28 Feb 2005, 9:01pm
Yesterday was the XL interview. There were quite a few good things about it. Let me start from the beginning. I somehow mananged to wake up by 8 and even get ready by 9. Then we made our way to CST, where we got off and asked the taxi guy to take us to Xavier's College. It was like a 5 min walk, but we din't know where the college was!!
Anyway, the college is this awesome fort like ancient structure built in 1583 or something. We enter with a suit and a tie and all. Looking as formal and perhaps as smart as we can. Except I have this amazing haircut.. I guess my barber (or barberian! ) thought my head looked better like a football and hence chopped my hair to a barely there level.
In the college, there was Zombie playing.. A few memories run by me, a few people flash in my head, in my head they're still fighting...
Ok ok.. I am coming back to the point already. We go upstairs to the waiting room for the interviews and wallah! No one! Absolutely deserted. At first I am greatly happy that there is A/C is the room, cuz mumbai just decided that yesterday was when summer should begin in full bloom and ensure sweltering heat and instant dehydration. I drink half a bottle of water, do a little dance... and then search for the loo!
Man, these Xavier's Management guys have it good! I mean, they have these amazing loos. Western comode, shower, geizer, sink. Everything! It was like a 5 star cubicle!!
Anyway, as there weren't too many interview candidates, our interview times were advanced. My brother went in at 12:10 or so and he was out by 12:30. He was obviously looking very handsome in the suit and even the profs couldn't help commenting about it.
At 12:35, I ask the profs if they are going to take my interview now? They were ready to go for lunch and all. They asked me if I was ready for the interview. I replied, I most definitely was.
In 5 minutes after they emptied their tanks, I geared up with my certificates and all and they called me into the room.
I went in and, said good afternoon to all of them.. They were all very easy going. The first question they asked me was, "Oh, Jamnagar?" I said, "Yes sir, my dad works in Essar Oil". They say, "Then you must know the person we just interviewed." I said, "Yes sir, he is my brother."
They asK: "You and brother? Both here, how come?"
I say: "My brother was getting the forms and I told him to get this one also."
"Does that mean you are not interested?"
"No sir, it does not. It is just that I din't prepare this year. I thought it would be better if I had 2 and half years experience before I joined a B-School." A few "Ohos" and sounded.
"Both brothers in IT firms!"
"Yes sir, but we have totally different roles. I am into marketing, he is into projects!" An explanation of what I do follows.
They ask me, what I have learnt from this experience.
And during these answers on prof leans over to another and says, "We should ask him about one seat and which of you should get the seat!"
So I guess I was mentally prepared for it when it came. In my inimitable brash yet polite style. "You should select me! Cuz I have a better perspective for business management and I have been in this field and am gaining knowledge and would be able to contribute a lot of experience to the students of XL! And he has other opportunities as well!" He did tell them that he got calls from IIM C, L, I, K. :D
Anyway, the iterview went on and I kept giving my fundas about this that and the other!
I am sure they wouldn't forget to suit clad brothers from Jamnagar, back to back for interviews to the same college, same course! I hope the shock effect is useful in getting both of us through! That would make my father very proud! :D
Current Mood: Grand
Current Music: Stairway to Heaven
Anyway, the college is this awesome fort like ancient structure built in 1583 or something. We enter with a suit and a tie and all. Looking as formal and perhaps as smart as we can. Except I have this amazing haircut.. I guess my barber (or barberian! ) thought my head looked better like a football and hence chopped my hair to a barely there level.
In the college, there was Zombie playing.. A few memories run by me, a few people flash in my head, in my head they're still fighting...
Ok ok.. I am coming back to the point already. We go upstairs to the waiting room for the interviews and wallah! No one! Absolutely deserted. At first I am greatly happy that there is A/C is the room, cuz mumbai just decided that yesterday was when summer should begin in full bloom and ensure sweltering heat and instant dehydration. I drink half a bottle of water, do a little dance... and then search for the loo!
Man, these Xavier's Management guys have it good! I mean, they have these amazing loos. Western comode, shower, geizer, sink. Everything! It was like a 5 star cubicle!!
Anyway, as there weren't too many interview candidates, our interview times were advanced. My brother went in at 12:10 or so and he was out by 12:30. He was obviously looking very handsome in the suit and even the profs couldn't help commenting about it.
At 12:35, I ask the profs if they are going to take my interview now? They were ready to go for lunch and all. They asked me if I was ready for the interview. I replied, I most definitely was.
In 5 minutes after they emptied their tanks, I geared up with my certificates and all and they called me into the room.
I went in and, said good afternoon to all of them.. They were all very easy going. The first question they asked me was, "Oh, Jamnagar?" I said, "Yes sir, my dad works in Essar Oil". They say, "Then you must know the person we just interviewed." I said, "Yes sir, he is my brother."
They asK: "You and brother? Both here, how come?"
I say: "My brother was getting the forms and I told him to get this one also."
"Does that mean you are not interested?"
"No sir, it does not. It is just that I din't prepare this year. I thought it would be better if I had 2 and half years experience before I joined a B-School." A few "Ohos" and sounded.
"Both brothers in IT firms!"
"Yes sir, but we have totally different roles. I am into marketing, he is into projects!" An explanation of what I do follows.
They ask me, what I have learnt from this experience.
And during these answers on prof leans over to another and says, "We should ask him about one seat and which of you should get the seat!"
So I guess I was mentally prepared for it when it came. In my inimitable brash yet polite style. "You should select me! Cuz I have a better perspective for business management and I have been in this field and am gaining knowledge and would be able to contribute a lot of experience to the students of XL! And he has other opportunities as well!" He did tell them that he got calls from IIM C, L, I, K. :D
Anyway, the iterview went on and I kept giving my fundas about this that and the other!
I am sure they wouldn't forget to suit clad brothers from Jamnagar, back to back for interviews to the same college, same course! I hope the shock effect is useful in getting both of us through! That would make my father very proud! :D
Current Mood: Grand
Current Music: Stairway to Heaven
20 Feb 2005, 5:02am
In our culture the term influence is used to convey a sense of power and used extensively and especially with politicians!
When we suggest a hair dresser, a restaurant, a doctor, a movie to our friends... we are influencing them - to a slight extent, but influencing them nonetheless. With every bit of influence comes a bit of responsibility. It is when we shrug off this responsibility that our influence really turns into misleading...
But seriously, in your friend circle, about something like what items to buy, would you really influence ur friend or would you rather let them choose for themselves? I would definitely not like to influence my friends to do things, I would much rather they chose to do it for themselves.
Is that because I am running away from responsibility or because I want to nurture their decision making capabilities?
Extending the thought of influence, when you try and sell something to people, be it yourself in an interview or some item or something else, you are not just trying to influence people, you are also trying to convince them to purchase the item or select your idea.
Ur not just trying to influence anymore you are trying to convince? How does a person who does not like to influence ever feel like convincing someone else, nevertheless selling something??
WE unfortunately live in a society where everything revolves around buying and selling.. be they items or just plain ideas! But then how do you tackle a situation of the sort above? Any ideas???
Current Mood: Confused
Current Music: Blank!!!
When we suggest a hair dresser, a restaurant, a doctor, a movie to our friends... we are influencing them - to a slight extent, but influencing them nonetheless. With every bit of influence comes a bit of responsibility. It is when we shrug off this responsibility that our influence really turns into misleading...
But seriously, in your friend circle, about something like what items to buy, would you really influence ur friend or would you rather let them choose for themselves? I would definitely not like to influence my friends to do things, I would much rather they chose to do it for themselves.
Is that because I am running away from responsibility or because I want to nurture their decision making capabilities?
Extending the thought of influence, when you try and sell something to people, be it yourself in an interview or some item or something else, you are not just trying to influence people, you are also trying to convince them to purchase the item or select your idea.
Ur not just trying to influence anymore you are trying to convince? How does a person who does not like to influence ever feel like convincing someone else, nevertheless selling something??
WE unfortunately live in a society where everything revolves around buying and selling.. be they items or just plain ideas! But then how do you tackle a situation of the sort above? Any ideas???
Current Mood: Confused
Current Music: Blank!!!
18 Feb 2005, 7:37pm
A couple of days ago, my dear friend from Delhi had come down. We were all sitting around and talking and just remembering how we used to pull each others legs and all. He recanted quite a few war stories from his college - the kind of war Bill Clinton would have been proud of. Anyway, that apart, we decided to call our junior- who was studying in a prestiged B-school. We just found out (from one of this own batch mates present with us) that he had finally caught himself a girlfriend.
He and I immediately thought of calling him up to play a prank. We give him a call and say, I am so and so professor, is Ms. X there? He retorts with no thought, "Yes sir she is" and hands her the phone. Supposedly, his gf is the daughter of some prof in the college and we just happened to call at the darndest time cuz he was having dinner at her house. Talk about absolutely rotten coincidence.
After a few calls were exchanged, and the infuriated girl was calmed down... I decided to say, "Wasn't me!" and run along home! We were just thanking our stars that we din't pick the prof whose daughter she actually was and say, "I am , we are worried that she hasn't come home. Is she with you?"
The guy who told us about this case, what happened to him, no idea! Probably lying somewhere bleeding because of shotgun wounds!
Current Mood: Triumphant
Current Music: None
He and I immediately thought of calling him up to play a prank. We give him a call and say, I am so and so professor, is Ms. X there? He retorts with no thought, "Yes sir she is" and hands her the phone. Supposedly, his gf is the daughter of some prof in the college and we just happened to call at the darndest time cuz he was having dinner at her house. Talk about absolutely rotten coincidence.
After a few calls were exchanged, and the infuriated girl was calmed down... I decided to say, "Wasn't me!" and run along home! We were just thanking our stars that we din't pick the prof whose daughter she actually was and say, "I am , we are worried that she hasn't come home. Is she with you?"
The guy who told us about this case, what happened to him, no idea! Probably lying somewhere bleeding because of shotgun wounds!
Current Mood: Triumphant
Current Music: None
14 Feb 2005, 1:42pm
The other day I was listening to a lecture and startlingly enough there was a little discussion about success. The startling part is not that there was a discussion, but that the person actually said some thing like: In order to succeed, you only need to know enough to succeed. You don't need to know everything. They are two disparate paths.
She went on to say, that have faith in what we say and do exactly what we ask you to, and you will succeed.
this made me think about the qualities of faith and trust.
Faith is for people who would much rather leave the burden of thought upon someone else. Not that it is bad. It is inevitable, but to what degree is definitely subjective. Without faith, life wouldn't be the same... so is true about thought.
There are a few more observations I made about faith. When you have faith, it automatically becomes the other person's (god's, the system's, the group's) responsibility to see to it that you succeed.
And then there is this one issue, which struck me much later on in thought process. What bugs me about faith is not that I have to trust someone, be guided by someone, listen to someone but rather that I have to be ignorant about other things. If I learnt about other perspectives and other ideologies, then they would clash and executing the things required as per what you are told would be close to impossible.
Imagine educating a child about all religions and let him choose to follow one. Wouldn't the choice he makes be based on some personal bias like where he was born or the teacher that taught him...
Similarly is the faith in modern sciences. We would much rather not delve into the intricacies because they are not relevant to our everyday existence. Somehow applying this for success, does not seem to be very appealing. Probably because we know there are multiple ways of doing it and more importantly, there are multiple factors involved in success.
My fundamental problem with faith is that it also preaches ignorance. I think if this can be somehow eliminated, then we'll have something more long standing. Something I can put my faith in. :D
Current Mood: Thoughtful
Current Music: Faith
She went on to say, that have faith in what we say and do exactly what we ask you to, and you will succeed.
this made me think about the qualities of faith and trust.
Faith is for people who would much rather leave the burden of thought upon someone else. Not that it is bad. It is inevitable, but to what degree is definitely subjective. Without faith, life wouldn't be the same... so is true about thought.
There are a few more observations I made about faith. When you have faith, it automatically becomes the other person's (god's, the system's, the group's) responsibility to see to it that you succeed.
And then there is this one issue, which struck me much later on in thought process. What bugs me about faith is not that I have to trust someone, be guided by someone, listen to someone but rather that I have to be ignorant about other things. If I learnt about other perspectives and other ideologies, then they would clash and executing the things required as per what you are told would be close to impossible.
Imagine educating a child about all religions and let him choose to follow one. Wouldn't the choice he makes be based on some personal bias like where he was born or the teacher that taught him...
Similarly is the faith in modern sciences. We would much rather not delve into the intricacies because they are not relevant to our everyday existence. Somehow applying this for success, does not seem to be very appealing. Probably because we know there are multiple ways of doing it and more importantly, there are multiple factors involved in success.
My fundamental problem with faith is that it also preaches ignorance. I think if this can be somehow eliminated, then we'll have something more long standing. Something I can put my faith in. :D
Current Mood: Thoughtful
Current Music: Faith
