DECEMBER 12TH 2006:

It's been almost six months that I've been placed in Infosys. But still at times, I find it hard
to digest the fact that I managed to hit the Bull's eye, right in the first shot!! Having ideally
no much expertise in coding languages, leave alone my own technical field, it’s been an
admixture of both shock and surprises for me all the way through. If there had to be a core
reason for me being placed, I would primarily attribute it to my Dad's choice of enrolling
me in the university that I am presently in. The reasons of enrolling me were way much
different then. But doesn’t everything happen for a reason?
Studying in a College, somewhere quite off track from the main city, not a single thought
had even occurred to me all through the last three years about being placed in a firm
through campus placements. I had just got back to the room after my GRE, when I heard
rumors of our college being invited to Tagore Engineering college for an off campus
placement. This was the first time we heard of prospective placements, and not one of us
believed it. Just one day before, the Off campus was confirmed and none of us were
prepared for it, neither mentally nor intellectually! One reconcilement was, we got to hear
that Infosys does not emphasize on technical expertise; but then sources were pretty much
unreliable!!
July 20th 2006...the day before the interview (rather the night before the interview :) )
Only a handful of us had our resumes in hand; the formal wear and other requisites was an
altogether different question...this was only our seventh semester beginning and placements
were never anticipated! We had only a handful of systems operative and around fifty guys
running berserk to get their resumes done first. A handful of guys prepared a rough draft of
the resume and the rest of the pack just edited the same to develop theirs. the weirdest part
of it!!! And when finally after a grueling three hour tryst with our eye's pondering over the
resumes, we realized we needed hard copies and soft copies alone would do no good! We
rushed over to a nearby cafe to get hold of a printer. A few of us got our resumes printed
and a few just couldn’t! The printer buckled!!! So near...but yet so far! There was nothing
much that we could do. It was around 9:00 at night and we finally got back to our rooms,
buying what good clothes we could buy from the one and only one reasonable store in the
silk town! All set and done, we tried to finish off our last minute arrangements for an
interview...certificates, photographs, mark sheets and other papers ( oh yeah!! BUT for the
Resume..). Almost all the requisite documents set right, we just hit the bed. Not one of the
faces of my friends showed any sort of jittery feeling ...after all who cared!!!
July 21st, 2006 (The first day of the interview)
The college, where the interview was about to be held was a good two and a half hours
away from kanchi, so we had to start at least four hours in advance. And then we had to
scout out for DTP center's or Cafe's for the resumes....Alarm's started hooting at about four
in the morning...and there was a mad rush of people trying to first rush to the bath room and
get readied. The frenzy settled in about an hour and a half and all of us were set to leave. A
batch of about six guys (Calvin, Collin, Doggy, Gotman, Bruce lee and PLN )who got ready
first left about half an hour early. The remaining battalion (including Me, Abhi, Doms
,Jamanujava, and Sexiter) left slowly at around 6:30.Had a hell of a time in the bus
exchanging our thoughts on Infosys, major part of it out of our imagination! Placed calls to
so called knowledgeable people to find out things about the firm and all that junky
stuff...Finally got a break when we got a call from Calvin telling us that he could trace out a
cafe in Tambaram , enroute Vandalur. All pack of nuts finally met there and got the
résumé’s done. It was already 9:00 by then and the interview was supposed to start at
around 9:30.We called up a few of our friends who had already reached the college and
asked them directions. Ten of us hurled into two autos and after a beaming drive on the
roadway, finally happened to reach the college just on time. Once we were there, it was as if
the whole SCSVMV campus had been there to receive us....we were the last set of guys to
reach the center.
We settled in the room allotted to us and in a few minutes, the scrutinizing of people began.
There was one gruffy person checking people’s attires and their certificates and filtering out
people who did not satisfy the basic requirements. The drill was over in about an hour and
we had to wait for about two hours for the aptitude test to begin. The test began at about
12:00 and in almost one and a half hour we were done with the test…Basic Puzzles and a
very simple Verbal section. All students were requested to wait for the test results, which
they said would be released in around two hours. Most of us had an unpalatable meal in the
College canteen and just kept whiling away time for the next two hours. Gotman, Abhi,
Doggy, Bruce lee, Munna and myself walked over to the room where we had first sat and
after the proclaimed sumptuous meal, almost entered into a refreshing siesta almost
simultaneously. A few minutes just after we started swooning, the gruffy guy banged on the
class room door and literally ordered us to get over to another class room where, we were
told, the results of the written test would be declared. We managed to reach the room, still
partially asleep.
Things changed drastically after this. Looking at people in the seminar room, I suddenly
experienced the butterfly syndrome!! The fear of failure!! Though I tried best to hold my
composure, things didn’t really help…I just waded down to the rest room and got back only
to find a larger troop inside…People seemed to be so very optimistic of being selected, I
felt I was the odd one out. My inner feelings were so very averse , that I literally thought of
spanking the guy beside me who was screwing me with his software language expertise.
Fortunately, a couple of my college mates happened to take the seats in my row and things
got better then.
The results were announced college wise alphabetically. When names from our college
were read…I, for no apparent reason, felt the urge to hear my name in the list….who
wouldn’t… the thought of a Job in hand, a Job in one of the reputed firms in India, Just out
of college life… out of a college of not much repute…Placement mattered….It would be
like missing the treasure, right when the key is given to you…My gray cells were literally
flushing with unnecessary thoughts ….Those, I believe are the moments and feelings that I
would never forget in my life. My feelings gave way when I heard the name ‘Srikanth S
Perinkulam’ being read out. From then, I’ve learnt to respect the name…respect the way it
is spelt.
No doubt I was on cloud nine when I heard my name being read out…but then reactions
had to be controlled to a very large extent as not many of my close friends were filtered in.
Around fifteen of us were selected in the written test from about 180 from our University
(170 and odd from the overall 2000). It was almost 6:30 by the time all the results were
announced and the details of the next day’s Interview were given.
The college was in a quite remote location and there wasn’t any proper conveyance to the
main city. A few lucky of us happened to hop into an already crowded bus and managed to
reach the City. We reached back kanchi at about 12:00 midnight. I was the only one in my
room to be selected and had an excruciating time facing my room mates. Bruce lee was the
one to tell me that quite a few of my batch mates had walked all the way back to the city
from the remote college (around 4kms) literally crying over their ill luck. Only then did I
realize how lucky I had been!
JULY 22nd 2006 (THE SECOND DAY OF THE RECRUITMENT DRIVE)
Early morning again at around 4:00 in the morning the alarm rang. But then I was the only
one who had to get up. Was up and ready by around five .I knew having cleared the written
test, getting through the HR shouldn’t be a big hurdle. I had also heard Infosys HR’s are a
cake walk and generally people tend to clear the HR. Now, the ball was in my court and I
knew it was up to me to give it the best short. Every word that I talk in the interview would
decide my future and I had to do my homework. For one solid hour I sat and posed myself
all probable questions I would face, prepared irrefutable answers, and rehearsed my body
language mentally, visioning myself before the HR. That brief spell of ten to fifteen minutes
would transform the way people look at me. The way I look at life, more so because I had
to dismiss all allegations set on me and this was one wholesome opportunity. That one hour
is the only hour in my life till date that I have devoted hundred percent concentration to…
This could only be a zero or a one…the result HAD to be a 1.
With spirits high, but still shell nervous, I walked over to the bus stand at around 6:30.
Collin and Abhi had stayed back at Chennai the previous night at their relatives place and
planned to come down directly the next day. Met Ravi Bhattrai and Alpana there and from
then on had an unexpectedly quick journey to the college. Reached the college at about 9:00
am .The scrutinizing of certificates began again and we were asked to wait for our turn of
HR. The SCSVMV batch was called to the first floor of the College building .The HR
session was being held in different labs in the same floor. Most of us were seated adjacent
to the Computer Lab. There was a camera on each corridor ceiling and I was wondering if
at all videos were being streamed to some location in Alaska. My senses brought me back
to reality and with this brief imagination started the damn jittery feeling again!! I realized
unless I shred all unnecessary thoughts my one hour of hard work would take me no where.
Just to divert my attention I roped in Ravi Bhattrai to a conversation and we started talking
about every damn thing in the world…movies ,games, places, novels, tourist spots, girl
friends, and what not…and let me tell you, that did help us to a very large extent.
Meanwhile Tiwari and Satish joined the conversation and things got quite relaxing. Turn by
turn, people were called in to the Lab and interviewed. From what I heard from people
coming after the interview, I pictured the room and the location of the HR. Plan B had to be
rolled out now... I had to get acclimatized to the environs mentally. Just a few minutes after
the dust in my mind settled, my name was called...
The Course of the HR Interview:
The moment I was led into the Lab, I had a quick survey of the seating arrangements of the
HR’s. There were about six of them, all females, seated in three rows one behind the other
and spaced equally all through the expanse of the lab. There was no means of one HR able
to listen to another HR’s conversation. Realising this did wonder’s to my confidence levels
and my morale was boosted. It’s always easy to tackle one single person than two…Plan C
need not be evoked!! I was requested to proceed to one HR seated in the left corner just as I
entered the Lab.
The HR was facing the expanse of the hall, so I would not have to, during the interview
phase...just another morale booster!! I walked over to the table, turned around , gave her a
gentle false smile, asked her permission to sit and gently sat down, all the while having a
sub conscious eye on my body language. She was the one to break the silence first. She
asked me for my resume. I took all my time in the world to gently remove my resume,
giving her time to at least have a glimpse of my well ordered and indexed set of certificates
in the royal folder that I was carrying.
The Table is not yours!! I had read in quite a few CSR interview booklets that my bro. had
subscribed to for his preparation for CAT. Mindful of that I gently handed over the resume
to her hand. The remaining major part of my interview was wholly dependant on my
resume.
The first question she asked was why I’d joined a University somewhere in the outskirts of
Chennai when we had wonderful colleges at Hyderabad. I was well prepared for this
question I have been answering it for the past three years to almost every Tom, Dick and
Harry I end up having a conversation and each time I’ve given an almost different reason.
But this time I had to give an answer that could change the course of the interview to my
side. All that I said was a direct blatant answer…I wasn’t academically strong in my 11th
and 12th grade…gave a gasp for about three seconds and then said.. But then once getting
exposed to the really competitive world in the course of my engineering I’ve turned stones.
I’m probably not good at answering questions oriented theoretically, which require by rote
knowledge. But I am pretty good in the practical point of view. All through the last three
years I’ve been consistently receiving an S Grade in my Labs. Not to mention my good
grades in other Theoretical subjects; Thanks to my mastery of the art of answering
theoretical questions that my schooling has taught me…and we all know how examinations
in India are held... With such a response I could explicitly bring out three main points of my
personality; My ability to learn from my experiences; My Practical orientation in life and
My realization of the tricks of trade. With the very look on her face I could see I had given
a justifiable answer and that the ball was still in my court….
The second question that she’d asked me was regarding my choice of Career. Why ECE ? I
knew I had to keep in mind that I was applying for a software company and my long term
goals that I would be mentioning soon should be in line with the requirements of the
software industry. I very well knew this wasn’t going to be a technical interview so I
planned my response on those lines. My response was…I‘ve always been interested in
Computer Science and the primary reason for me joining ECE was because I felt I had the
ability to learn the intricacies of coding In parallel to my regular course of study. I’ve learnt
working with SQL and am quite conversant in UNIX commands. I do have a good
understanding of the basics of coding languages like C and can work with HTML
commands with ease...With such a response, as previously mentioned I’ve strengthened my
stand as a good prospective software engineer and have exploited her question to the most
possible extent besides revealing the languages or scripts that I am familiar with.
The next question was quite a common one that is generally asked in almost any Interview.
Why Infosys? I responded saying it had the best Work culture, being both Social and
competitive. I’ve got quite a few of my relatives working in Infosys and from what I hear
from them and their previous experiences, I’ve realized it to be the best company to work
with.
Then she asked me a few questions on my Industrial training sessions, what was taught
there, and other questions such as Your Positive features, , Negative aspects , Long term
goals, Future plans , Hobbies and the like. The interview had been running for almost
around twenty minutes for now and things weren’t looking like as if they were going to end.
Finally she turned my resume over to the second page. I had listed myself as being a
member of IEEE.. She asked me what role I played as an IEEE member. To this I
responded as saying that I was an active member of the IEEE Chapter in organizing
technical events and have met several prominent personalities (Doled out quite a few
names…brought in people who never existed !!) . I also emphasized on the skills that I
had learnt whilst being a member such as working in a team, leading a group of people and
the like…..The very expression on her face spelt that she had taken the bait. And that gave
me further confidence…
And then finally she gave a smile and told me to solve a small puzzle. I had to find a
triangle in a maze of circles or something of that sort. Done with that she said, ‘We’ve
come to the end of the Interview’, So Perinkulam do you have any questions?’ I was on
cloud nine, when I heard that the interview had come to an end but I wasn’t really prepared
for an answer to this question. So just to buy time I asked her when I could get to know
about the results. She responded saying it should be out in an hour or so. Not able to frame
any more questions impromptu, I just smiled and thanking her quit the lab gently and as
soon as possible….and this is where I felt I could have taken a beating.

Now all set and done, my Interview was done with and I wasn’t really sure of the outcome.
Machi, Sami and Ravi had to still complete their interview. Sami was thundered with a lot
of Technical questions and was pinned by two HR’s. and Machi was’nt really confident in
his approach. Ravi was basically chilling out as he said he was asked quite a few questions
regarding his girl friend. Interviews and the strides they take!!!!
Things were pretty calm after the HR session….We had a grueling three hour wait and
finally at around 6:30 the results were declared. Abhi, Ravi, Madhu,Tiwari,Collin, Jai
anand, Animesh, Hippo and I had cleared the HR. Aravind, Machi, Sami and Alpana were
screened out, for reasons still unknown. There wasn’t much of an elated air, for reasons
mentioned before, but the moment we were segregated from them…Man!! You should have
seen the ruckus that was created…people literally kicking each other like predator rejoicing
after cornering its prey!!! We had a post placement talk wherein they informed us about the
offer letter, passport etc. etc.
After such a tensed day, only at the end did I experience the real throbbing heart inside me.
The feeling.. Mamoo tho bhi kuch banega life mein…crept in. I had developed a feeling
that I’ve shattered all possible inhibitions in my mind , that I ’ve overcome something that’s
been a hindrance all through my schooling and college life. I’ve finally got at least one
salient point on my list and the thought of the black mole in the family being me is weeded
out. If there’s something that my success is to be attributed to, it would be to that solid one
hour that I had spent in the morning. That one hour paid off!!
In Retrospect:
And on this day when I turn 21, when I look back at my life in the year 2006, I realize how
lucky I’ve been. On July 7th when I escaped unscathed after a horrible accident involving
the bus in which I was traveling and an Oil Tanker on NH7 which scooped 16 lives, On
July 17th when I was almost sure I had to redo the GRE test and all through the test I was
intent on clicking the EXIT button without even completing the test and on July 22nd when
the Infy thing happened…I am sure Luck’s played a horribly vital role. Things have
changed quite a lot this year….and with things, even I’ve changed….Or is it that Darwin's
theory is being reinstated in my life?…Survival of the fittest!!