GD was an interesting topic. It was about attrition in software companies. We were supposed to identify the reasons and come up with the probable solutions. We were a group of 9 people and 3 panelists, one of whom was IIM C alumnus. And after conclusion of the GD, every one of us was suppose to summarize the discussion in one minute.

Interesting thing happened during my summary. For the first time in my life I was very organized, and was putting forward the problem, causes and solution categorically. But in between one of the panelist said “Anshul your one minute is over, but continue continue, carry on with your points, finish it.” J

*I have no idea, if it is good or bad, can anyone help me interpreting it*

Anyways, excerpts of interview are as follows

P1: please give me your certificates.
A *hands them to him*
P2: so anshul, tell me something about yourself.
A: blah blah...
*in between this P3 told me to relax and sit comfortably*
P2: oh so you are a chemical engg. And you work for which company?
A: sir, TCS
P3: so was this transformation tough?
A: not exactly sir. It was a long thought process. Blah blah…
P1: so what is the attrition rate in TCS?
A: sir, something around 10%
P1: so what is TCS doing about it? Tell me from the points discussed in the GD.
A: They are trying to make their paycheck more competitive and have made a lot of changes in their HR policies. They have tried to improve the onsite opportunities for everyone, and they try to make sure that any employee, who has worked more than 2 years, should be given a fair chance to get an onsite opportunity. They are also trying to shuffle projects of an employee, so that he should not feel stagnated.
P2: what do you think are the key reasons of people to quit TCS?
A: sir, as we discusses, people usually quit for mainly two reasons, firstly lack of competitive salary and secondly, not satisfied with the quality of work. In TCS, most of the projects are of maintenance and support, so people do leave company for that reason. And also a lot of them feel, that package is not sufficient.
P1: so are you in development?
A: yes sir
P3: and are you satisfied?
A: very much sir.
P3: what technology are you working with?
A: sir, I’m working with pl/sql and oracle applications.
P2: we talked about incentives and team outings. So what do you think people prefer monthly team outings or may be cash 2000 rs?
A: sir, it depends. I feel bachelors prefer hard cash, while families prefer picnics and outings.
P3: so how long have you been in Bangalore?
A: sir around one and a half years
P3: so you must know quite a lot about the city, eh?
A: yes sir, I think so.
P3: so what is the recent thing about Bangalore that is in news?
A: sir, these days the news about stray dogs in Bangalore is hot. A lot of people have been their victims and eventually two kids died because of dog bites. So state government has issued an order to capture something around 1000 dogs a day.
P2: why don’t you think they kill them?
A: sir, they were planning to, but PETA and other animal activists didn’t let them.
P1: what do you think is a solution for this problem? Are you satisfied with the initiatives of the govt.?
A: yes sir. I think that the govt. is doing a good job. I too feel killing is not option. The dogs should be sterilized and left in a jungle far from the city.
P2: what about the people living in nearby villages?
A: sir, it has to be made sure that the place where the dogs are left should not have any human population in its vicinity. Otherwise they can crate havoc there.
P1: but when you leave them in jungle, they will die their eventually. So why not kill them?
A: sir, but in jungle they have an opportunity to live. If they have will and caliber to sustain, they can survive. But if we kill them, they won’t even have a choice but to get killed. In jungle they always have an option. And after that they have to live by the laws of the jungle. As Darwin said it “survival of the fittest”.
P1: so anshul, do u eat non-veg?
A: yes sir.
P1: chicken, mutton everything?
A: yes sir.
P1: so when you eat them, that time you don’t think of taking an animal life? Why are you thinking about these dogs?
A: sir, I don’t dig canines.
*rofl*
*I know it was very bad of me to make such an informal smartass comment, but it just slipped off my mouth, and the mood of the room made me little too relaxed. Even they were laughing on it.*
P2: anshul, tell me about your hobbies?
A: blah blah
P3: so you like movies, who is your favorite director?
A: Quentin Tarantino
P1: so do you read newspapers?
A: yes sir, I do.
P2: so have you read about the financial budget?
A: yes sir, I have.
P2: what do you think about it?
A: blah blah
P3: I guess that is it anshul
A: thank you sir!! J

*there were a lot more questions, but I don’t remember them now.*


Finally I’m done with my interviews. Now I’m keeping my finger crossed and waiting for the results. But now life is more miserable than ever. Now that I know, I know that I have screwed up at many points, now I do not have a chance to correct any mistake I made. No more interviews left. And even this thought is giving me jitters. I hope I can hold on my sane self by the time these results are out.

Labels: I, Memoirs