Sunday, 25th February,2007 started with a shocker. Although we were prepared to appear for three tests one after the other(only if we cleared the previous one), a news broke out in the morning which allowed the top five rank-holders from each stream to skip their Aptitude test and directly qualify for the second round. i.e., the Technical round.I was a bit disappointed having missed a place in the top 5 by a whisker and hence had to appear for the Apti round (reluctantly).The eventful day started with the PPT presentation by a WIPRO representative.It was one hour of mental torture until one of the slides of the PPT regarding the salary details caught the eyes of each one of us,The Aptitude test started around 11am (10:55am to be precise). It lasted for one hour giving us an option to solve as many as 50 questions (I mean.. u could answer 50 questions at the most…Minimum--your choice..Ha ha ha) The English and the Aptitude sections were quite simple. However, the technical portion was a bit tricky. C++ outputs were hard nut to crack for the ECE students. Although they scored in the general knowledge questions on computers. Few questions had none of their options matching with the correct answer derived. And another few had duplicate options.Somehow, around 137 of us managed to clear the Apti round. And each of the candidates clearing the Apti round was assigned a panel number. i.e., a panel where they would have to go to get drilled.
I was allotted the panel 3.As I waited outside the interview room, I saw candidates coming out with an HR form if selected and with a long face if rejected.I was very nervous, to tell the truth.In a totally confused state about how to best greet the person sitting on the other side of the table, I went in hoping for the best.There was a man in his late 20s was sitting in a light green shirt and an ID hanging down his neck till his pockets, as if to tell others” I am a WIPRO official recruiter. Please don’t ignore me”
ME: Good Afternoon Sir.(as it was around 3 in the afternoon when I entered the room).
HIM: Good morning Saurabh. Take your seat.
ME: Thank You! Sir.I tried to present the best etiquette as I could, because someone told me that interview is about three things- Etiquettes, etiquettes and etiquettes.He started to flip thorough my CV.
HIM: So you have done a project recently, Saurabh
ME: Yes Sir, Radio Cabby!!!
HIM: Please explain your project for me.
ME: The project is named Radio Cabby. We have developed a software that enables a person to call at the office and request for a taxi. The software ensures that the person will get a taxi at his desired location within 15 minutes. I continued to speak all jargons for the next 7-10 minutes. By this time he realized that I have done an important project and I was a perfect candidate to be drilled.HIM: So u have implemented it in JSP and SQL. So u must be quite fluent in JSP.Right Saurabh?
ME: Sir, actually we did not have JSP in our syllabus and I have studied only that part which was relevant with my project. So I can answer questions from SQL only and I am not very confident in JSP.
HIM: So u have implemented it in JSP and SQL. So u must be quite fluent in JSP.Right Saurabh?
ME: Sir, actually we did not have JSP in our syllabus and I have studied only that part which was relevant with my project. So I can answer questions from SQL only and I am not very confident in JSP.
HIM: Tell me what a ‘relation’ is?
ME: Relation is a database in the form of tables.
HIM: I am talking about the relation in ER diagrams, not the relational database.
ME: Oh, I am extremely sorry Sir to have misunderstood u. The factor or the things that define a logical connection between various entities is called a relation.
HIM: Saurabh, you are giving only round about answers.I expect a more precise answer from you.
HIM: Ok tell me how many types of sorting are there. And name them.
ME: The different types of sorting are Bubble, Insertion, Selection, Merge, Radix, Shell, Heap and Quick sorting.
HIM: Good
ME: Thank U Sir
HIM: Ok, explain me the Binary search
ME: In a sorted array of integers or characters, we can select the middle element of the array and then check whether the element to be searched is lesser than the mid element or greater than it. If the element to be searched is lesser in value than the mid element then the search proceeds to the left array, or else the right array. This process continues until we find the element.
HIM: What if the array is not sorted. Wont we be able to perform binary search then?
ME: No, Sir(Then he started to write something in a piece of paper)
Then he asked me some questions on different types of JOIN in SQL. And a few questions on OBJECT ORIENTED LANGUAGE like what are the different features of an object oriented programming, explain INHERITANCE. What is Polymorphism and stuffs like those. Luckily, I was fluent with these topics, so I discussed it in good details
But suddenly a question came up from Data Structure and I thought O My God. What the hell has he asked!!!And the question was….
HIM: Ok explain me the Heap Sorting.
ME: I am sorry Sir, I don’t know(I ddnt know the answer so I thought it best to say it straight that I don’t know)
HIM: Ok Saurabh.We recruit you and you are given a project on C programming. One is an easier one and another is a difficult one. Which one will you chose?
ME: Sir, considering my sound technical knowledge in C programming, I would prefer the difficult project. Even if I am lacking in knowledge in some areas of C programming, I m sure I will be able to “work hard” and gain that much knowledge before your company starts training me, in case I am selected. So, I would not mind taking up the difficult project.
HIM: Are you sure you will work hard Saurabh?
ME: Yes Sir!!!!(Then he again wrote something in that paper)
HIM: Ok Saurabh, considering the fact that your communication skills are good and you have a fair technical knowledge, I give you this form. This is the HR form. Take this form and fill it up and go for the HR interview.
(I was extrmelyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy happyyyyyyyy to get the HR form. I quickly said him Thank You and made my out of the room. I did not want him to ask me any more questions.So I almost flew from the spot.)Then came the HR round which was more than just interesting.
There was this man in his mid thirties with a tinge of a south-Indian accent.
HIM: So quickly introduce yourself to me Mr. Saurabh Sharma
ME: Sir, I am Saurabh Sharma. I come from Liluah which is a small industrial town. I basically come from a middle class family and have a decent academic record. I was the second topper of my school in ISC 2004 and the topper of my stream in 2nd Sem of B-Tech. I am an opportunistic person and I communicate well in a group. I am a patient…(As I was speaking he interrupted me. I wanted to say that I am a patient person but he allowed me only to say that “I am patient...” I wonder I would have become one had my name not been declared at the end)
HIM: Ok Saurabh, hold on. You said that you come from a middle class family. So wouldn’t you have a problem regarding the money that you have to submit as a caution deposit after the training period?
ME: No Sir, I don’t think so.
HIM: Have you consulted your parents?
ME: No, Sir. Not yet. But I don’t think that they will be having any problems regarding this. Moreover, in the PPT presentation, I got to know that you have some kind of tie-ups with SBI bank. So even if we have any kind of problems, we will resort to loans from the bank.
HIM: So tell me Saurabh, why should WIPRO hire you?
ME; I think that your company basically deals with work that requires efficient coding skills and where a large project is divided among a number of people. As I said, I am good at coding and my ability to work in a group can go a long way in enabling your company to compete with the very best in the market.
HIM: So was WIPRO your dream, or is it that you want to get selected just because we are the first company at your college to recruit candidates?
ME: Sir, frankly speaking. WIPRO was never a dream for me. But the PPT presentation revealed that being a part of WIPRO can give me many benefits. Like higher education. I have certain plans of MBA in the next few years. And I can do that statying in your firm, then why not join it? Its giving me a lot of opportunity of growth and my talent would be polished. Learning new technical skills at your firm will only make me more and more valuable. Sir, I would love to be a part of the WIPRO family.
HIM: If you are given a choice of MONEY, FAME and HONESTY ?Which one would you chose?
ME: Sir, why only one, can’t I chose all?
HIM(smiling): No, you can’t. Ok you can chose two.
ME: I think MONEY and FAME. Sir I think MONEY is definitely a criteria today and being very frank, you need money for every second need of yours. So money is definitely a need.
HIM: And why FAME?
ME: Who doesn’t want to be famous SIR? Limelight is something everyone desires and I would not hesitate to say that I am one of the people who don’t want to be famous?(This was the answer I gave most vaguely. I started to stammer at times.)
HIM: Why do you speak so fast Saurabh? You speak very good English, but try to have some control over your speed. We often have to deal with people of foreign nationalities. So you will have to cut down on your speed.
ME: Yes, Sir I thoroughly understand the needs of the company and I would take care to develop a proper accent in the near future. I do have this problem but I am trying desperately to speak coherent and easy English.
HIM: There is no problem with the English you speak Saurabh. Its very good. It’s the speed that can cost you the job. So what are you doing to get rid of this problem? What are the channels that you watch on TV?
ME: Sir, I read a particular topic from a magazine. And try to speak in front of the mirror. This way I develop a better control over the language and that also helps me practice for group discussions. I generally watch NDTV and ESPN.
HIM: That’s good you see. News and Sports channel are very good in improving your soft skills. All the people who feature there are professionals and you must have noticed that they speak in one very good accent.
ME: Yes Sir, I have noticed (who cares about their accent, I just told him that I noticed)
HIM: So Mr. Saurabh, do you have any problems if we place you outside Kolkata?
ME: NO Problem Sir.(First let me get in yaar.. If I say I have a problem, you wil discard me here only.)
HIM: Are you sure?
ME: Pretty much.
HIM: Here is a circle. Suppose it’s a cake. You like it?
ME: Yes Sir. I do.HIM: Even I do. Cut this circle or cake with three straight lines, so as to get maximum number of pieces. And tell me how many pieces you get.
(I thought a lot and I did not know why he was asking such logical questions? What has it got to do with HR? I thought what if I give a wrong answer? But then I continued…)
ME: I think we can get a maximum of 6 pieces at the most.HIM: Ok Saurabh you wait outside for sometime. Because it will take almost an hour for us to declare the final results. You can wait or you can come back from your home if you want.
ME: Ok Sir, I will wait here.
HIM: It was nice to talk to you Mr.Sharma
ME: Same here Sir.
(As I started to walk out briskly so as to avoid any more questions and I was close to the door before the interviewer called me..)
HIM: Saurabh, just a second. Please come back.(Oh God, please no more questions now. I can’t take any more of it)
ME: Yes Sir?
HIM: You see properly, the cake that you were given to cut can be cut in a maximum of 8 pieces. Not 6, as you answered. Do check it once more.(I thought, he called me up just to say this?????)
ME: Yes Sir, definitely,. I wil try it just now.
HIM: Good. Ok. Thank You.
ME: Thank you very much Sir.
Aaaaahhhhh…..the interview ended, but I soon realized that the long wait had just begun.It was around 5:30pm when my HR interview had ended. We had to wait for three long hours before the results were declared at 8:30 pm.Our placement officer along with all the technical and HR interviewers of WIPRO came in our seminar hall with a list of names of selected candidates. This list frightened us more than excite.The name of the candidates selected was started to be announced.(I was very very nervous. I did not know whether that South Indian accented man liked my speed in English or not? Who knows he might have disliked my fast English. Did it intimidate him in any way? Did he feel insecure about his job with my English? Or he disliked it simply because his past girl-friend ditched him because he could not understand her accented-fast-English? I did not know what was going to happen. There were so many questions running simultaneously in my mind like Siddhu giving a lecture on cricket(or anything).It would be heartbreaking if I was to be discarded from this point when I came so far. I was sitting along with some of my very close buddies, who were sure to be selected. The result started to be announced).
And the second name to be announced was…..SAURABH SHARMA…….Computer Science and Engineering..I felt a sigh of relief and a sense of joy after hearing my name. I had never before waited so eagerly for my name to be called (apart from my girl friend’s mouth who ditched me a long time back)I got selected. My first job. I was a WIPROite now. A day back, I was nothing. And now I have a job. I called up my home. My bro received the call. I could here the excitement in his voice. My mom almost started weeping.There was so much joy in the college. Each one of us was happy. We were elated like never before. There was a sense of achievement in it. This meant more than topping an examination or getting highest marks in the class. It is said that becoming a father is the happiest feeling for a man. Well, I haven’t yet experienced that, but getting your first job is certainly a heavenly experience. I was happy. Really happy.
