Wipro's offer

Hello friends, Wipro is my first company. I joined here as a fresher  9 years ago, since then I had a thriving career here until I resigned last month.

This is a small write up about my interview experience with Wipro. That interview happened in a very funny way and still, I wonder the way I placed in Wipro. 

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I was working as a lecturer in an Engineering College prior to Wipro. I was looking for a change and wanted to join in Software Company. That time, I got an email from Wipro stating, my resume was shortlisted and I need to appear the entrance test in Chennai. That was an off-campus call, so they invited many graduates from different states. 

I went to the place where this test would be conducted. As usual, many people were waiting for the test. After seeing all those people, I comprehend how tough the competition would be.

Test started, totally 3 sections in the exam paper. We need to score 50% from each of the sections to get through it. The first section was Technical; it was condemned easy for me. I answered all, and did the same way the next aptitude section. 

Then the final section was Vocabulary, which was hard. In each question, there would be four options “A B C D”, need to choose the correct option of the given word’s synonym or antonym or meaning. There were altogether 30 questions in that section, only 15% of questions answers I know. Remaining 85% words in that section were bizarre to me. Also, time was very less to think and put the correct answers.

I did some simple probability. I always do this kind of probability during crunch time. I need to provide the correct answer to 15 questions at least to get through this section. I already answered 5 questions correctly. In that, 3 answers were option B. I verified aptitude and technical questions. Most of the questions the correct answer was option B. Therefore, there was a high probability that many answers would be option B. Based on that speculation and probability, marked blindly remaining 10 questions answered as option B.

The exam was over. I crossed my fingers, 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. So, 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 able to get through the test. I was wondering, 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 noticed that the organizers were facing many hurdles managing those interviews. It looks like; they did not expect that much crowd after the test. I almost waited for 3 hours for my interview. A man called me and took me with him. We reached the first floor of the building, he asked me to go inside a room for an interview. I saw there were many parallel interviews they were conducting on that floor. 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 noticed the Shakuntala Devi book kept on his table. After introducing myself, he gave a few puzzles to solve. 

I thought what? Puzzles in the interview?!! … I expected he would ask some technical questions.

Anyhow, I didn’t have another option. I started working on them. 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 less time (than he thought that I would take) to solve them, after completing, I had shown the results to him. 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 indeed asked any technical questions.

 He asked the same thing for confirmation; I quietly shook my head as yes. He told, “Ok! You are good to go”. 

That was the simplest interview I never faced before. It took less than 15 mins to finish it; I had an experience of spending hours in the technical interviews. 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 by the time they announced the result, so they had asked selected people to come the next day for the HR round. I understood that very few people were selected for the HR round.

I was never lucky like that day before. Everything went so smoothly without much of my hard work. However, still HR round 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 the HR round. I sat silently in the waiting room and prepared myself on how I should answer HR questions. That homework certainly helped me during the HR round. Whatever I thought to speak to HR in those minutes, the same thing I told him. 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.

This interview always reminds me of one the thing that, “If something doesn’t belong to you it won't come to you how hard you try, however, there are few things which surely belongs to you, will come to you no matter what you do”.  

Driving License or Oscar award

If you flip a coin, what do you expect the outcome? Either it is head or tail. And the same way when you attempt any test or exam, only two things could come into your mind, “Pass” or “Fail”, that’s it. No other thoughts. I was also feeling the same thing before attempting behind the wheels exam in US, either I’ll pass or fail in the test. If everything happens as you presume or as per your prospect then what is fun in life. The fate has always something “different” than what do you expect or what you thought would happen. That’s what happened in my case.

Everybody in US agree on one thing no matter what, that is, WE CAN’T LIVE IN US WITHOUT A CAR.  That’s 200% true, especially if you have a family and kids. I had spent 2 years in UK and Australia without a car and there I never felt I needed a car, but here in US, it didn’t take much time for me to realize that Car is a MUST. You can manage without a car for few days or months, but not for ever. Sooner or later you have to buy a car. Once you have a car then next inevitable part is getting a driving license.  I heard many horrible stories about getting a driving license in US especially in CA. Many people not cleared the exam in their first attempt.  Some extent those stories are helpful to prepare yourself mentally for the drive test.

I cleared the written test easily. That was my second time to visit the DMV office after coming to US, first time while registering car. The DMV office is always crowded. Hundreds of people are visiting this office for different reasons on every day. Whenever I go to DMV office, I see many people are taking drive test or behind the wheel test. Sometimes I feel “from where the hell all these people are coming?”  If this office has been running for several years, and people from the local community are taking test, then at least there would be some “window period” where there should NOT be any people left to take the test. But surely that is not the case, somehow people take the test, and it seems to be a never ending story.
Anyway, after clearing exam, I did my plan. First took the appointment.  Then from the internet I got the most frequently visited driving routes in DMV area and planned to practice those routes every Saturday and Sunday.  It is highly advised to get familiarize the routes near to the DMV office where ever you’re taking the test, even though you are an excellent driver.

I practiced all those routes. And the day before the exam, the stress that I had gone through is really horrible. I had gone through similar stress during my semester exams, and after that around 8 years, I was again experienced similar strain.  I tried to calm down myself by saying “either you pass or fail the test, but that’s not end of the world, that’s it, you do your best, rest leave to god (in this case to inspector ;) )”
It was my drive test day. I drove carefully and reached DMV office 15 mins earlier than schedule time. I was very confident while driving. That confidence was all because of my practice. I stood in the queue for some time then I got the required papers, the person at the desk told me to stand in line with my car outside for behind wheel test.

I did as he said; it was a long line of cars. I waited around 40 minutes. I saw bunch of DMV instructors holding some papers in their hands and waiting to get in the car. Finally, I noticed a guy was coming towards my car. He is Asian, short and mid age guy. My heart beat was increasing while he was approaching me. I told to myself “Calm down, all is well !!!”.
He asked me to start the car without engine to check signals. He asked me to give right & left signal, and I did then he asked me to put my leg on breaks to check break lights. I did that too. I was following his instructions mechanically.

He went back and shouted saying did I put the leg on breaks or not. I said yes, and then he said then “why the brake lights won’t turn on?”  So “Brake lights are not working”. I shocked after realizing that my brake lights are not working. He said he couldn't take me to drive test without brake lights so he asked me to reschedule the test.

I didn’t say anything. Without appearing for the test, I returned home. Basically I disqualified. I was disappointed; I never imagined it would end like that. The lesson that I learnt was, it’s not just “Pass” or “Fail”, there is another aspect in any test, which is “disqualify”. How best you prepare, if you don’t check basic things like break lights, defroster etc..in your car then you may disqualify. That is what fate decided that day to me.

Nevertheless I didn’t leave there, I rescheduled in the next day took the appointment in another day. That time I was double checked all my controls in the car to make sure that all are working.
Instructor came, and he appeared mighty strict to me and no smile and all on his face. I totally disappointed that I got this guy in my technical second attempt / theoretical first attempt.
He also asked same basic stuff like show all controls in the car etc…

After he confirmed that everything was Ok, he sat beside of me and told that I need to go exactly as he instructed and if I don’t understand what he says then I can ask to repeat that.
I said ok and started the car, but it was going in backwards because I put the reverse gear (got damn it); seconds later I realized and put the correct gear.
While returning somewhere while taking a right turn, I felt that I did n't stop so I might not pass the test as that was a critical error. But I was not sure whether there was a green light signal ahead, if it was then there won’t be any problem.

Finally, we have reached DMV office, and he was doing some final calculations and writing few things, my heart was pumping blood with bullet speed and My inner sense was telling me that I didn't pass the test.
He looked at me and said I was driving too fast and asked me to slow down as I was going 1 mile speed high than the posted speed limits.

He also said that I made 6 minor errors, but I CLEARD TEST. My God It was a big sigh of relief and I tried to say thanks to him, but he refused to give his hand and saying doesn’t touch me with same hoarse voice.
Anyway I felt immensely happy that I cleared the test. It was as if I was elected for Oscar awards. Of course after so much hard work and practice, it was indeed Oscar award to me at that time.

Sorry… no ticket…

I was making daily trips to near by town from my place to get engineering entrance exam coaching. In fact, I and my friend were doing it as we both from the same place.

We used to have a monthly train-pass for our trip. That day before returning back to my hometown, I had looked at my pass then I realized that it got expired a week back. I know that it is illegal to travel in train without a ticket or train-pass, but I thought just for a single trip nothing would happen, also so far no one had asked us to present our passes. So I decided to travel with that expired pass. That time I had no idea what would gona happen.

That general compartment was fully crowded as we went inside. Somehow we managed to find a seat and settled there. After a while, the train started and after some time, we heard TC voice asking for ticket, and within a minute he came to our place. It was a big shock to me. I chided myself for traveling without ticket and scolded my fate as exactly the TC had shown up when I was traveling like that. I didn’t know what to do, I was closely observing him. Actually he won’t ask all people to display the ticket; he randomly picks-up few candidates. May be they had gained so much experience and know exactly whom to ask.

I was pretending as if I had a pass, so that I won’t be his random pickup guy. However, how much action I did, he finally turned to my side and asked me to show pass. I stalled and checking my pockets, meanwhile, he was asking some other candidates as well. I didn’t know why I did, but I pulled my friend’s train-pass from his pocket and showed to him. My idea might be he would check that pass and he would leave the place without asking my friend to display his pass. But, he had looked at my pass and then he asked my friend to show his pass.

God! What was going on... all planets were lined-up against us or what? First of all traveling with expired-pass was a mistake, and second trying to trick him by presenting friend’s train-pass as mine. That’s what I thought. My friend told he was holding indeed his pass only, then TC understood what had happened and his face turned red with rage. He almost shouted at me and asked to show my actual pass. I showed my expired pass. He took and said, “So, you were traveling with expired pass from the past one week, aha. Get up and come with me”. He also asked my friend to come with him. I felt ashamed as everyone in that compartment looked at us as if we were thieves and riots.

I tried to convince him by saying I forgot to renew my monthly pass that I would do it immediately after getting down from the train. But later I realized that actually he didn’t care much that I was traveling with expired pass, he felt insulted as I tried to trick him by showing my friend’s pass. So he took us to some other compartment and asked us to sit. He enquired what we were doing; I said that we were taking coaching for engineering entrance. Then he laughed and threatened us saying, we could forgot about doing engineering as he was going to put us in jail, so that would ruin our career. My friend terrified and burst into tears after hearing the word jail from his mouth. My situation was also almost same. I thought he would release us after charging some fine, but didn’t expect that he would put us in jail.

We had pleaded him saying we wouldn’t do that again, please forgive us etc. But he didn’t listen. I felt pity on my friend, although he had a valid pass, unnecessarily he was trapped in that situation. In the rest of the journey, continuously he was saying that we never make into engineering and get a respectable job; instead he had cursed us saying we would end up doing some low profile jobs.

When we had reached the railway station, he asked us to get-down as he wanted to handover us to railway police. As a final chance, we begged him saying don’t do that, but didn’t know why but he was so deterministic to handover us to police.

Daily many people were traveling with-out having tickets in the train, but I never heard a single case where TC putting anyone in jail. I witnessed many times, TCs take money from those people and release them. In few cases, they don’t even take money, simply ignore them. But why he was so rigid in our case, I didn’t understand. I stopped crying. I know there was no use to cry. However, my friend was continuously crying.

He took us to the railway office (note: not a police station). There were two people in side; TC told to them what had happened. One guy looked at us as if that was the first time someone bought into the office because of no ticket. They took the TC to a corner side and they whispered something.

Then one guy returned back and said, “See, you guys are looking like a college students and we don’t want to ruin your career, so we decided to leave you this time”. But, he pointed to me and said, I had to go out and get some money for them, and meanwhile my friend would stay in station.

Our faces flashed as if we had released from Tihar-jail. I quickly went to my uncle’s home and explained my situation to him and got the money. They took it and released us.

Since then we never dared to travel in train without train-pass or ticket.

We still laugh whenever we remember this incident. After getting jobs in s/w, we urged to meet that TC to show our status. But somehow it didn’t happen. May be someday we do that.