Our on-campus placement season started mid-July 2015. Being an NIT, many companies visit our campus to handpick the best students. Like everyone, I also had favorite companies to get into, with dream jobs and great pay packages. Being an Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) student, I always had an advantage: we are eligible to apply for multiple job profiles.
The first company that attended our campus was a core company. Everyone in our class, especially the so-called ‘toppers’, were competing to get placed there. Being an average student I had very little hope of being one of them. Finally, the day arrived and the first round was a written test for 20 minutes, which had quantitative ability questions and some technical questions. I was not satisfied with my performance in the test because I did not perform well in the technical section.
With little hope left, I went back to my hostel, had my lunch and slept with my phone on silent mode. After some time, when I looked at my phone, there were 10 missed calls from my friend. When I called him, he told me that I was shortlisted for the group discussion (GD). I immediately dressed up and ran to the GD room, where I found out that my GD slot had already started. I felt I jeopardized my chances by coming late. However, the Training and Placement Officer TPO told me that I can go in the next slot for my GD. I tried not to get tense and maintained my coolness. But when the GD started, my heart was pounding like an F1 car engine and my mind was somewhere else. Everyone in the room was shouting at each other and I lacked the confidence to participate in the GD. Finally, in the last 2 minutes, I gave my views and came out of the room.
After the GD, I found that I was not shortlisted for the interview. When analysed the failure, I found out that the main reasons for me not doing well that day were carelessness and my lack of confidence. Firstly, if I was little more serious about the interview, I would have waited till the shortlist for the GD was announced. Instead, I went to the hostel and slept. Moreover, I lacked the confidence to speak in the GD.
The cliché, ‘Failures are the stepping stones to success,’ was true in my case. I learnt from my mistakes to be more serious about the things I do and also to believe in myself. I was not able to crack the consecutive interviews. But eventually, the experiences I gained from each failed interview and GD helped me know my weaknesses. Eventually, I got placed, but what still haunts me every day is why I wasn’t more serious and confident in my first interview. A mistake once made can never be changed but it can be avoided in the future.
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