104. Interview Anecdotes – 4

I was working in a dot-com company who were into virtual education. This was in the year 2000 when very few people had heard of this concept.  Since it was a dot-com, there was always the chance that it might go bust.  During this period, I saw an ad in the Economic Times’s Careers page asking for marketing professionals in the financial services field, a field that I had earlier worked in.  So, I applied for it and sent my resume over email in the morning.  

Next morning, I got a call from a person from Hyderabad. He said they have shortlisted my profile. He asked me if I can meet his MD that day in Delhi as the MD was coming to Delhi to meet Bill Gates😊.  I was awestruck!!  I told him I will meet his MD. Later only, I got to know that the MD had come to Delhi to participate in a meeting where Bill Gates was addressing a huge gathering of people😊😊.  

I was given the name of the hotel and the MD’s room number.  I went to the room and knocked on the door.  The MD opened the door and he introduced himself by name and said he was glad to meet me.  We went to a sitting room where his company’s brochures were lying around.  There was also a 2-page chart depicting a network diagram.  He asked me to study the chart and said this is what his company was into.  I studied the chart and understood what exactly they were doing.  After 2-3 minutes of my study I looked at him. He simply asked me how it feels to come back to the same industry I was in earlier.  At that moment, I knew that I have been offered the job😊.  He then asked me how much I was expecting. I quoted a figure and he asked why he should pay more than what I was receiving. I told him that if he expects me to shift, he needs to pay more, else what is the incentive for me to join!!  He agreed to it and called his HR in front of me and asked him to courier the appointment letter to me.  He then asked me to buy a mobile phone and a connection and SMS him the mobile number.  I told him I already had a device and will get a connection.  I told him that the cost of a call at that time was Rs 16 a minute, irrespective of whether you are making a call or receiving it😊.  He asked me why I am bothered as he was going to pay the bill😊😊!!  He asked me to open a bank account and send him the account number so that he can transfer the advance money for the expenses.  

At that time the company did not have any office in Delhi.  When I asked him, he said I can go to Mumbai and be there with another marketing person there and learn the ropes!!  In the meanwhile, he said he will arrange for the office.  He called me a few days before I was supposed to leave for Mumbai.  He told me that the Mumbai person is busy and I can meet people from the industry in Delhi and tell them about the company and what all products we are bringing to the market.  I asked him as to where to report on my joining date.  He told me to report at my home only😊😊!!  So, this became the second company for which I started the operations from residence😊!!  My stint in this company would stretch to 12 years😊😊!!

Later on, when I met the HR guy in Hyderabad, he told me that they had got some 200+ responses to the Economic Times ad and they shortlisted just me for the interview😊!!

Cheers till the next blog!!

Today’s Daffy Definition 

Chess – Foolish expedient for making idle people believe that they are doing something clever!!