The interview

Decisions are supposed to be made with logic, reasoning and careful thought. But does logical reasoning always bear fruit? Some people live life out of spite and it works for them in a great way. 

"So Divya, would you be up for the role and stay with us for 2 years if offered the position"
I guess yeah, where else am I going ? Th e opportunity is amazing and the role is exactly what I want it to be, so I suppose I shall say yes.

We would like you to stay for an interaction with our VP before we finalize the decision, and then maybe in a day or two let you know. Prithi the executive from administration smiled assuringly at Divya

"Sure thing" Divya had rehearsed for this interview all through the morning in her head, going over all possible questions about her academic career and prior work experience. She was confident 

Chinmay sir would be meeting you in the seminar room, please wait in the second room on your left down the hall. 
Okay sure

Divya smiled, amused by how the name reminded her of one of her close friends while she was up for a surprise for the person was no where close to the bubbly Chinmay. 

"So, miss a. . . Shweta? You are here for the interview?"
"It's Divya sir, I am here for the position of senior research associate" Divya sat confidently, holding on to her documents file with faith.

"Okay so tell me something about you, and why would you like to be considered for the role?" Chinmay Sir, the VP apparently seemed in a hurry. Like a hungry person in a restaurant who's order was delivered wrong.

"I am a qualified microbiologist, have worked with numerous reputed firm and I came across the vacancy at your firm and knew I had to apply." One thing Divya had learnt so far was to never lose confidence, no matter how senior the interviewer was or how rushed the other person made you feel.

"Okay, you understand we are a leading firm in pharmaceuticals and our research is a lot more demanding than academia. We are a business, not an institution, so we need people who understand urgency and can work in high pressure environments."

"I do understand time oriented result delivery and can work under pressure with multiple teams" Divya recalled her days working on project proposals and pulling all nighters to finish project reports when her bosses assigned the task to her at the eleventh hour. The very thought of those days brought back unpleasant memories of unappreciated efforts. Snapping back from her distraction, Divya tried recentering her focus to her present interview.

"Here at Amoberies, we regard each process with utmost care and protocol design and follow through is of utmost importance to us." Mr. Chinmay paced around the length of his office authoritatively, emphasizing each word with his heavily accented English.

"Lets do an exercise, that way you can understand the importance of SOP and how seriously Amoberies takes it. Okay Miss Divya." 

"Sure"
"Jot down al the details of your experience from entering the main gate of this building to this very moment. Okay ? Then we shall know how detail oriented are you" Mr. Chinmay smiled.

Divya calculated in her head, he must be one of those people, obsessed with every little detail. Divya thanked her stars for her photographic memory and closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts and recalled each step, and every little detail she noticed on her way to Mr. Chinmay's office. It was a rather tedious process to pace through those three floors given the security slips, and escorting process for each floor and through each entry gate. Divya jotted down details of the certifications she saw on the walls, the coffee table design to the very make of the painting in the waiting room where she was sat. Filling up the sheet with marked headings for relevant and curious details along with miscelleneous count for flower pots, certification repeats, award trophies on display and even seating chairs, Divya beamed as she handed over her sheet. 

Mr. Chinmay regarded the sheet of paper with seriousness, and then threw a fit which surprised Divya. "Miss Divya, you do not understand anything about professional protocol design and good lab practices. It will be hard to train you. Our team shall have to train you for atleast 6-8 months before you can be considered worthy of handling operations independently or be considered useful to the firm." Divya's heart sank. She had expected to impress the hell out of the VP with her brilliant reckoning powers and here he was regarding her with contempt she could practically feel seeping through her being. Her confidence dropped as he spoke and she tried her best to not let it show on her face. Picking up her file, she thanked Mr. Chinmay for his valuable insights and time and left his office.

Divya was about to leave when Prithi asked her to wait. "Miss Divya, would you like to wait for Mister Chinmay to give his decision today or should I call you in two weeks? We had a few other candidates come in today and he is finalizing with the HR team, can you stay back for an hour or two more?"

Divya did not know what to say, but she wanted to look around the place and also get some water to drink after the mentally exhausting day she had had so far. She decided to stay, and went to the cafetaria. Looking around the premises she realized the space was rather devoid of comfort, with respect to workspace considerations, Divya wanted a stable job and she had a dozen questions running through her head. She pictured herself working in the space and spending her days around the workstations, how it would look and wondered if she would like it here. Waiting around, she decided to check her mail and found the offer letter from another firm where she had interviewed for a similar position. She decided to say yes anyway, feeling dejected after the present interview. Leaving with a seemingly hollow promise of appointment, Divya left for home and prepared to join the other firm.

Back at home, Rishi her cousin consoled her with a pan fresh pizza he made. Being the elder one, he explained to her the nuances of hiring process.
"You win some you lose some. Sab Clark Kent nahi ho saktey na chhotey" He patted her back as she finished up another slice of her pizza. Good that you took up the offer, the other firm sounds equally good, and who knows, you might like it there, or if these people reach out to you later.

"Main nahi jaungi, itti bezti se kaun interview leta hai?" Divya frowned. "They can be honest na? Why play such mind games in the first place?" 

"Jaane de, industry aise hi chalti hai. Sometimes you intmidate, other times you praise to get the best resources in your team". Rishi reasoned as Divya made faces.

Monday morning could not have been brighter for Divya, her new firm was a welcoming environment full of curious people. She had a nice welcome and during the day, recieved multiple calls from Amoberies. Later on she learnt from seasoned hiring professionals, that this was also a tactic employed by firms to ensure hiring gullible talent at lower wages. Divya ignored further calls and signed her letter of engagement at the new firm, feeling content of her decision. 

In the longer run, Amoberies kept reaching out to Divya, and her days at the new firm unfolded with opportunities and experiences she hadn't expected. Some decisions made out of spite  turn out to be better than those reasoned with logic.