Jo bhi ho, kal phir aayega!
Last year, I got an interview call from one of the IT giants. I was not too sure if I wanted to switch my job but I decided to give it a go anyway.
The interview was somewhere in town on a Saturday afternoon. I wanted to do well and I thought I had prepared myself well in the little time that I had. While I was on my way to the venue, I was a little anxious. It was indeed a big moment and a big victory if I pulled it off.
I reached the venue and saw quite a few ‘hopefuls’ like me. There were definitely more people than I had expected, and most looked senior to me. All very professionally attired, speaking only when required, and waiting anxiously for their turn for the interview. The atmosphere was quiet but restless. I sat there and was made to fill a form. While I was filling the form, sudden, unknown restlessness gripped me. I was very uncomfortable and I found my hands trembling!
I don’t get nervous so easily. I also think I know my job well. However, on that day, I wasn’t too happy sitting in that room, waiting for the interview. I tried to calm down but wasn’t totally successful. I also tried to put a finger on what exactly was making me sweat but I couldn’t!
Well, finally, I was called for the interview. I entered a small cabin with two straight-faced people trying to read between the lines in my resume. Formalities exchanged, I sat down on a chair and things started to go downhill from then on. The interviewers were a little hostile (They probably wanted to carry out a ‘stress’ interview), there were a lot of questions on theory which I had least expected, some of the things I generally have on tip of my tongue failed me and what not! All in all, it was a disastrous interview. It lasted about 30 minutes and I was only too happy to come out of it.
Generally, in such situations, what is more painful is the aftermath. I came out bewildered at what had happened. I was disgusted with myself. How did this happen? How did I let it happen? For the next 10 minutes, my world was full of questions I had no answer to.
Thankfully, the disappointment hardly lasted a few minutes. Anyhow, I wasn’t too desperate for the job so missing out on this opportunity wasn’t like the end of the world. ‘It was just an interview’; I told myself and moved on!
I didn’t know what went wrong, I still don’t know. Whether I wasn’t serious about the interview, whether the ‘too-professional’ air about the place put me off, whether the ‘stress’ interview technique was repulsive, whether the unexpected questions on theory caught me off-guard – what went wrong, I can never tell. I laughed it off as a one-off incident, forgave myself and moved on! I am still in as much love with myself as I was prior to that interview.
Last Saturday, as I switched off the TV after Sachin got out against Bangladesh, this incident came back to me with a question. If I can forgive myself so easily after failing so badly, what gives me the right to criticize my team, which obviously is under far bigger pressure? I still love my team and I want them to have as much fun as they can in cricket’s premier event. I think sometimes, we pull the team down with the huge expectations that we have from them. We, as fans, should be a little more forgiving, I think. After all, it’s just a game!
The interview was somewhere in town on a Saturday afternoon. I wanted to do well and I thought I had prepared myself well in the little time that I had. While I was on my way to the venue, I was a little anxious. It was indeed a big moment and a big victory if I pulled it off.
I reached the venue and saw quite a few ‘hopefuls’ like me. There were definitely more people than I had expected, and most looked senior to me. All very professionally attired, speaking only when required, and waiting anxiously for their turn for the interview. The atmosphere was quiet but restless. I sat there and was made to fill a form. While I was filling the form, sudden, unknown restlessness gripped me. I was very uncomfortable and I found my hands trembling!
I don’t get nervous so easily. I also think I know my job well. However, on that day, I wasn’t too happy sitting in that room, waiting for the interview. I tried to calm down but wasn’t totally successful. I also tried to put a finger on what exactly was making me sweat but I couldn’t!
Well, finally, I was called for the interview. I entered a small cabin with two straight-faced people trying to read between the lines in my resume. Formalities exchanged, I sat down on a chair and things started to go downhill from then on. The interviewers were a little hostile (They probably wanted to carry out a ‘stress’ interview), there were a lot of questions on theory which I had least expected, some of the things I generally have on tip of my tongue failed me and what not! All in all, it was a disastrous interview. It lasted about 30 minutes and I was only too happy to come out of it.
Generally, in such situations, what is more painful is the aftermath. I came out bewildered at what had happened. I was disgusted with myself. How did this happen? How did I let it happen? For the next 10 minutes, my world was full of questions I had no answer to.
Thankfully, the disappointment hardly lasted a few minutes. Anyhow, I wasn’t too desperate for the job so missing out on this opportunity wasn’t like the end of the world. ‘It was just an interview’; I told myself and moved on!
I didn’t know what went wrong, I still don’t know. Whether I wasn’t serious about the interview, whether the ‘too-professional’ air about the place put me off, whether the ‘stress’ interview technique was repulsive, whether the unexpected questions on theory caught me off-guard – what went wrong, I can never tell. I laughed it off as a one-off incident, forgave myself and moved on! I am still in as much love with myself as I was prior to that interview.
Last Saturday, as I switched off the TV after Sachin got out against Bangladesh, this incident came back to me with a question. If I can forgive myself so easily after failing so badly, what gives me the right to criticize my team, which obviously is under far bigger pressure? I still love my team and I want them to have as much fun as they can in cricket’s premier event. I think sometimes, we pull the team down with the huge expectations that we have from them. We, as fans, should be a little more forgiving, I think. After all, it’s just a game!
posted by Leziblogger at 10:33 PM
5 Comments:
Well said !!
Yeah, our expectations are way too high. Just imagine if they can't make to super8.
Y'day I was at a mall and saw a banner saying "Come back India, we are waiting for you at the airport". They lost only 1 match & this is the reaction of public. Quite humiliating.
Very true .... we have unrealistic expectations of ourselves some times, and of others a lot more often .....
And I am glad you got over the unhappy outcome of that interview - it is commendable not to rue over something that "could have happened"
Cuckoo: To be honest, I think it is going to be very difficult to beat Lanka! Super8 looks really difficult! As regards the banner, really in bad taste!
Know what, after the Bermuda match, Mumbai Mirror opened its analysis report saying if this had been the first match India played this world cup, people back home would have been full of praise!
Sigma: Trust sigma to give a point to ponder! What catches my attention from your comments is the phrase 'unrealistic expectations of ourselves'! Hmmm!
Hmmm ... do I really ? :-)
Failing is not a crime for which you need to forgive yopurself. Only not doing your best is something that must be remedied.
Don't worry and don't be too hard on yourself.
Everything happens for a reason.
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