I atoned for what I did yesterday & now I’ve started feeling better. The day was my dear Thursday, 22/09 and, as informed; I was in the Bertram Hall at 8 am. There were 3 students present. Little did I realise that I was one and a half hour early. It was my idiocy that I didn’t read the sms notification which said that I was to come by 9:30 am. By 10:00 am, probably every selected candidate was present. I sat back, and waited.

The time was 2:00 pm when they called my name. I sat o’er a bench in the 1st floor of the Bertram Hall. After 2 minutes, a staff from MeritTrac came in and said “Go out for lunch & come in 20 mins.” I was looking at him agog. What in the world?! Then I had my lunch quickly and came back to my place. In 10 minutes, my name was called and I was directed to the 2nd slot. Amit & Sanyukta were my panellists for my 2nd round of interview. The interview had a semblance of a chat session; with fidelity and etiquette added. They asked questions based on my resume & the 2 essays which I wrote the previous day. After about 20 minutes, the interview ended & I was asked to wait in the hall.

In 15 minutes, I was informed to go to the 1st floor again, this time for round-3. I was happy, because I was graceful. Apparently, He gave me the wisdom to be graceful. There were a total of 8 candidates before me and 8 came in after me. I about half an hour, I was called and sent to slot 4. The panellists were Madhan and Grace. The drill began. They asked me a question, “What will you do to lead the team to lick filth.?” . “I’d be eccentric, stubborn, self-centred and dictator like”, my reply was prompt. One thing common in all the 3 interviews was – “Why do want to embrace the financial world when you are a science student?” The answer was simple, logical and true to heart and intentions. After the interview, Madhan gave me a look which was (sort of) uneasy; it was as if he was trying to say “You were going well but in the last you messed it.” Unbothered, I waited below.

Time now was 5:00 pm. After a while, me & 7 others were called off aside and were congratulated for having made it. I thanked Him a ton! I was modest & humble, and I greeted the ones who made it and wished the others for a better luck. Coming down, Vignesh, Vivin and me went to the Dean of Student’s Office to give him the good news. He congratulated me. After Vignesh left, he asked me, “I have seen you many times but I don’t seem to recall your name.” I said, “I’m Vivek”. I was overtaken by Deepak & Sachin, who, in a few minutes told everything about me. “He was the editor of LPC, right now he’s the editor of District Rotaract Council, he’s very active and a willing participant in almost every event”, they seemed to say in unison. I felt blissful, because, I at least had 2 friends who would say for me and about me!

The date was 21st September & it was intimated on 16th September that Goldman Sachs is coming for campus placements. The eligibility criterion was: a graduate student who has scored 60% in 10th, 12th and college in any discipline. This criterion enabled me to give it a fair try. The day before 21st September, I brushed up on my G.K. and got some info on 2008 recessions.

9:00 am sharp, I packed my bag and rushed to the digital library. Reason? Somewhere in my mind there was a thought mocking my resume. So, I edited it in about 15 minutes, took 2 copies & rushed to the Bertram Hall; where GS is supposed to select us. The clock ticked 10:30 am & the recruiters showed us a video first and then they guided us through a power-point. By 11:40 am, we were all separately seated for a written test for 1 hour and 20 mins. It went fairly well and noticeably, priority was given to articles (a, an, the), percentages and symbol-based problems. After the test, we were asked to write 2 essays, each of 10 minutes duration. The topics were: “Recent developments in the financial world” and “Envisage your career progression”. Both of which I wrote apparently well and, to the best of my knowledge and abilities. Apparently, GS had hired MeritTrac to facilitate the selection process in entirety. By 3:15 pm, it was clear that I had cleared my written test. After a while, my name was in the 1st batch of the students who were to be interviewed.

I gave the 5 minutes interview with ease. He asked me certain trivial questions. One question he asked was, “In which 2 states in India is GS located?” . “One is in Karnataka, and I’m not sure of the 2nd one.” , I said. He alluded me to the answer (which was Maharastra) after which he asked, “Will you ever forget it?” I said, “Definitely not sir.” By the end of the day, it was announced that I was selected for the 2nd round. There were smiling faces everywhere but I was ruing and lamenting from within.

I was resentful towards myself. Because, rather thanking the Force behind; I patted myself! I wasn’t graceful to Him neither after the test results nor after the interview results. I literally patted myself, “V.K. You did it.!” How meaner can I get?!