Raghu Vamshee's thoughts
These are the observations I make, feel, deduce. I get intrigued by many topics- Relationships | Financial Markets | Science | Fiction | Politics | Countries | History | Happiness | Life |
Thursday, September 22, 2016
How I bagged the best job!
Oh yes! I am
sure I have the best job among all of us. NO! It’s not Google or Facebook or
SpaceX or anything. Not even a job in America or UK or anything. It’s a job in
Bangalore and inside the heart of Bangalore- in Vidhan Soudha!
Probably
most of you are aware about me getting a contract from the Govt., of India. A
little background to those who aren’t aware-
Almost since
an year or so I was looking for a job in NISG(National Institute of Smart
Governance) I was very close once. I missed it by a whisk. They were looking
for a particular skillset and I didn’t have it. They realized 2 days before my
travel to Delhi where the final round was to be held. I am based in Bangalore by the way. The location for that
job was either Nagaland/Sikkim/Manipur/WB/ Arunachal.
Those who
have visited the North East and even experienced the Bangalore Silk Board
traffic would know what a breeze it would be!!
Anyway after
losing that an year ago, in the month of June/July I got a fresh call and
they were looking for individuals/agencies/firms who could implement eGovernance. This was a central Govt., project –Digital India.
Obviously I was very interested. I always had an inclination towards National/Social projects.
I read the
contract. The moment I started reading I realized it wasn’t easy. Here are few points to give you an idea.
BE/Btech- x points
ME/Mtech/MBA- 2x points
IIT/IIM- 5x points.
So, me being
a BE and a non IIT would gain only x points.
ITIL/Prince2/PMP/- x points.
I had ITIL ,
Prince2 , CAPM, Six Sigma Green Belt. So pretty decent.
Experience in Govt., projects and knowledge
on Tenders/SOP/ blah blah- 10x points.
Now tell me
someone who hasn’t worked for the Govt how would anyone have knowledge on
tenders and etc? Mind you I have only 7-8 years of experience. So I am sure I
lost all points here.
Work experience- 10x
Now this is interesting. They were giving x points to every 5 years of experience. So more
the experience more the weightage.
Interview, Soft Skills, Technical
skills, etc etc had points which were well articulated in a neat
table.
I was not
expecting anything but however, thought it would be better to give it a shot.
The next
couple of months I was interviewed 5-6 times. Technical, Psychometric tests etc- somehow manageable.
I was able to move ahead.
In August I
was told that they had shortlisted 4 candidates and all 4 would be called at
once for a final round.
There was
only 1 position as they were looking only for Karnataka.
I got an
opportunity to meet the other 3 that day in the waiting room.
One guy was
from IBM with 17+ years of experience.
One with 13
years of experience and 4 years of Govt projects experience.
One more
with 6 years of experience in a company which provides consultancy services for
bagging Govt., tenders.
I didn’t
even know companies existed which provide these services also.
All the 3
were pretty confident and very well experienced also.
I was
confident about rejection and going home! I was only happy that I got an
opportunity to be around VIdhan Soudha which is an iconic building. A chance to
meet someone who reports to PMO(Prime Minister’s Office)
2 rounds
were quite good. I was interviewed by a senior person, mostly about my current
experience and challenges faced.
Next round
was with a very smart IIMC guy with experience in Mc.Kinsey and currently with
PwC as an external advisor to the Govt., he wanted to ensure if I have clarity
about what I was doing. My goals, future plans, passions, hobbies.
I told him
about how I was once closely associated with a guy called Ajit Phadnis when I was
volunteering for Janaagraha. That guy was from IIT/IIM.he too was with PwC, he went
to Parliament as an Intern, then to Duke. We were discussing about him and what
I learnt from him. He was impressed with my knowledge on the Big 4, Financial
Markets, Strategy Consulting, life at Mc.Kinsey etc. he did tell me he didn’t
expect I would know so much. Greatest shock to him was when I told him why he
would have quit Mc.Kinsey.
Overall I would
rate a 10/10 in this round. I gave him no room to reject me.
At around 2
pm , after lunch I was informed there would be a final round with a panel.
Now, this is
interesting..
I entered a
huge conference room. 13 people opposite me. Yes 13 people! The PwC guy was
there too.
(Article has
been pretty long. This is a 2.5 hour interview. I will share with you the
highlights)
Person 3- You said you read. What have you read?
I have been
reading Upanishads, Gita and currently reading Leo Tolstoy.
What made you choose these books?
I read more
than 50 articles to select the author for Upanishads. I wanted to read after I learnt
about Smoky Mountains in USA. I was amazed by the knowledge of a German I met
during my travel to North East.
Gita I knew
by heart during my childhood and now knowing the meaning of it.
A person was
inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s writing and became the great Mahatma Gandhi. I am
hoping if not as great as Gandhi atleast I should become a better person than
what I am!
//Panel
smiled//
Person 4/5- On a scale of 10 what’s
your patience level?
8
Person 5- Why not 10?
It was 4
before marriage. Now it’s 8….
// Panel
burst out laughing//
NO!! NO!!
NO!! Not like that. I meant I was introduced to meditation by my inlaws. They
are senior members of the Pyramid Valley and I am getting access to the
knowledge and advantages of meditation.
Person 7- So you are married. Why would
you leave a comfortable job in Ericsson and take up this? It’s not going to be
easy. You will have to convince people, travel to some district headquarters,
convince IAS officers, getting appointment would be difficult, Govt staff
wouldn’t want to have any changes, they would hate you.. blah blah blah..
I know about Ericsson. Swedish
company with excellent work culture, it’s a pleasure to be there.
Yes sir I
agree. Things are very bad. The bureaucracy, the roads, services, everything is
pathetic. It cannot get any more worse. The only possible thing now is getting
better. 20 years later, I could be telling people it was so pathetic those
days. Things are so better now. It was so pathetic those days, I was part of
the team which brought the change.
You see sir,
it’s an easy guess which one sounds better.
Person- Ofcourse it is good but I don’t
think you would be able to work here considering the comforts in your current
org.
Sir, if I have
to choose between pleasure and good, I would choose good. I’d perish if I choose
pleasure. That’s what the Upanishads say and I believe it can’t be wrong. So I am
right too in my choice.
// someone
says very good in a low voice, others give an appreciative acknowledgement//
Person 8/9- how will you convince a
Govt official for eGovernance? They have hell lot of work and you are a burden
to them..
Sir, I would
first match my frequency with them and emphasize about the benefits THEY would have rather than making them
feel I am disturbing them for my benefitJ
Person 4- Excellent. This is what I was
looking for.
At this
moment I felt I have cleared the interview. There were many questions asked
including my day to day activities, clients I have handled etc.
They asked
me about Govt projects experience and I gave a point blank NO as a reply. I
justified saying I have worked for a Dubai client- Du which is UAE Govt entity and if I have
handled them I don’t see our own Country as a challenge. Come on, I feel
offended if you say it’s difficult to work in Govt!
I felt low
on questions about Govt tenders and that I would be the only person and would have
to handle a 65 member technical teams and the different Govt departments!
2.5 hour
interview! Phew! I just wanted to go home. Previous night I was travelling. I
was in Wayanad on a holiday. Too tired and stressed faking enthusiasm and
energetic.
2 weeks
later I get a call saying I am the guy they have selected and I have to sign
the contract.
Seriously?
Man! This was the best news I could hear.
I re-read
the contract and signed. I start on October 1st. I will let you know
how it goes!
Thanks for reading so far :-)
Monday, September 7, 2015
Oh Yes! I hate Sachin Tendulkar
Come on please. Stop ignoring the post and give it a read.
I hate cricket too, for that matter I hate watching and following sports. So what has this got to do with Sachin?
Please answer one question- why did you associate Sachin with Cricket and nothing else?
Are you even aware that apart from being a cricketer he also is a member of the Rajya Sabha?
I am sure you weren't. Or may be you just didn't care.
Brace yourself and read further. I promise I won't bore you. You still can view Sachin as a GOD!
Let's start with the well known Ferrari Tax evasion issue.
Forget about the tax part. First tell me who sells a gift?
Sachin was gifted a Ferrari by Fiat presented by Michael Schumacher after equalling Don Bradman's 29 centuries.
Every Indian. Every damn Indian has to pay an import duty of 120% but our Sachin was so poor he couldn't afford to pay the tax. This became a sensation in the newspapers as with anything associated with Sachin or Shah Rukh.
Though the amount 1.13 Crore was waived, the High Court sent notices to the Ministries. Fiat realized this was getting out of hand and decided to pay the amount.
All solved?
NO! Sachin sold the car to a Surat based businessman. Well this time he didn't claim Capital gains exemption.
His hatred to pay taxes doesn't end here:
According to another news report, the cricketer also claimed an income tax deduction of Rs 57,969 towards staff welfare expenses. This included money spent on tea and snacks provided to his staff. Also, Rs 50,000 each as telephone and entertainment expenses and another Rs 1,42,824 as car expenses. However, the I-T tribunal discharged these claims explaining that that the use of telephone, car and food was for the cricketer and his family.
I'm an actor and not a cricketer!
Yes!! these were the actual words of Sachin the great.
The excuse: he models for TV advertisements. In order to save tax of around Rs 2 crore on income derived from doing TV commercials, Tendulkar told the Income Tax tribunal that acting, not cricket, is his profession. The tribunal accepted that he is an artist on the grounds that "he has to use his own skills, imagination and creativity in the commercials".
This is one act where the man who holds almost all the batting records in cricket has outdone himself.
His stint as a Rajya Sabha Member:
He was chosen as a member of Rajya sabha for a good reason so that he could contribute for the well being of the country. Bring up discussions/debates in the sports sector using his own experience being a sportsman. There are thousands of other sports which don't get the bare minimum respect it deserves. We often come across the apathy towards the sportsmen of other sports on social media. Well wait wait!!! He said he is not a sportsman.
Discussion ends!
In this case shouldn't he just resign from the Govt., post? He definitely draws money from the Govt right? Pension for a lifetime, car, etc etc etc.
This is a screenshot which I found from the Govt Rajya Sabha Website
What did he do? What has been his contribution:
Do you guys remember the time when he returned to play cricket immediately after attending his father's funeral? He had missed just one match.
Ofcourse none is expecting so much of commitment in Rajya Sabha but so pathetic attendance?
Do you even remember you are a Rajya Sabha member Mr. Sachin?
There are 13 sessions in this Season in which sachin has attended 1 (ONE)
which means his attendance percentage is less than 8%
How shamelessly can someone continue to hold on to the position?
Wait wait let me summarize few more:
Match Fixing/IPL Spot fixing:
Monkeygate
BCCI started providing matches for Sachin to score his 100th century rather than providing matches to test Indian team.
Sachin's Interest = "National Interest"- Prior to the World Cup in 1999, Sachin's car hit a Maruti 800 in Bandra. Sachin went out of his way to ensure the incident did not make it to the newspapers or media. Except Indian Express, not a single paper published the story. Why? Sachin called up Bal Thackeray and used his influence to pressurize newspapers from carrying the story citing "national interest". The "national interest" was that Mohammad Azharuddin was going to be sacked and such news could damage Sachin's chances of being declared captain.
Forgot to include a Gym in a 8898 Sq.Ft Plot. To err is human. Rather than convert one of the many rooms, Tendulkar asked the government to make an exemption and let him build further on the property.
Let's have a bonus-
The Bharat Ratna -
Though the Bharat Ratna is an award the leaders have given to one other. Infact some have awarded to themselves!
Do you seriously believe Sachin deserved the Bharat Ratna more than Dhyan Chand?
I won't go on arguing why Dhyan is more deserving.
There are many who are more deserving and haven't received.
The Bharat Ratna is our highest civilian award. Before 16 December, it was a reward for “exceptional service towards advancement of Art, Literature and Science, and in recognition of public service of the highest order”.
And obviously Sachin didn't fall into the category. So what do we do? Amend!!
Now, it may be “awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour”.
As per Manmohan and P.Chidambaram under whom the award comes the award could be given to Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit and probably anyone based on popularity.
The Indian Air Force made Sachin a group captain. The only sports personality to hold that position.
Recently he rejected a honorary doctrate from an University which was a right thing to do. Where has this humility been?
Now tell me do you still wish Sachin to be your kid's role model?
This post might look like a emotionally driven write up.
Indeed it is. Temple for Sachin? Living God? Give me a break!!!
Did I show my love for Rahul Dravid anywhere in the post? Let's keep it for someother day.
References:
Page on Yahoo
FirstPost
LiveMint
Aakar Patel's Book
I hate cricket too, for that matter I hate watching and following sports. So what has this got to do with Sachin?
Please answer one question- why did you associate Sachin with Cricket and nothing else?
Are you even aware that apart from being a cricketer he also is a member of the Rajya Sabha?
I am sure you weren't. Or may be you just didn't care.
Brace yourself and read further. I promise I won't bore you. You still can view Sachin as a GOD!
Let's start with the well known Ferrari Tax evasion issue.
Forget about the tax part. First tell me who sells a gift?
Sachin was gifted a Ferrari by Fiat presented by Michael Schumacher after equalling Don Bradman's 29 centuries.
Every Indian. Every damn Indian has to pay an import duty of 120% but our Sachin was so poor he couldn't afford to pay the tax. This became a sensation in the newspapers as with anything associated with Sachin or Shah Rukh.
Though the amount 1.13 Crore was waived, the High Court sent notices to the Ministries. Fiat realized this was getting out of hand and decided to pay the amount.
All solved?
NO! Sachin sold the car to a Surat based businessman. Well this time he didn't claim Capital gains exemption.
His hatred to pay taxes doesn't end here:
According to another news report, the cricketer also claimed an income tax deduction of Rs 57,969 towards staff welfare expenses. This included money spent on tea and snacks provided to his staff. Also, Rs 50,000 each as telephone and entertainment expenses and another Rs 1,42,824 as car expenses. However, the I-T tribunal discharged these claims explaining that that the use of telephone, car and food was for the cricketer and his family.
I'm an actor and not a cricketer!
Yes!! these were the actual words of Sachin the great.
The excuse: he models for TV advertisements. In order to save tax of around Rs 2 crore on income derived from doing TV commercials, Tendulkar told the Income Tax tribunal that acting, not cricket, is his profession. The tribunal accepted that he is an artist on the grounds that "he has to use his own skills, imagination and creativity in the commercials".
This is one act where the man who holds almost all the batting records in cricket has outdone himself.
His stint as a Rajya Sabha Member:
He was chosen as a member of Rajya sabha for a good reason so that he could contribute for the well being of the country. Bring up discussions/debates in the sports sector using his own experience being a sportsman. There are thousands of other sports which don't get the bare minimum respect it deserves. We often come across the apathy towards the sportsmen of other sports on social media. Well wait wait!!! He said he is not a sportsman.
Discussion ends!
In this case shouldn't he just resign from the Govt., post? He definitely draws money from the Govt right? Pension for a lifetime, car, etc etc etc.
This is a screenshot which I found from the Govt Rajya Sabha Website
What did he do? What has been his contribution:
Do you guys remember the time when he returned to play cricket immediately after attending his father's funeral? He had missed just one match.
Ofcourse none is expecting so much of commitment in Rajya Sabha but so pathetic attendance?
Do you even remember you are a Rajya Sabha member Mr. Sachin?
There are 13 sessions in this Season in which sachin has attended 1 (ONE)
which means his attendance percentage is less than 8%
How shamelessly can someone continue to hold on to the position?
Wait wait let me summarize few more:
Match Fixing/IPL Spot fixing:
Monkeygate
BCCI started providing matches for Sachin to score his 100th century rather than providing matches to test Indian team.
Sachin's Interest = "National Interest"- Prior to the World Cup in 1999, Sachin's car hit a Maruti 800 in Bandra. Sachin went out of his way to ensure the incident did not make it to the newspapers or media. Except Indian Express, not a single paper published the story. Why? Sachin called up Bal Thackeray and used his influence to pressurize newspapers from carrying the story citing "national interest". The "national interest" was that Mohammad Azharuddin was going to be sacked and such news could damage Sachin's chances of being declared captain.
Forgot to include a Gym in a 8898 Sq.Ft Plot. To err is human. Rather than convert one of the many rooms, Tendulkar asked the government to make an exemption and let him build further on the property.
Let's have a bonus-
The Bharat Ratna -
Though the Bharat Ratna is an award the leaders have given to one other. Infact some have awarded to themselves!
Do you seriously believe Sachin deserved the Bharat Ratna more than Dhyan Chand?
I won't go on arguing why Dhyan is more deserving.
There are many who are more deserving and haven't received.
The Bharat Ratna is our highest civilian award. Before 16 December, it was a reward for “exceptional service towards advancement of Art, Literature and Science, and in recognition of public service of the highest order”.
And obviously Sachin didn't fall into the category. So what do we do? Amend!!
Now, it may be “awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour”.
As per Manmohan and P.Chidambaram under whom the award comes the award could be given to Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit and probably anyone based on popularity.
The Indian Air Force made Sachin a group captain. The only sports personality to hold that position.
Recently he rejected a honorary doctrate from an University which was a right thing to do. Where has this humility been?
Now tell me do you still wish Sachin to be your kid's role model?
This post might look like a emotionally driven write up.
Indeed it is. Temple for Sachin? Living God? Give me a break!!!
Did I show my love for Rahul Dravid anywhere in the post? Let's keep it for someother day.
References:
Page on Yahoo
FirstPost
LiveMint
Aakar Patel's Book
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