•06:20
While the world outside sees a rosy picture of IIT, the
students walk on a bed of thorns. The case in point is the
ultimate objective of the two year penance-cum-exile at Kota – landing with a
“good” job. I am pretty sure many of you have been in the awkward situation
when your mother’s friend (some aunty you have no frickin’ clue about who she
is) looks at you and says, "Ohh, aap IITian hai, aapki toh bahut achi naukri
lagegi – karodo (crores) me kamayenge”. And, you respond with a retarded smile
which is otherwise reserved for social functions.
I wish that were the case. With the newspapers being the
major culprit by printing headlines like “Facebook offers 65 lakhs to IITians,”
fuel the myth that all companies dole out tens of lacs of rupees at campus
recruitment in IITs. Without going into the number game, through this post, I
want to recount my experience of placements at IIT Bombay in 5 phases.
1.The build-up:
This is the period from freshie year to the
start of 2nd last semester when all we know about placements is XYZ
craxxx ABC and some dotted incidences of dark horses or some stud junta missing
out. Placements were a happy memory as they were always associated with treats.
With the advent of the final year, there is a sudden explosion of information.
Everyone around you talks about jobs and why consults are better than banks or
how working at a start-up opens up your chances for MBA or why we as engineers
should NOT work at technical companies (seriously?). Some blabber philosophical
gyaan that they will do only what they love and what they love changed as fast
as auto-rickshaw meters (before the RTO drive).
2. 2. Selling yourself: Exaggeration is an
understatement
At a resume-making workshop, the
professional remarked, “So, for an exam you spend one day and for your resume
which covers 4 years of your life and forms the basis of your career you will
be spending just 10 days!” (the workshop was scheduled 10 days before the
flexible deadline). He drove a point and suddenly a variant of that retarded
smile was wiped off my face.
I immediately downloaded the folder “Stud
resumes” only to demotivate myself further. I started getting fundaes from
everywhere – show impact, numbers, results, team-work, all-round
qualifications, leadership skills and hell yeah, I eventually concocted it all!
For the next 15 days, the word doc of my resume was always open (along with the
thesaurus) and I would stare blankly at it hoping words would magically
rearrange themselves into something flashy like – Tom Marvolo Riddle became I
am Lord Voldemort. Heavyweight words like spearheaded, revolutionized,
conceptualized, etc became common jargon. Here’s an example of what to put on
resume:
·
Spearheaded the 2nd freedom struggle
of the World’s Largest Democracy
·
Collaborated with team Anna to launch the new
initiative of India Against Corruption (IAC)
·
Received an overwhelming response from over 1.2
billion people across diverse sectors
What you actually did – chatted with your
friend, “यार, ये अन्ना क्या मचा रहा है आजकल!”
So after two weeks of excruciating eye
exercise, contradicting reviews and infinite iterations, I was finally relieved
to get it done with.
3. 3.. Pre-Placement Talks:
It was a roller-coaster ride from snobbish
show of superiority to bare reality of back-end work, from interesting
game-changing videos to pinnacle of boredom. The end of PPTs would see some
genuine doubts, some guys asking questions just for the heck of it and then
there was a whole species of ass-kissers who would listen with rapt attention
as if actual pearls of wisdom were being thrown out as freebies. Finally, it
just became a matter of attendance lest we, the earthly mortals, stir up the
wrath of the Dark Lord to be conferred with the Dark Violation (Institute rule for compulsory attendance).
*shivers*
4. 4.. The long short-lists and Preparation:
It was a traumatizing and tantalizing time
of desperately finding your name in shortlists. At one time it seemed different
combinations from a set of same 50 people popped up everywhere or it would be a
CS company open, as if out of pity, for all departments. Even in the “Epic”
shortlist my name did not feature! Only consolation being there were loads of
technical companies for electrical. But that was not to be, as towards the end
of November, there would be so many tests lined up (I had 5 tests each from
28-30 Nov), I just signed and returned the papers. Apart from killing time, these
tests did an amazing job of murdering self-confidence and shaking your technical
foundation. And yeah, those numerous aptitude tests! Why the hell would I care
if a train travelling from A to B at x km/hr reaches at z o’clock or not? Grow
up!
Deciphering why so and so is in a shortlist
is like inorganic chemistry- looking at the result you can always come up with
some crap as to why he/she made it. And if all else fails then, like you
declare exceptions in inorganic chemistry, you can say, “ जुगाड़ लगाया होगा! (networking at work :P)”
Come placements and there is a sudden spike
in the interest of Consultancies who work on the principle of “Chaato ya Kaato
(kiss-ass or kick-ass)”. And everyone is practicing case-studies. Besides,
people start reading economic times for finance companies, solve puzzles for
Quant companies. Ironically, technical revision is the last priority and often
left neglected. And then there are HR questions. So even after 21-22 years of
fooling around, you suffer from verbal diarrhea when telling something about
yourself.
5. 5.The D-Day(s)
With the institute trying to get everyone
placed on day 1 slot 1 itself, multitudes of companies were squeezed in.
(Un)fortunately, I did not have any interviews in slot 1. So I was a bit
relaxed compared to the circus of chaos on display in hostel 4. Looking at the
way things are handled here you get a fair idea of how our country runs! Most
of my close friends were placed in the 1st slot and although I was
happy for them but honestly it just added some more pressure of getting placed as quickly as possible. I had 2
interviews and 2 GDs lined up in slot 2. I did fairly good in one of the GDs
but did not qualify for the next round. Thanks to the mind-blowing (literally
blew my mind) scheduling and management, I had 2 interviews and a GD all at the
same time with each threatening to disqualify me if I did not turn up. After
some convincing, I managed to swap interviews with others and with that
panicked state of mind gave the remaining GD and then the interviews. I was
horrified to see that my resume copy with the interviewer was messed up and my
top two selling points were overlapped with the header. So, if some members of
the placement team have crippled babies then either the nuclear reactor at
Fukushima in Japan had far-reaching effects or my curses took effect. At 2-30
am, I just had one company left whose results were about to be announced and my
fatigue prayed that I did not qualify for the next round just so I could lie
down and go for the test next morning at 5-30 am! And so it happened, and next
morning I went for the test which was preceded by a PPT which would eventually
result in some more crippled babies. Nonetheless, I had two interviews lined up
for the evening and finally got through one of them.
5(b). In Retrospect
Not getting recruited on day 1 had a
disastrous effect, not just on me but most people around. Unlike slot 1 where
competition instigates people to slit throats and gobble intestines (both small
and large) like noodles, everyone is very supportive and helpful otherwise. Not
just friends but acquaintances and even strangers kept each other motivated and
it was really heart-warming. The mind-set of getting placed as soon as possible
throws you into a lake with a big rock tied to you and sometimes it becomes too
overwhelming to come through. The sleepless nights, the foodless day, the
restless mind all play a conspiracy and it becomes impossible to keep your head
on your shoulders. On day 1, I was quite tensed but once I started interviewing
I kept great composure and probably was at my best (which even surprised me).
Not getting selected in spite of doing good was the most demotivating factor
and I had almost given up the battle like many others around me. What I learnt
though is that some things are out of control and its best not to dwell on them
but to keep oneself in the fighter mode. This is not the end of the world but just
the beginning of the bare reality of life. Its important to set our priorities
and work towards them while believing in oneself. On paper (or currently on
your computer) this seems like a philosophical sermon but in practice it’s just
introspecting what you like, preparing for it and being confident during the
interviews and the whole process. I learned it the hard way when my confidence
was smothered and I became defensive which was really unnecessary given the
opportunities we have. I eventually convinced myself and pulled up my socks but
it would have been easier had I known all this earlier. But then again, experience
is the comb nature gives you when you become bald!
IIT,
Job
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