Copied the stuff from The Standard.
Are you a workaholic? Many lurk among us. They secretly enjoy business trips. They stay late in the office even when they don't have to. They LIKE Monday mornings. I discovered one in my own family when I asked my brother-in-law how his family camping holiday went, and he said: "interminable." (They hate holidays.)
I was shocked to learn from a scientific publication (a women's magazine) that you can find out whether you are a workaholic by counting how many days of holiday you lose because you have not taken them, but your employer won't let you carry them over.
One to three is troubling. Four to six shows you have a problem with work-life balance. Seven to nine makes you a serious work addict. Ten or more can be used in divorce proceedings. (I lost eight days' holiday on my last contract, which puts me in the "serious work addict" category).
But I'm not the worst. I know at least three individuals who live only for their jobs. What gives them away is their terminology. Here are 14 signs that you are a workaholic.
1. Your spouse gives you a dark look and says: "We need to talk." You reply: "I'll schedule a performance appraisal session at the earliest opportunity" - and then arrange a business trip that takes you away for two weeks.
2. You refer to your child's pocket money as "the weekly cash injection."
3. Your spouse complains that you are deeply in debt to the bar near your office, and you reply: "I'm not in debt, just highly leveraged in the beverage sector."
4. You refer to your grandfather's death as "a family downsizing."
5. Your spouse complains that you do not take enough interest in the children, and you say: "Okay, fine, where's the feedback form?"
6. The message in the Valentine's Day card you write to your spouse has bullet points.
7. Your child informs you the child next door has a new bicycle, and you reply: "The quota for capital expenditure is full for this financial year."
8. You think of your Sunday afternoon family walk as a "team-based bonding activity."
9. You go to school for a meeting with your child's teacher and your first question is: "So, what are his core competencies?"
10. When your child's teacher explains that your child is failing four of his nine subjects, you shout: "What do you expect when you give him such an overdiversified portfolio?"
11. When your daughter announces that she is getting married, you ask her whether she is ready to "undergo such a major paradigm shift."
12. Just before you start your speech at your daughter's wedding reception, you ask her to take minutes.
13. Your speech starts with the words: "Any apologies for absence?"
14. You always choose horrible holiday destinations, because your sole criterion is whether the country's currency has plunged recently. For your daughter's honeymoon, you've booked a cholera hospital in Zimbabwe.
One of the worst workaholics I ever met was a woman who once said: "I don't have friends. I have contacts." I told her she was a work- obsessed automaton devoid of human feelings. She replied: "You say that as if it was a bad thing." That day, I left the office early.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Army (WO)Men
Vishnu : " There's a gal in my college.And I am very much serious about her."
Me: '''Ayeeee sahiii beeedu......aur bata ,aur bata!! Propose maara?? "
Vishnu : "Yeah,have already told her about my liking for her.I am still waiting for her reply.Really tough to live without her"
Saurabh(the ARMY man) : "Abey pagal hai kya.It's just pure infatuation. masti maar,chill kar.No need to be serious "
Vishnu: "Na yaar .I am damn serious.Have even told my parents about her.Bus uski reply sunney ki der hai.Will decide about my life after that.Enough about me.what abt you Tushar"
Me: As usual I was mute!!! Had nothing to say on subject :-(
And now the army men jumps in without an invitation.
Saurabh : 'Yaar apni life to cool hai. I was in Ambala and met a girl.She wanted to marry an army man.I guess she had an army background.Dad in army shayad..So me and her did spend some time togather. Was really a great time.But then she was too eager to marry.And even though I liked her very much,but couldn't marry at that time,,some bond with the Army you know.Yaar tez bandi thi.....she made me meet her parentz and wanted to meet mine too."
Me and vishnu : "Achhaa... fir "
Saurabh Dude : " kuch nahi yaar..galey padu lagney lagi fir.pakau..saadu. badi mushkil se peecha hata....But let me tell you guys beware of gals with army background,they are cunning and sharp,would be very strict ,would make you fret over small small things....." and our army dude generalized the entire class of gals with army background by using some "fancy"(read high level gaaliya) words.
Vishnu : " yaar ek baat batau..."
Saurabh :"abey bahut chaalu hoti hai bhai.....door raho jitna reh saktey ho...warna maarey jaogey"
Vishnu : "hmmm ..."
Saurabh: "abey tumhey lagta hai I am kidding....waat lagti hai waat..bahut H****N hoti hai yaar woh" and he again summarized with 4-5 more fancifull words....(I really wander is this what he is learning with the Army )
Vishnu :: " chup kar ab..the girl I like ..His father is also with the Army"
Vishnu: Just Mute
Saurabh: Perplexed....man had to look at his expressions
Me:::: HA HA HA was literally rolling on my stomach....could never forget their facial expression....instant chappu bana army dude.
But then he is an army man....so the dude again chipped in
Saurabh " However ,exceptions are always there...and we just had an exception"
Me and vishnu ::::: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Long Live the Army(man)
Me: '''Ayeeee sahiii beeedu......aur bata ,aur bata!! Propose maara?? "
Vishnu : "Yeah,have already told her about my liking for her.I am still waiting for her reply.Really tough to live without her"
Saurabh(the ARMY man) : "Abey pagal hai kya.It's just pure infatuation. masti maar,chill kar.No need to be serious "
Vishnu: "Na yaar .I am damn serious.Have even told my parents about her.Bus uski reply sunney ki der hai.Will decide about my life after that.Enough about me.what abt you Tushar"
Me: As usual I was mute!!! Had nothing to say on subject :-(
And now the army men jumps in without an invitation.
Saurabh : 'Yaar apni life to cool hai. I was in Ambala and met a girl.She wanted to marry an army man.I guess she had an army background.Dad in army shayad..So me and her did spend some time togather. Was really a great time.But then she was too eager to marry.And even though I liked her very much,but couldn't marry at that time,,some bond with the Army you know.Yaar tez bandi thi.....she made me meet her parentz and wanted to meet mine too."
Me and vishnu : "Achhaa... fir "
Saurabh Dude : " kuch nahi yaar..galey padu lagney lagi fir.pakau..saadu. badi mushkil se peecha hata....But let me tell you guys beware of gals with army background,they are cunning and sharp,would be very strict ,would make you fret over small small things....." and our army dude generalized the entire class of gals with army background by using some "fancy"(read high level gaaliya) words.
Vishnu : " yaar ek baat batau..."
Saurabh :"abey bahut chaalu hoti hai bhai.....door raho jitna reh saktey ho...warna maarey jaogey"
Vishnu : "hmmm ..."
Saurabh: "abey tumhey lagta hai I am kidding....waat lagti hai waat..bahut H****N hoti hai yaar woh" and he again summarized with 4-5 more fancifull words....(I really wander is this what he is learning with the Army )
Vishnu :: " chup kar ab..the girl I like ..His father is also with the Army"
Vishnu: Just Mute
Saurabh: Perplexed....man had to look at his expressions
Me:::: HA HA HA was literally rolling on my stomach....could never forget their facial expression....instant chappu bana army dude.
But then he is an army man....so the dude again chipped in
Saurabh " However ,exceptions are always there...and we just had an exception"
Me and vishnu ::::: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Long Live the Army(man)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
XIMB Bhubuneshwar
My experience,as posted on pagal guy
Date:7th March
Venue: ISI Delhi
Time 4pm
we were in all 9 people in the group.
GD: Do we need a classless society?
Well did a mistake by pitching in late. All the points i wished to speak were already covered. Picked up few already said points,gave them a little bit molding and threw them back.Overall no value addition to the GD from my side.
Interview
Well I had an interview at IMI the very same morning,and it was a stress interview.However that stress was no where near the stress at XIMB interview.
P1: Young Prof(without mustaches)
P2: Young Prof(with mustaches)
P3: Elderly Prof,with looks of "dont mess with me"
Me
entered,exchanged pleasantries
P1: What is a synchronous motor?
Me: (chal gaye pata inkey iraadey.It's gonna be stress interview)
P2: You from electrical n you dont know such a basic thing?
Me: I am from Electronics
P1: Ok no problem,still you must have studied it in Engg?
Me:sorry sir,but I cant recall
P1: Ok any fav subjects?
Me: Digital Elcetronics
P2: What is a quad-clock?(now this was the high point of interview?
Me:Sir never heard of this thing
P2: Dont tell me this?Ok tell me how a digital clock works?
Me: Told.....someguess work,,,but all those things i spoke were correct.In between I mentioned that digital clock uses a quartz crystal.
P1: So u still think that there's a difference between a digi clock n a quad clock.
Me:>>>DInggedd?>>> yaar ye digi clock n quad clock ka kya relatation hai.
Told that have never heard of this quad thing
P2:Was fuming by that time.You just said you use a quad crystal in digi clock.So dont you think digi n quad clock are th same
Me: HELLLLLL.....he wanted to say quartz and is saying quad...mujhey sapna aayega....and all this time i was relating "quad" to the number four and thinking of any particular logic circuit which used 4 devices or somthg like that...
P1: How many wars between india and PAk?
me: told
P2: tell me the years:
Me : was telling ,when he intervened and asked me where is darjeeling?
I said shillong gadha hun main...immediately backtracked and admitted that i dont remember.
P2: ok continue with the wars
P3: tell me what's importance of kargil war?was it actually a war? What were the factors leading to the war?
Me: Explained
P3: So you work with XYZ?? domain??
Me: Mainframes
P3: AAAh mainfarmes...lovely.So which O/S the mainframe runs on ?390?
Me: no sir Z OS
P3: Confused..what is it?havent heard of it?
Me: An improved version of 390
P3: WHich database?
Me: Told
P3: So what type of data base is this?
ME: Wanted to say relational....pata nahi kaisey mooh se referential nikal gaya.
P3: Think and answer.Dont just blabber. It's a relational databse.And he explained me the realtions among the diff tables in a db.
Me:yes yes very true....
P2: Why MBA??
Me....aaahhh so finally something which i knew...
P1:Fine we are done.You may leave.
Man, was a horrible interview.Made huge blunders,coupled with the communication gap we had...XIMB would be a hard bargain for me,given my very low XAT score(borderline case) and a pathetic GD n interview.Questions came from all directions,and was probed by all the 3 profs at the very same time on various questions.Was a stressfull condition.....and i handled it badly.
In any case,i am ready for surprises
RESULT::::Rejected
Date:7th March
Venue: ISI Delhi
Time 4pm
we were in all 9 people in the group.
GD: Do we need a classless society?
Well did a mistake by pitching in late. All the points i wished to speak were already covered. Picked up few already said points,gave them a little bit molding and threw them back.Overall no value addition to the GD from my side.
Interview
Well I had an interview at IMI the very same morning,and it was a stress interview.However that stress was no where near the stress at XIMB interview.
P1: Young Prof(without mustaches)
P2: Young Prof(with mustaches)
P3: Elderly Prof,with looks of "dont mess with me"
Me
entered,exchanged pleasantries
P1: What is a synchronous motor?
Me: (chal gaye pata inkey iraadey.It's gonna be stress interview)
P2: You from electrical n you dont know such a basic thing?
Me: I am from Electronics
P1: Ok no problem,still you must have studied it in Engg?
Me:sorry sir,but I cant recall
P1: Ok any fav subjects?
Me: Digital Elcetronics
P2: What is a quad-clock?(now this was the high point of interview?
Me:Sir never heard of this thing
P2: Dont tell me this?Ok tell me how a digital clock works?
Me: Told.....someguess work,,,but all those things i spoke were correct.In between I mentioned that digital clock uses a quartz crystal.
P1: So u still think that there's a difference between a digi clock n a quad clock.
Me:>>>DInggedd?>>> yaar ye digi clock n quad clock ka kya relatation hai.
Told that have never heard of this quad thing
P2:Was fuming by that time.You just said you use a quad crystal in digi clock.So dont you think digi n quad clock are th same
Me: HELLLLLL.....he wanted to say quartz and is saying quad...mujhey sapna aayega....and all this time i was relating "quad" to the number four and thinking of any particular logic circuit which used 4 devices or somthg like that...
P1: How many wars between india and PAk?
me: told
P2: tell me the years:
Me : was telling ,when he intervened and asked me where is darjeeling?
I said shillong gadha hun main...immediately backtracked and admitted that i dont remember.
P2: ok continue with the wars
P3: tell me what's importance of kargil war?was it actually a war? What were the factors leading to the war?
Me: Explained
P3: So you work with XYZ?? domain??
Me: Mainframes
P3: AAAh mainfarmes...lovely.So which O/S the mainframe runs on ?390?
Me: no sir Z OS
P3: Confused..what is it?havent heard of it?
Me: An improved version of 390
P3: WHich database?
Me: Told
P3: So what type of data base is this?
ME: Wanted to say relational....pata nahi kaisey mooh se referential nikal gaya.
P3: Think and answer.Dont just blabber. It's a relational databse.And he explained me the realtions among the diff tables in a db.
Me:yes yes very true....
P2: Why MBA??
Me....aaahhh so finally something which i knew...
P1:Fine we are done.You may leave.
Man, was a horrible interview.Made huge blunders,coupled with the communication gap we had...XIMB would be a hard bargain for me,given my very low XAT score(borderline case) and a pathetic GD n interview.Questions came from all directions,and was probed by all the 3 profs at the very same time on various questions.Was a stressfull condition.....and i handled it badly.
In any case,i am ready for surprises
RESULT::::Rejected
SCMHRD Interview
Here's my post from PG
Had my interview in 10:45 slot.....started from my place of stay at 10:15(assuming the traffic at Pune would be something like Delhi,but it was far better).Reached the place at 10:25.....roamed around,looked out for some poor souls like me who had come way earlier for the interview,chit chatted with them.Around 10:45 I moved to the auditorium at the ground floor where the members of the admission committee were seated to register and assist us.
As usual,moved to the last row and seated myself next to an elderly gentleman working on a laptop, who gave me a curious look(later came to know that he was a prof at SCMHRD)......The registration started at sharp 10:50,we were segregated into groups of 5 each,and were handed a kit containing a pad,a pen,food coupon,checklist and our CV.My group had 3 girls and 2 boys.Had to be extra cautious that I don't cut the points of those girls during GD,as it was a caveat mentioned in previous year threads.
At 11:15 we were taken to the 5th floor by the student coordinator and had some chit-chat with the people of first year.Within 10 minutes we were called for the Case study.
Case Study
Panel consisted of an elderly prof and a medium aged lady.The prof looked damn serious and strict,but he made us feel comfortable by cracking a joke.A good start I must say.We were handed down the case,and time lines were explained to us.The case goes like this:
There is a person who is a fresher and has just passed out of a B school.Academically he is superb,but he is not into any extra-curr.He gets stressed out very easily,is a poor time manager and has even failed to stick to time limits at various occasions.
He has been recruited by an advertising agency where his primary goal is to communicate the client requirements to the design team.The job is quite strenuous,needs long hours of work n some other constraints.
Now this person has to select 2 courses out of the given 5 .The courses were(summaries of the courses were also given)
a) Time management
b) Innovative thinking
c) Stress Management
d) Interpersonal Skills
e) Organizational skills
We had 20 minutes to speak.To me it was an ideal group discussion,everyone listening and speaking.Arguments and counter arguments flowed.Each choice was taken at the face value and dissected for acceptance or rejection.By the end we all had a consensus to go with Interpersonal skills course.However 4 people opted for Organisational skills while I was the single one campaigning for the Innovative Thinking course.The pros/cons of the same were discussed but then were interrupted by sir and were told that 2 mins are left.with a brief summary of the discussion,one of the group members concluded the case( as expected the group went with the majority). The prof said thank you,collected the paper on which we had scribbled.He asked no questions,no summaries,no conclusions.May be everyone was on air for a reasonable amount of time and everyone pitched in with his ideas and views,that's why.
From there on,we were taken into another room.I had barely seated myself when my name was called for the interview.Had not even looked at the interiors of the room,the setup,the projector screen....not even at the girls sitting there.
Was taken by another student co-ordinator to a room where I was asked to wait outside.Was a bit stressed and nervous.My name was called and alas, came the moment I had been waiting for.
The Inteview
The panel included 3 people
P1: An elderly gentleman.Had serious looks,but was speaking in a very polite manner,never ever gave me an impression that he wanted to grill me.Was very affable and friendly.
P2: A middle aged person,I guess he was having an IT background.Very knowledgeable.For most of the time he was the one asking me questions.But again it was a discussion rather than question/answer session.
P3: Now she was a student co-ordinator at SCMHRD.May be an HR student who wanted to see the poor bakra.However she didnt ask even a single question but kept watching me with curiosity(ok lady I know I am damn handsome,but please stop staring me.I am getting nervous)
Me:yours faithfully BAKRA
Exchange of greetings and it started
P1: Your schooling from XYZ city and further education in ABC city.What's the reason?
Me: Told him how my mom n dad are working in different cities so stayed at one place for a part of my life then moved to the other place for the rest.
P1: So you work at ???
Me: answered
P1: Any difficulties you faced while relocating to Delhi....Rather what differences you saw between the two cities?
Me: TOld him about the traffic situation,the basic amenities like water,electricity,transportation,law and order...wanted to speak about the greenery but was cut short
P1: So how you cope up with that?
Me: It was just a conditioning of mind,I had to adjust myself with the circumstances,since most of them are the one I could not change.
from here on P2 took the charge
p2: So tell me something about your work profile?
me: told
P2: So you work in mainframes?? What operating system you use?
Me: told
P2: Diff between VSAM and DB2?
Me: answered
P2: Public key and private key?
Me .........Don't know (have never studied it,though I knew the difference but kept silent since my knowledge was shallow)
P2 looked at my profile...hmm not a comp engg....ok no prob
P2: the best thing about your company?
Answered
P2:What motivates you to go for an MBA?
Again gave a good answer.He seemed satisfied
P1: asked about the subjects I want to specialize in?Marketing/Finance?
I said IT and Systems.
P1: Will you join your current company after you finish the B school?
I said yes,no doubt about it.
P2: Let's move to your college years.Which was the most stress full year?
Me: Final year
P2: Why?
Me: Told him how I had to abort a final year project midway since we were technically not sound enough to carry it.
P1: When had you decided to leave that project?Why you think you were not competent enough? You discussed it with any mentor etc?
Answered satisfactorily
P2:Questions poured about the suspended project and the project we finally did.....IR rays,frequency,Comm systems,range of the receiver in my project,antenna
Me: answered most of the questions since I had actually worked on them.There was no bluffing,However when asked about the antenna we used,i said spherical( I wanted to say spiral...don't know how I forgot what we call this shape,....was literally showing him the spiral shape in air with my hand,but saying spherical......bloody fool I am:confused...grilled me on antennas,yagi uda antenna,.....I admitted that I had a poor knowledge on antennas........I was told that I am a Comm engineer and I should know......Made a blunder at this stage:death:...I pointed out that I am an Eletronics Engineer at the same time and more well versed with digital electronics and devices than antennas.....(S**T what the hell I am speaking)
Thakfully the discussion on antennas and tech stuff stopped there.
P1: So your father is a lawyer.Tell me a law whose brunt you have faced and want to change it.
Me: Told him how I had to waste my time commuting on buses,when I knew how to drive but couldn't since I was under aged.Answered that the age should be reduce to 16,since it's not about the time wastage but also the economic burden on parents who had to buy me a gear less vehicle compatible with the learners' license I was carrying at that time.
P2:Is this the most important law which you think we should change?Is this your highest priority?
Me: I reasoned that I have been asked about a law which directly affected me,and this was the one which hindered my productivity to a large extent.So in a way both P1 and P2 seemed satisfied with my answer.
P1: So what is the single most thing you love to do
ME: Kite Flying
There was a glow on there face...may be they too had been into the activity when they were young
P2: So tell me something about kites
Me: told him about the fighter kites in india.P2 drew 2 figures of kite on a paper and asked me which one is a fighter kite.Actually both were fighter kites,one a had wide degree of maneuverability...the other had less.Answered.
P2: so have you ever made your own line to fly a kite
Yes
P2: Ingredients
Answered...told him about various stuff they put while making line
P2: So which line you use
Readymade
P2: But you said you made your own line
Me: Sir it was just an expeiment..
p2: Ok ok
Finally i was told that they are done with the interview.I carried the notepad with me on which the diagrams of kite were made.I was pointed out that it belonged to them....I said it belonged to me.......When I cross checked my stuff,mine was lazing around in my folder.......everyone gave a hearty laugh.....Made a fool of myself.:unhappy:
Said "thank you" and left the room.....God it went for around 20 minutes....but seemed like eternity.......some more points/caveats...
I was stammering/blabbering and what not during the entire PI.It seems my nervousness was quite visible on my face and in my speech.....Negative for me.
However I was true to myself.Never cooked up anything,admitted my mistakes and lack of knowledge...they are smart enough,will catch you in a nick of time.
The interview had nothing which you can call general questions.It was purely based on my profile.So make sure you know precisely waht you have done/doing.Moreover I was expecting something on my extra-curr...I had loads of extra-curr.But again no questions.
I had the ideas but most of the time wasn't able to put them in words...But they were quite friendly and helping.....They readily understood me and re phrased it for me to know if i wanted to say this...It happened 2-3 times.....Again a negative for me I guess.
From there on I was taken to a document verification area where students from admission committee verified my work-ex details and my academic certis....and by 12:45 I was a free man....rushed to the cafeteria on the 9th floor,had a parantha and juice and by1:30 i was back to my place.So the entire process took roughly 2 hours for me....
By 5 Pm I was at the airport...chit chatted with few foreigners,learnt about their views on India,played with the touch screen information browser,irritated the cafeteria person with my queries on his revenues/sales/contract fee etc.
Boarded the 7Pm flight to delhi and was at home by 11.
So an end to the sojourn.
In all, a wonderful effort by SCMHRD students...superbly planned and well executed.The co-ordinators were always around to help us in any way possible.
Trivias
Those who are keen to visit some place in pune,you can definitely head to "Shanivaar Wada"...It was a fort built by BajiRao....Well the fort is no more,but they had converted it to a garden....not that marvelous a place.....but still some photographs can be clicked for sure.Wont take more than 2 hours(including travel time)
Do try the allu-bonda at the pune airport.It was good.
And for all my delhi friends,dont listen up to the localites that traffic is hell in Pune..It's no where near the delhi traffic,so you can definitely head out without much worry for the traffic.We will find even that "mismanaged" traffic highly managed.
Suggestions/questions/concerns are whole heartedly welcomed
Good Luck
Result: Rejected
Had my interview in 10:45 slot.....started from my place of stay at 10:15(assuming the traffic at Pune would be something like Delhi,but it was far better).Reached the place at 10:25.....roamed around,looked out for some poor souls like me who had come way earlier for the interview,chit chatted with them.Around 10:45 I moved to the auditorium at the ground floor where the members of the admission committee were seated to register and assist us.
As usual,moved to the last row and seated myself next to an elderly gentleman working on a laptop, who gave me a curious look(later came to know that he was a prof at SCMHRD)......The registration started at sharp 10:50,we were segregated into groups of 5 each,and were handed a kit containing a pad,a pen,food coupon,checklist and our CV.My group had 3 girls and 2 boys.Had to be extra cautious that I don't cut the points of those girls during GD,as it was a caveat mentioned in previous year threads.
At 11:15 we were taken to the 5th floor by the student coordinator and had some chit-chat with the people of first year.Within 10 minutes we were called for the Case study.
Case Study
Panel consisted of an elderly prof and a medium aged lady.The prof looked damn serious and strict,but he made us feel comfortable by cracking a joke.A good start I must say.We were handed down the case,and time lines were explained to us.The case goes like this:
There is a person who is a fresher and has just passed out of a B school.Academically he is superb,but he is not into any extra-curr.He gets stressed out very easily,is a poor time manager and has even failed to stick to time limits at various occasions.
He has been recruited by an advertising agency where his primary goal is to communicate the client requirements to the design team.The job is quite strenuous,needs long hours of work n some other constraints.
Now this person has to select 2 courses out of the given 5 .The courses were(summaries of the courses were also given)
a) Time management
b) Innovative thinking
c) Stress Management
d) Interpersonal Skills
e) Organizational skills
We had 20 minutes to speak.To me it was an ideal group discussion,everyone listening and speaking.Arguments and counter arguments flowed.Each choice was taken at the face value and dissected for acceptance or rejection.By the end we all had a consensus to go with Interpersonal skills course.However 4 people opted for Organisational skills while I was the single one campaigning for the Innovative Thinking course.The pros/cons of the same were discussed but then were interrupted by sir and were told that 2 mins are left.with a brief summary of the discussion,one of the group members concluded the case( as expected the group went with the majority). The prof said thank you,collected the paper on which we had scribbled.He asked no questions,no summaries,no conclusions.May be everyone was on air for a reasonable amount of time and everyone pitched in with his ideas and views,that's why.
From there on,we were taken into another room.I had barely seated myself when my name was called for the interview.Had not even looked at the interiors of the room,the setup,the projector screen....not even at the girls sitting there.
Was taken by another student co-ordinator to a room where I was asked to wait outside.Was a bit stressed and nervous.My name was called and alas, came the moment I had been waiting for.
The Inteview
The panel included 3 people
P1: An elderly gentleman.Had serious looks,but was speaking in a very polite manner,never ever gave me an impression that he wanted to grill me.Was very affable and friendly.
P2: A middle aged person,I guess he was having an IT background.Very knowledgeable.For most of the time he was the one asking me questions.But again it was a discussion rather than question/answer session.
P3: Now she was a student co-ordinator at SCMHRD.May be an HR student who wanted to see the poor bakra.However she didnt ask even a single question but kept watching me with curiosity(ok lady I know I am damn handsome,but please stop staring me.I am getting nervous)
Me:yours faithfully BAKRA
Exchange of greetings and it started
P1: Your schooling from XYZ city and further education in ABC city.What's the reason?
Me: Told him how my mom n dad are working in different cities so stayed at one place for a part of my life then moved to the other place for the rest.
P1: So you work at ???
Me: answered
P1: Any difficulties you faced while relocating to Delhi....Rather what differences you saw between the two cities?
Me: TOld him about the traffic situation,the basic amenities like water,electricity,transportation,law and order...wanted to speak about the greenery but was cut short
P1: So how you cope up with that?
Me: It was just a conditioning of mind,I had to adjust myself with the circumstances,since most of them are the one I could not change.
from here on P2 took the charge
p2: So tell me something about your work profile?
me: told
P2: So you work in mainframes?? What operating system you use?
Me: told
P2: Diff between VSAM and DB2?
Me: answered
P2: Public key and private key?
Me .........Don't know (have never studied it,though I knew the difference but kept silent since my knowledge was shallow)
P2 looked at my profile...hmm not a comp engg....ok no prob
P2: the best thing about your company?
Answered
P2:What motivates you to go for an MBA?
Again gave a good answer.He seemed satisfied
P1: asked about the subjects I want to specialize in?Marketing/Finance?
I said IT and Systems.
P1: Will you join your current company after you finish the B school?
I said yes,no doubt about it.
P2: Let's move to your college years.Which was the most stress full year?
Me: Final year
P2: Why?
Me: Told him how I had to abort a final year project midway since we were technically not sound enough to carry it.
P1: When had you decided to leave that project?Why you think you were not competent enough? You discussed it with any mentor etc?
Answered satisfactorily
P2:Questions poured about the suspended project and the project we finally did.....IR rays,frequency,Comm systems,range of the receiver in my project,antenna
Me: answered most of the questions since I had actually worked on them.There was no bluffing,However when asked about the antenna we used,i said spherical( I wanted to say spiral...don't know how I forgot what we call this shape,....was literally showing him the spiral shape in air with my hand,but saying spherical......bloody fool I am:confused...grilled me on antennas,yagi uda antenna,.....I admitted that I had a poor knowledge on antennas........I was told that I am a Comm engineer and I should know......Made a blunder at this stage:death:...I pointed out that I am an Eletronics Engineer at the same time and more well versed with digital electronics and devices than antennas.....(S**T what the hell I am speaking)
Thakfully the discussion on antennas and tech stuff stopped there.
P1: So your father is a lawyer.Tell me a law whose brunt you have faced and want to change it.
Me: Told him how I had to waste my time commuting on buses,when I knew how to drive but couldn't since I was under aged.Answered that the age should be reduce to 16,since it's not about the time wastage but also the economic burden on parents who had to buy me a gear less vehicle compatible with the learners' license I was carrying at that time.
P2:Is this the most important law which you think we should change?Is this your highest priority?
Me: I reasoned that I have been asked about a law which directly affected me,and this was the one which hindered my productivity to a large extent.So in a way both P1 and P2 seemed satisfied with my answer.
P1: So what is the single most thing you love to do
ME: Kite Flying
There was a glow on there face...may be they too had been into the activity when they were young
P2: So tell me something about kites
Me: told him about the fighter kites in india.P2 drew 2 figures of kite on a paper and asked me which one is a fighter kite.Actually both were fighter kites,one a had wide degree of maneuverability...the other had less.Answered.
P2: so have you ever made your own line to fly a kite
Yes
P2: Ingredients
Answered...told him about various stuff they put while making line
P2: So which line you use
Readymade
P2: But you said you made your own line
Me: Sir it was just an expeiment..
p2: Ok ok
Finally i was told that they are done with the interview.I carried the notepad with me on which the diagrams of kite were made.I was pointed out that it belonged to them....I said it belonged to me.......When I cross checked my stuff,mine was lazing around in my folder.......everyone gave a hearty laugh.....Made a fool of myself.:unhappy:
Said "thank you" and left the room.....God it went for around 20 minutes....but seemed like eternity.......some more points/caveats...
I was stammering/blabbering and what not during the entire PI.It seems my nervousness was quite visible on my face and in my speech.....Negative for me.
However I was true to myself.Never cooked up anything,admitted my mistakes and lack of knowledge...they are smart enough,will catch you in a nick of time.
The interview had nothing which you can call general questions.It was purely based on my profile.So make sure you know precisely waht you have done/doing.Moreover I was expecting something on my extra-curr...I had loads of extra-curr.But again no questions.
I had the ideas but most of the time wasn't able to put them in words...But they were quite friendly and helping.....They readily understood me and re phrased it for me to know if i wanted to say this...It happened 2-3 times.....Again a negative for me I guess.
From there on I was taken to a document verification area where students from admission committee verified my work-ex details and my academic certis....and by 12:45 I was a free man....rushed to the cafeteria on the 9th floor,had a parantha and juice and by1:30 i was back to my place.So the entire process took roughly 2 hours for me....
By 5 Pm I was at the airport...chit chatted with few foreigners,learnt about their views on India,played with the touch screen information browser,irritated the cafeteria person with my queries on his revenues/sales/contract fee etc.
Boarded the 7Pm flight to delhi and was at home by 11.
So an end to the sojourn.
In all, a wonderful effort by SCMHRD students...superbly planned and well executed.The co-ordinators were always around to help us in any way possible.
Trivias
Those who are keen to visit some place in pune,you can definitely head to "Shanivaar Wada"...It was a fort built by BajiRao....Well the fort is no more,but they had converted it to a garden....not that marvelous a place.....but still some photographs can be clicked for sure.Wont take more than 2 hours(including travel time)
Do try the allu-bonda at the pune airport.It was good.
And for all my delhi friends,dont listen up to the localites that traffic is hell in Pune..It's no where near the delhi traffic,so you can definitely head out without much worry for the traffic.We will find even that "mismanaged" traffic highly managed.
Suggestions/questions/concerns are whole heartedly welcomed
Good Luck
Result: Rejected
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Miles to study before I sleep
he woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to STUDY before I sleep,
And miles to STUDY before I sleep.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
A rocking week
Had some of my lifetime experiences during the last week.Some made me really sick and exhausted,while others were just exciting and invigorating.
Here I go:-
0) Had my birthday and SPJIMR interview clubbed togather. celebrated my bday with the profs.....Had a pathetic interview,but then got a bday gift from the Profs by clearing the first interview. Had an equally pathetic 2nd interview,and I am praying for more good luck this time.....plz plz plz GOD....unko meri kaabliyat pehchaan ney ki shakti do.....lol
1) The next day,I went to mumbai to deposit my fee at NM. Reached Borivili at 4 am in morning.Took a local train to Vile parley.Yes the locals start by that time.And yes there were people traveling at that odd hour.People young and old,rich and poor,students and daily wage earners.....everyone UP and RUNNING. Truly amazing.The city never sleeps.
2)Reached Viley Parley station at 4:30 AM.Now what to do?? college opens at 9AM.And no waiting room at the station.Doesn't matter...there are benches at the platform.Had a cool 3 hour sleep on that very bench right on platform number 3.Was an experience of a kind.Local trains coming and going,those guzzling rail engines and loud noises...and me sleeping at the center of such frenzied activity.
3) Went to Alok's place in the evening.Place called Godrej hill side colony at Vikhroli.Man,have never imagined such a beautiful place in the midst of crowdy Mumbai.The place had loads of greenery and wide roads,parks and gardens.It was just like I am back to Chandigarh.Truly an amazing place.
4) Returned back to delhi by Gareeb Rath.And the worst part being that had to travel by chair Car.18 hours with my back straight,and even the last bit of energy was sapped out.In short ultimate waaaat lag gayi.Here'a view of the coach.It was nothing short of hell,but that hell seemed heaven during the time when there were no bookings available in any train .
5) Had a 3 hours top at my place in NOIDA,and started for Chandigarh around 3 pm.The weather God wasn't that happy with my decision and punished me with harsh winds and rains.Somehow i managed to reached home at 1 am.
6) Started the very next day for NOIDA. It had always been a fantasy to sit in the first seat of the bus.But haryana roadways has that seat reserved for conductors.Luckily the bus was overcrowded that day,and the conductor was kin\d enough to allow me a seat on the very spot where I had always wanted to sit. Had a panoramic view of the road.Clicked hell lot of pics.Here are few:-
And finally reached NOIDA to join office the next day.had been a very hectic week.7 days and a zillion experiences...that's life.
Here I go:-
0) Had my birthday and SPJIMR interview clubbed togather. celebrated my bday with the profs.....Had a pathetic interview,but then got a bday gift from the Profs by clearing the first interview. Had an equally pathetic 2nd interview,and I am praying for more good luck this time.....plz plz plz GOD....unko meri kaabliyat pehchaan ney ki shakti do.....lol
1) The next day,I went to mumbai to deposit my fee at NM. Reached Borivili at 4 am in morning.Took a local train to Vile parley.Yes the locals start by that time.And yes there were people traveling at that odd hour.People young and old,rich and poor,students and daily wage earners.....everyone UP and RUNNING. Truly amazing.The city never sleeps.
2)Reached Viley Parley station at 4:30 AM.Now what to do?? college opens at 9AM.And no waiting room at the station.Doesn't matter...there are benches at the platform.Had a cool 3 hour sleep on that very bench right on platform number 3.Was an experience of a kind.Local trains coming and going,those guzzling rail engines and loud noises...and me sleeping at the center of such frenzied activity.
3) Went to Alok's place in the evening.Place called Godrej hill side colony at Vikhroli.Man,have never imagined such a beautiful place in the midst of crowdy Mumbai.The place had loads of greenery and wide roads,parks and gardens.It was just like I am back to Chandigarh.Truly an amazing place.
4) Returned back to delhi by Gareeb Rath.And the worst part being that had to travel by chair Car.18 hours with my back straight,and even the last bit of energy was sapped out.In short ultimate waaaat lag gayi.Here'a view of the coach.It was nothing short of hell,but that hell seemed heaven during the time when there were no bookings available in any train .
5) Had a 3 hours top at my place in NOIDA,and started for Chandigarh around 3 pm.The weather God wasn't that happy with my decision and punished me with harsh winds and rains.Somehow i managed to reached home at 1 am.
6) Started the very next day for NOIDA. It had always been a fantasy to sit in the first seat of the bus.But haryana roadways has that seat reserved for conductors.Luckily the bus was overcrowded that day,and the conductor was kin\d enough to allow me a seat on the very spot where I had always wanted to sit. Had a panoramic view of the road.Clicked hell lot of pics.Here are few:-
And finally reached NOIDA to join office the next day.had been a very hectic week.7 days and a zillion experiences...that's life.
NMIMS
Finally my year long efforts bore fruit,and I made it to NMIMS. For the uninitiated,it's among the top 15 MBA institutes in India.
Have resigned from my job yesterday.And the prospects of an MBA are making me excited.Have always been interested in management activities and organizing rather than tech stuff. Still can't figure out what made me chose Engineering in the first place.But again it was a blessing in disguise. It was more of skills and attitude rather than knowledge which my engg degree instilled in me. And I learnt my real interests and passions during those 4 years at PEC.I learnt that I am not "compatible" with those little black ICs ad transistors,I learnt that my "clock speed" is slower that the most of the archaic processors I am supposed to study,that my "RAM n ROM" are a bit on the lower side as compared to today's digital circuitry......So i chose IT,for coding has always been fun,But this fun was very short lived.Y??
well work in COBOL,and you will get to know.Add to it the 30 years old code with which we are working,and evrything else would be an overhead transmission.
In the meanwhile, had always been attracted towards management.Participated in a hell lot of related activities.And then I realized it's time to pursue what I like.
So here I am ,looking forward to stretch my wings.And the best part is I would be staying in MUMBAI,the city that never sleeps.I am sure a lot of opportunities gallore me.
Time to grab some!!
Have resigned from my job yesterday.And the prospects of an MBA are making me excited.Have always been interested in management activities and organizing rather than tech stuff. Still can't figure out what made me chose Engineering in the first place.But again it was a blessing in disguise. It was more of skills and attitude rather than knowledge which my engg degree instilled in me. And I learnt my real interests and passions during those 4 years at PEC.I learnt that I am not "compatible" with those little black ICs ad transistors,I learnt that my "clock speed" is slower that the most of the archaic processors I am supposed to study,that my "RAM n ROM" are a bit on the lower side as compared to today's digital circuitry......So i chose IT,for coding has always been fun,But this fun was very short lived.Y??
well work in COBOL,and you will get to know.Add to it the 30 years old code with which we are working,and evrything else would be an overhead transmission.
In the meanwhile, had always been attracted towards management.Participated in a hell lot of related activities.And then I realized it's time to pursue what I like.
So here I am ,looking forward to stretch my wings.And the best part is I would be staying in MUMBAI,the city that never sleeps.I am sure a lot of opportunities gallore me.
Time to grab some!!
MBA Interviews
Oh God,what a helluva time to prepare for your MBA GD PIs. Last 3 months have been rocking,and the efforts put in have been enormous.Not that I am a bookworm and love studying,but there had been so much happenings around in the world that each and every issue seemed important from GD/PI point of view.
So many events,so less time.Let me list few events in recent times:-
1) Terrorist attacks
2) US presidential attacks
3) TATA Nano and Mamta aunty
4) IPL and it's implications
5) Elections and it's implications
6) Economy in doldrums
7) Nuclear Deal
8) Israel
9) Pakistan & Afghanistan
10) Dwindling Exports
Well this list just forms the tip of the iceberg.I am sure this MBA season had been the most hectic for aspirants.Apart from general reading and stuff,hell lot of issues came out from blue.But then,padna padega hi,no point in cribbing.
So many events,so less time.Let me list few events in recent times:-
1) Terrorist attacks
2) US presidential attacks
3) TATA Nano and Mamta aunty
4) IPL and it's implications
5) Elections and it's implications
6) Economy in doldrums
7) Nuclear Deal
8) Israel
9) Pakistan & Afghanistan
10) Dwindling Exports
Well this list just forms the tip of the iceberg.I am sure this MBA season had been the most hectic for aspirants.Apart from general reading and stuff,hell lot of issues came out from blue.But then,padna padega hi,no point in cribbing.
Friday, April 10, 2009
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