Campus Recruitment – A sack of happy memories

Tata Power is a happening place. The days that are spent create memories and the efforts that one makes helps the individual to enjoy an un-disturbed night at home. One such event which has sculptured some happy memories in my mind was the Campus Recruitment Process.

The campus recruitment season of Tata Power started on 8th of December 2011 and it was MNIT – Jaipur first on the cards. It followed with BIT Mesra, KIIT, Jadavpur, and many more but IIM-Rohtak was the full stop point. But everywhere I went, I could feel and experience the same culture. It was indeed interesting to see the air of anxiety which got engulfed in the chilly auditorium, sweat trickling down furrowed foreheads, pulses raising high and a lull falling as a noisy lot of students experiencing their hiccups of the strife involved in getting a first job. This was the archetypal scene on the D-Day of campus recruitment at MNIT Jaipur.

The sessions used to start with pre-placement talk. Company’s services, market presence, growth components, work culture and job profile – it covered them all. Eventually, everywhere the students were found waiting for something else and it was the salary structure. Slide No. 14 brought smile on many faces because it talked about compensation package.

The actual recruitment process always started with an online test to test the aptitude and analytical skills of engineers who were soon destined to become employees of Tata Power. During the online test, I could notice the wrinkles foreheads applying their grey cells to the optimum capacity. As the time was about to run out, frantic attempts were made to finish the maximum problems to make few last minute guesses. The mental workout that was involved was evident from the gasps and sighs from various corners. I could see a number of students discussing answers and trying to self-evaluate their chances of getting through. Some were busy reciting their last however never ending prayers, while some trying to avoid all the adrenalin rush by taking a power nap.

Finally, after the moment of reckoning, the results were read out. At each college, I could distinguish the sight of disappointment and the screams of joy. Then came the necessary instructions for next day’s Group Discussion and Interview but I am certain that as the night deepens, the initial euphoria of having made it in the online test, gives way to mounting tensions, as qualifiers get busy preparing for the interviews. The most interesting part of the preparation was the student gearing up to look the best. After interacting with one of the qualifiers at KIIT, it was very exciting on my part to know that on the night before the interview, there is a hasty hunt for the matching tie and the right fit of footwear and constant advice from their peers on what’s looking good and what is not as many try their formal attire for the first time on the D-Day. After they get over with the ramp show, they also get time to settle down burning the midnight oil, brushing basics, reviewing concepts and running from posts to pillars to find answers for those forgotten engineering questions.

Once the Group Discussion and Interview gets underway, the chill running down spines were obvious. As the friends came out, quick counseling’s were forthcoming to give a sneak peek into the interview panel and the questions being asked. There were last minute flipping through books and discussions. There were few confident and some nervous and shaky exits from the interview rooms.
I was really amused to see the silence which got deafened in the auditorium just before the announcement of the results. And as the results were announced, I could familiarize with ecstasy and mourning with highest profoundness and personification. The Chairman of the panel always welcomed the selected set of future employees.

The campus recruitment process continued for more than 2 months which was the hunt for engineers, diploma graduates and the MBA chaps. I covered more than 11 campuses travelling from Punjab and Haryana in the North to West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa in the East but this 2 month made me learn new lessons of life. And today I realize that there are two set of people – One who have secured their future with us and another who have assessed their mistakes. The latter would have gone and applied for next company, but their efforts being marked by greater dedication, confidence and experience.