Luck 2

Days were going as usual. Regularly, I was hearing the news like known people and friends were getting selected in different companies like Infosys, TCS, etc. Also success stories in group emails. It was torture and anguish waiting to see when I would get placed in the software company.

My roommate and co lecturer got placed in TCS. After he had joined in TCS, I was not able to work at that place. Thus, I changed my lecture post from that college to some other college, which was located in my native place. After changing it, I got a new improved pay.

Even in a new college, I continued hunting for a software job. One day I got an email from L&T InfoTech asking me to appear the written test in Chennai. I went to Chennai and attended the written test. After few days, I got an email from L&T again saying I cleared the written exam, asked me to attend the interview. I went to Chennai again and gave an interview. I became so proficient in giving interviews, so it went without any trouble. However, I know about my luck, not had much hope of the outcome. Few days passed, another mail from the same company saying I cleared the interview, and need to attend the final round, which was a group discussion. I had the experience attending group discussion in the IAF entrance test, so with that faith I attended the group discussion.

Few more days past, one more email from the same company. I was scared to open that email. My hands were quivering before opening it. I opened it, and It had given like; I cleared the GD, asked me to attend a discussion with VP of that company, and followed by HR round. I was extremely pleased after seeing it. HR round was not hard to pass, I stretched up to that level means, almost got that job, those were my thoughts.

I reached the company. There were a total of 50 candidates shortlisted. They had asked us to sit in a room. I was the first guy in the row. After some time, the VP of L&T InfoTech came and sat on his seat. He introduced himself and said they would send all shortlisted candidates to Bombay for training. Everyone watching him with glazing eyes. He asked us to introduce our self one by one. He started with me first. It was all of a sudden, I took some time to react. I mutter about myself. It was not loud enough, so he asked again. Then I repeated in loud. He waited until everyone finishes then he left the room saying all the best.

A few hours later, a woman came out and said they selected 25 candidates out of 50 based on the discussion with VP. They had put the shortlisted candidates' list on the wall. They had asked non selected guys to leave the place. It was a jolt to everyone, we expected all 50 candidates were selected. I saw the list searching for my name. MY NAME WAS NOT LISTED. I searched again, and again. But, it was vain. Tears are about to come out. I controlled myself, tried to keep a smile on my face. It was the hardest time to congratulate others with a smiley face and keeping agony inside. I left the office.

While walking on the road, I remembered how I woke up in the early morning to catch the train to reach Chennai for these tests. Recalling all those things was terribly distressing. That was one of the worst days of my life.

It took few days for me to come out of it. Then, it was as usual like Ghazni Mohammed again started hunting and assessing my luck.

One problem in attempting the top company’s exams was a delay in the next attempts. Almost all top companies do not accept the application again within 6 months' time if a person fails to make the entrance test. I came to know through one of my friends that they maintain the database of all our names, so if we send an email with a different name then we might get the call. I changed a letter in my surname, and I applied to all leading companies again. In fact, whatever surname I mentioned earlier was wrong. As per my 10th class certificate, the changed surname was correct.

I got the first call from Infosys. That time I almost digested all Shakuntala Devi puzzles. I appeared for the exam. It was again my poor luck that they had asked all puzzles from some other book. It was a disaster to me, was not able to solve even 5 puzzles within the given time. I did not wait for the result, already knew what it would be.

Next, I got an email from Wipro. Many people were called for that exam. After seeing all those people at the center, I comprehend how tough the competition would be, and I figured out this exam is also like trail and hit kind of. The exam started, a totally 3 sections in the exam paper. 

We need to score 50% from each of the sections to pass the written test. The first section was Technical; it was condemned easy for me. I answered all and did the same way in the next aptitude section. Then the final section was Vocabulary, which was so hard. There were a total of 30 questions in that section, only 10 to 15% of questions I know the answer all remaining 80 to 90% words are bizarre to me. Then I did the probability. To get 50% pass marks in this section, I need to provide the correct answer to 15 questions. I already answered 5 questions correctly. Out of 5 answers, 3 answers were option B. I verified aptitude and technical questions. Those also for most of the questions the correct answer was in option B. Therefore, there was a high probability that most of the answers would be in option B. Based on that speculation and probability, I marked the remaining 10 questions answer as option B.

The exam was over. I crossed my fingers and knew about my luck. Anything could happen. After some time, they had attached the results on the wall. I did not want to carry so much hope and then disappoint later. I went to the place calmly where the result paper had attached and searched for my name. MY NAME WAS LISTED. Which means my probability was correct. I told myself that this was just a written exam. I had a history of returning back from the final round, so I did not pay much faith.

I went inside of that building for the interview. They had asked me to complete a form. I surprised that they were so many people who got shortlisted in that exam. I got a doubt, whether that was a true test or some kind of fake. They took the filled form and asked me to wait until they call for an interview. I saw the organizers were facing many hurdles managing those interviews. It looks like; they did not expect that much crowd. I almost waited for 3 hours for my interview. A man called me and took me with him. He asked me to go inside a room. I saw there were many parallel interviews they were conducting. They were running out of time, so they were rushing the interviews. I entered the room, the interviewer was sitting inside and he looks fatigued. He might have taken so many interviews by that time. I saw the Shakuntala Devi book kept on his table. He first gave me few puzzles. I was a bit surprised, I expected he would ask some technical questions. He might have thought that I would take some time to solve those puzzles, so meanwhile he was filling the forms with earlier interview results. Those puzzles were so familiar to me. I did practice them multiple times for the Infosys exam. I took very little time to solve them, after completing told to that guy. He was in a hurry to fill those forms, lazily cross-checked my results and noted as those were correct. Since he was fatigue and utterly exhausted, he forgot whether he asked any technical questions. He asked the same thing, I quietly shook my head as yes. He told, “Ok! You are good to go”.

That was the simplest interview I never faced before. I was wondering again, whether it was real or something else was going on. A few hours later, they announced the results. I cleared the interview. It was almost a night, so they had asked people to come the next day for the HR round.

I was never lucky like that day before. Everything went so smoothly without much of my hard work. However, still, the HR round has remained. I went to my classmate's room in Chennai and stayed that night. They had given me some encouragement saying, HR round was not that difficult and easy to clear.

The next day I went to the Wipro office to appear for HR. I sat so silently in the waiting room and prepared myself. That homework certainly helped me during the HR round. Whatever I thought to speak in those minutes, the same thing I told HR. The HR facial expression was subtle, not easy to assess whether I cleared the round or not by looking at him.

I went back to my home town.

Few weeks passed. One day, I saw an email from Wipro. IT WAS MY OFFER LETTER. There was no limit to my delight at that time. Almost 1 year of my struggle to get a software job came to an end!!

Thus, luck is “a combination of circumstances, events, etc., operating by chance to bring good or ill to a person”. Until the day that I appeared the Wipro interview and test, my circumstances and events brought me ill, that was bad luck. However, that day, those combination factors bought me good. I called it was Good Luck.