Chapter 15: How I Got My Job ??? : PART 1 :

I'm proud to say that finally I got a job. Finally everything is shaping up in a good and unexpected way. By everything, I meant my study-abroad plans, financial conditions, getting all my degree certificates and stuffs from my college etc etc. Out of all this, I want to mention few things about the study-abroad plans. Studying abroad can be an easy and exciting thing to plan, but to execute ???!!! It is the most toughest thing to do. I'm going to dedicate a separate post for all that confusions, dilemmas and decisions. It totally deserves that. Now, coming back to the job part, again, am proud to say that I finally got a job with a good pay but without a single bond and time restrictions.



To be precise, my job hunt started and ended in Taramani Railway Station. For those who don't know about Taramani, it is an industrial suburb of Chennai city. Unlike other city railway stations, Taramani has a unique one. Unique in everything! It is a place which scares me. Yeah! You heard me right! It SCARES me. The station is deserted all the time. If you're lucky enough, you'll find some two or three passengers on a sunny afternoon. The place has some never ending dark tunnels, leaking pipes, squeaking mouse, bats and what else ??? To be exact, picture a haunted mansion in your mind. That's Taramani Railway Station for you. Some may think that this description is a bit over-exaggerated. But it's not!



Coming back to the story, me and my friend Ravi reached the legendary Taramani Station on a fine sunny afternoon following an interview call from a person unknown. I think this incident, happened before a month's time. I couldn't recall the date. He called from a consultancy and left us with an address. He told something about an interview for graduates. It was the time when we were desperately searching for a job. We found our way out of the station (took us more than ten minutes!!!) We started walking and after twenty minutes of walk, we managed to find a small two storey building which matched the address. We then waited for about fifteen minutes to be received by a man who called us. Another ten minutes in that building and we finally figured out the nature of that job. To sell 'caller tunes.' The script goes like this ...
"Hello, I'm calling from XXX cellphone company. Are you interested in activating a caller tune which is new in stores?" Later that hour a woman, who is an employee of that company inquired about us and she said few things in return. The context of what she said was 'There are two types of customers for this company. First type of customers would disconnect the call at 'XXX cellphone company' part. Rest would disconnect after hearing all of it. The fact is that no body would buy! But the target is fifty buyers per day. If not, the management wouldn't let us go home. The salary is below Rs.5000/month. (Doesn't even cover my conveyance charges !!!) We gently smiled at the person who interviewed us and said "We'll get back to you tomorrow. We have to give it a thought!"



As I said, I gave it a thought and from then on, I never attended any interview until last week. I got a call from a consultancy (again!!!).
"I'm calling from XXX consultancy. I saw your resume in naukri.com (job site) I assume that you are a writer" (I do a lot of writing, but writer??? Nooo !!!).
She went on saying "I have a job which matches your profile. An article and profile writing job. Rs. 15,000 basic pay with no time restrictions or bond." I was so excited. That's the exact job profile I was looking for. I thought 'I couldn't ask more'. I asked in an overwhelming tone "Where's the company located?"
She replied
"Twenty minutes walk from TARAMANI RAILWAY STATION ... "

- TO BE CONTINUED -