moment. Bt wateva, rushed towards NEH in d nxt couple f mins, praying all d while “Ohh God! pls make me qualify dis written round once. Bless me God ! “
Aftr gaving my bst shot in d written test, I went to the placmnt complex to chk out da result. Der was a long list f 104 students hu qualified d test among all B.Tech + M.Tech + PhD students hu had appeard fo d test. Firstly, I chkd d lst few names, thinking if dy had arranged it alphabetically and then started 4m d top. Was almost heart broken till I reachd no.50 and had started cursing mahslf [..thinkg, mera kuch nahi hone wala, phr se written nahi nikal paaya :’( ] whn I heard my name 4m smwher and increased my scrolling speed...Der it was, 85 Vishwas Gurehiya and yet again 8+5=13, mera LUCKY 13 :) .... yeyyy, yeyyyyyy, yeyyyyyyyyy !!!!!!
13, 13, 13 ... yet agn 13 ! Dis was d tym, I realised it has 2 b mah day 2dy ! I thanked God fo dis and seeked d Blessing f The Almighty 1ce agn, calld mummy papa and gave dm dis gud news dat I’ve been shortlisted fo da interview round. Maa-papa wer so happy. Mummy blessed me sayg, “Beta Vishu yaad karo tmne apne chote bhai ko kya bola tha jab vo interview k liye gaya tha,’bas yaad rakhna tmhe hi sab kuch aata h, baaki samne wala aur doose bacche tmhare samne kuch nahi h’ , aj tmhe apni yahi baat yad rakhni h..confidence se jao, hm sab tmhare sath h..” :)
It was arnd 5.30pm, if I rembr it exactly, whn da 1st round f interview begun. It was being conducted in two separate rooms and I was d 1st one hu was calld fo da 1st round f interview in one f da rooms.
ME: May I come in Sir !
HR: Yes Viswas, come on in. Have a seat.
(..his mob rings...He sed to the person on line, “I m tryg to connect my tata photon as da wi-fi isn’t working here in dis room at IIT Roorkee..Curse u IIT-R admin, u don’t evn provide da corporates wid a proper internet connection.. :@ )
.
.
(goin thru mah CV)
HR: so Viswas tell me smthg bout yoslf. I just need u to focus upon four things. One, about urslf. Two, ur academics. Three, ur family background. Four, why Evalueserve ??
ME: Sir, I m a small town boy wid big drms, 4m a town named Banda in UP. Academically, I used 2 b the topper in each clas during my school dys, ryt 4m kindergarten. I won an ‘All India Talent Scholarship Award’ in 2005 and was the topper of my school in 10th boards. I am 4m a business background and da eldest son f my family. My father is a cloth merchant and we r in dis business since past 3 generations. I m the 1st one in my family hu has qualified to study at an IIT and my family members are really proud of it [..wid a smile :) ]. Coming to “Why EVALESERVE”.. (Nw, here comes a pre-planned FATTA .. :D ) Actually, u also work in d field f IPR and IPR had alws been my area f interest. I wud lyk to connect this ans wid my past whn i was in 9th std. I was wid one f my frnd hu used to update d website www.bundelkhand.in , whn i came across dis SHAJAR in bnda district http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shajar" ..for more details). I askd him isn’t der any legal way to provide protection to dis SHAJAR so as to avoid foreign competition, especially the Chinese?? He said der is smthg lyk ‘Geographical Indication’ whc gives legal protection bt i don’t have much details about it. Further, it was during 5th semester here at IIT Roorkee, whn i studied IPR as an institute elective course and was reminded f dis chat wid my frnd one day whn d course content of this subject progressed. I evn prepared a presentation on dis topic as a part f one of the assignment in this subject and was very much praised by the professor. I, then, started 2 giv technical details of SHAJAR...Blah ! Blah ! Blah !
HR: (..interrupting in betwn) will get into d technicalities later. So, u r d 1st person 4m ur family to get into IIT. How do u feel ??
ME: It really feels gud whn I go bak home and c my grandparents, maa-papa, proudly sayg “hmara beta IIT me padhta h !”. I get goosebumps and really feel proud f gettg an IIT education. :)
HR: (..with a smile..kept mah CV aside) Nw tell me smthg whc isn’t written in ur resume.
ME: well ! Not written in my CV..Sir, let me tell u my hobbies. My hobbies r playg ckt, listening to music. I started playg hocky aftr coming to dis campus. I love listening to music and singing, thou only fo myslf ;) . Lst yr, during our cultural fest, I did sing ‘on-stage’ in an event. I had dis charm of singin on-stage so i wnt fo it. I also wntd to c if i hav ne stage fear. I still have dat video in my cellph in my pokt, I cn shw u if u want. Whnevr i wtch dat video, I find dat m nt afraid f masses. I sang on-stage, infrnt f a janta numbering arnd 175-200 and inspite of d excessive hootings, I completed dose 2mins f KAROAKE without ne fear or hesitation.
HR: so..U lv singing..hmm, suggest me a Business Plan to organise a traditional musical concert in Roorkee ??
ME: [..thking..yaar Indian Idol me kya kya hota tha ]..he gave me a pencil nd paper, I bulleted 4 points in it and after 2mins f thinkg, I sed: sir, 1st f all I’ll need sponsors to get money to organise the event. Nxt, I’ll go for the publicity thru electronic and print media 2 invite d participants. Nxt, I’ll arrange fo da hosts and judges fo the event.
HR: Before goin to the sponsors, wont u make a plan of the investment expected ?
ME: Yes sir! I will.
HR: How will u do dat ??
ME: Being a traditional event, I’ll collect the data f all da previous years and analyze various expenses.
HR: How will u convince the sponsor if it is a new event ??
ME: bt sir, u sed that its a traditional event.
HR: yeah, nw tell me wat will u do if its a new event, happening fo the 1st tym ??
ME: (..thinkg..Shit man ! He has changed da entire ques, have to giv a rethot).. took a pause of 5 secs nd sed, NO probs sir. I’ll connect it wid the annual cultural function of our college. I’ll tell him dat evry year many such events r organised during Thomso whc r all a big success. Also, Roorkee has many colleges as well and its a well known fact that college students have got a gr8 fascination fo music, so u r in no way goin to b in a loss. Also, if we can get connected with some big music star, hu cn b a part f judging panel, d evnt is definitely gonna b a huge success..
HR: thanx Viswas. Dis is all I wanted to ask you. Gud Luck !
ME: Thank you sir ! :)
Huh! It was almost a 15-20 min round. Whn i came out f da room, my frnds anxiously askd, ‘yaar kya kya poocha ?? One of dm added, ‘tera interview toh bahut der chala. Itni der me toh bagal wale rum se 5 log wapas aa chuke h’.
Well, dis was mah 1st round f interview. Results wer expectd to b out in d nxt 3 hrs or so. I agn thnkd God for givin me courage to face d interview panel with confidence and gave a call to mummy. I remember me sayg,’ are mummy, aap pareshan mt ho. Interview bahut accha hua. Mera selection ho jayga, m 110% sure :) ’.
Finally, aftr a long wait, a list f around 34 people hu wer shortlisted fo d nxt round f interview was displayed on d placmnt complex notice board. Hurrah ! I was in da list !! :)
The 2nd round f interview was supposedly a technical 1. It was arnd 10.30 or 11 pm whn my turn came fo da 2nd round f interview. A general etiquette was agn followd..May i come in sir...Yes, hav a seat ! .. Huh ! hate dese formalities . :-/
Technical Interviewer (TI): [pls pay attention 2 da ques askd..] so, u r 4m Metallurgy. Acchaa tell me d composition of “DAT” used in welding. :O
ME: wat sir, electrode ??
TI: yes..yes..electrode.
ME: [..aftr his 1st ques, I had an intuition dat dis guy knws nuthg bout Metallurgy, so I just ve to keep tossing him up, shw dat m well knowledgeable in metallurgy and keep on speaking nethg, bt confidently].. Sir, actually it has to b of da same composition as dat f da base metal. Supose, it is a cast iron whc has carbon % > 2% having say C=2.5%, d electrode must ve ‘C’ arnd 2.5%.
TI: (giving me a pencil and paper) Sketch d diagram of BLAST FURNACE.
(i drew it)..
TI: wer frm do u get d slag and metal out and 4m wer do u pour in da raw materials..
(I markd all d points)..
TI: What r the temperatures in different regions ??
(I mentiond d approx temp ranges at various levels)..
TI: Nw, tell me hw is iron refined ??
ME: was dumbstruck fo a moment [..thking.. Ohh Shit ! I didn’t knew I had to prepare dat ‘Iron Making’ subject for dis non-metallurgy company ] .. Suddenly, smthg strikd my mind.. Sir, actually PHOSPHORUS & SULPHUR are d major problem creators whc cause probs f hot-shotness & cold-shotness, so external or internal dephosphorisation & desulphurisation is carried out. I also told him ‘3 conditions’ used for de-P & de-S .
I had mixed up my ans. :P The conditions whch i told as those required for dephosphorisation were actually the ‘conditions required for desulphurisation’ & vice-versa. Bt it didn’t matter in d end coz my intuition was correct, he wasn’t a metallurgy guy :P
TI: In ur CV, u’ve mentiond dat IPR is ur area f interest. Wat do u kn bout IPR ??
ME: [..yeah quest toh i was expert in answering ;) ] I told him all d basics, Patent, Copyright, Trademarks, GI’s, Industrial Design, Trade Secret...gave all d definitions...nd askd him, “sir, shud i tell u about the various infringement acts as well ??”
TI: No, that was enough and wid this v come to an end of ur interview. Wish u gud luck !
ME: Thanx a lot sir ! :)
Now, the entire recruitment process was over and only the final result was awaited. I had my fingers crossed and kept praying to Lord for giving me success 2dy. Aftr waiting for arnd 3 quarters of an hour, the final result was displyd on the placmnt complx notice board wid my NAME der on d LIST.. Yippeeee !!!!! :) 13 students were finally selected, arrnged alphabetically with my name at the LUCKY 13th position.
I calld my mom and sed in a v saddy tone “mummy, is baar bhi nahi hua” and mumma was struck dumb fo a moment nd sed in a slo saddy tone, ‘koi baat nahi beta, tmne apna bst diya. Dekhna agli cmpny me jaroor ho jayga !’. Uske baad, i wasn’t able to control my happiness nd gave her d gud news..”mummy, meri job lag gae !!!!!!!!! “ .Mumma sed,’kya ? toh abhi tk muje pareshan kr rhe the tm..’ nd she became a lil senti. Then, I calld couple f mah v gud frnds at da very same moment nd gave dm dis gud news f becomg a CORPORATE person ! :) . We signed our OFFER LETTERS da same nyt and I didn’t slp fo da entire nyt. I takd to ma-papa, frnds and shared my day of joy and intense happiness wid all of dm during d entire night ! :)
Love u maa, papa & frnds hu kept me morally sound and boosted me wid a lot of courage and confidence during d entire initial period f failure. I also thank God for blessing me with success. And as I alws say:
“Dare to dream and Love to fall,
No dream is too big, no Star is too far!”
