16

My First Job


I still remember the day my post graduation results were out! I was the happiest girl on earth. I could feel my dreams fetching wings and desires becoming more fancy & colorful. No more exams, assignments, viva and thesis submission! Wow… I was sure; the world definitely would be a more peaceful place! I laid down my plans and I was so eager to see me achieve my aspirations!
J

I reached Dubai in few weeks and started job hunt. I thought the media companies in the Middle East were waiting for my arrival so that the industry will get rejuvenated. I filtered out the companies based on my priorities. All I wanted was 

- deeply satisfying job (no compromise on this!)
- high flying salary (in spite of being a fresher just out of college; Wah.. what confidence!)
- company to be located close to home (how I hate the traffic in Dubai)
- management which will not demand formal-wear to work (I love myself in jeans)
- to not have elderly-serious people as my colleagues (I thought handling generation-gap is a big deal) 

- tamil vegetarian restaurants close to office (crispy dosas, variety chutney and filter coffee are my weaknesses)
- my coworkers to be from any part of the world, but not from Kerala (Hey… nothing against Malayalis; I was looking forward to a cosmopolitan community at least at work place!)

Days passed, weeks passed. But nobody replied to my job applications! “Huh? Doesn’t at least one of them need my valuable service?”, I wondered. I stopped the filtering activity and started sending out my CV left, right and centre – to every soul in Dubai! I considered ‘Appointments Supplement’ of the newspaper to be the Gita, Bible and Quran! Whenever I go past a tall building, I would question, “Madam/Sir… such a huge office, plenty of space… all I am asking for is just a corner of a table, one computer and one chair (preferably revolving)!”

Once, I applied for the post of ‘Creative Director’ at an advertisement agency. However, it demanded 12 years of experience. “Grrr… If I had 12 years of experience, will I be stationed religiously before appointments page like this?” And what was I doing 12 years back? …I was in 6-th standard, where I spent days watching Doordarsan, fighting with my brother, studying, not studying and lazing around! I wished, “What if they call me for the interview and miraculously realize that I am THE one who would take their company to heights?! You see… the probability is never zero!”       


To my surprise, I was called for the interview. Now, looking forward to the miracle to happen! Keeping my fingers crossed …and twisted!

D Day: Interview Day


I reached their office, which was not too far away from home (demands getting satisfied already?). I met the Creative Head, whose computer had Angelina Jolie’s wall paper. I thought, “Wow, not bad… very sporty folks around! …n this guy will be having Mother Mary’s pic as desktop background on his home PC. Hmmm, Kochu Kallan!!” Though few strands of white hair popped out from his almost bald head, he looked smart and spoke well too. With a chuckle, I thought, “If I become the Creative Director, maybe I will have to manage this Jolie fan!” When I was about to leave his cabin, I noticed his family pic in which his wife seemed to be the epitome of an ‘Achayathi’ (Mallu Christian) from Kanjirappally! “Oh no… Malayalees..! Will you not leave me ever in my life?!” 


Then, I met another guy, whose cabin was bigger than the Jolie fan’s. Hence I guessed that he should be the boss’s boss, The Big Boss of the company! With a smile, he began to speak, “Well Shalini… When I saw your application, I was really curious to know who this confident young girl is, who applied for the post of Creative Director! Blah blah blah…! Anyways, nice meeting you.
J

I got so furious… in fact wild…!!! I replied, “Sorry to say, it was not at all great to meet you, as you bothered me needlessly. Good Bye!” I could feel my voice crack as I felt I was being made a fool!

I reached home with soaring disappointment and was narrating the bitter experiences to my mom. I was explaining how bad he is to look at, how bad he is at conversing and how bad his dress sense was!

…while my mobile rang.

“Hello, This is Sandeep* from H2O* Media. Am I speaking to Shalini?” (* names changed)
“Yes, Which Sandeep?” I thought, why is this bugger calling me again?
“…with whom you felt is not great to talk to, couple of minutes ago!”
“Oh My God…! In fact, I did not mean that…”
“Anyways, we have decided to hire you… definitely not as Creative Director, but as Junior Copy Writer.”
J J J J J J
“If you are interested, please come to our office tomorrow to accept the offer.”
“Oh, Thank You so much… Thanks a ton!!!”

To my mom, “Amma… I think he is not that bad as I thought!” ;)
And in two weeks, I joined H2O Media, a place which I will never forget in life!


…to be continued


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh wow girl !!! I aprreciate your guts to talk to Mr.Sandeep like that !!! Waiting for the next :)

Haddock said...

Enjoyed reading that.

Anonymous said...

Really an involving incident.
Just loved reading it. :-)

Unknown said...

I am impressed!!!!!

sm said...

congrat for the guts and jobs

Anonymous said...

OMG... Did it really happen?!
I loved the Jolie part.. there after, how did u find him?
It was an amazing read.

-Preeth

Shiva said...

Waiting for "to be continued" :)

"my coworkers to be from any part of the world, but not from Kerala" - very interesting! :)

eternalthinker said...

That was a nice post, i just went with the flow. So u already-settled-nothing-to-worry-about people talking about silly funs of the ol' times, eh? May be we, the undergrads, can take down some message out of it.
Please continue.. ;)

Pink Mango Tree said...

@ adreamygal - Not guts.. it was just a reflex action! :)

@ Haddok - Thank You! :)

@ dev2die4 - Thanks! :)

@ Joyse - Heheh, Danks Joyce!!

@ sm - Thanks! However, I am no more with the first company; moved to B'lore after a while.

@ Preeth - Yes, it really happened; however you can ignore 20-25% of it ;)

@ Shiva - Yes, it will be continued...

@ et - dear students, please don't forget to enjoy ur college days, worrying abt post-college days. A piece of advice from an elderly blogger! ;) ;) ;)

Thanks All, for dropping your comments. It means a lot to me! :)

Nona said...

:) But did you end up in a cosmopolitan setup or kanjirappally setup?

Pink Mango Tree said...

Well Nona... look out for Part II ;)

Arathi said...

Really......very funny. Still the same old Shalini. Waiting for Part II

Aparna said...

i really njoyd the 1st part..y did u break ther, when i reachd the last part n saw to be continued..i really said Oh no...:P
Surprised u rem me!!. thanks for visitng my bloggy.yeah i tuk pics soon aftr i cook n post it..no other ways to kill time..:)

Pink Mango Tree said...

@ Arathi - Wow mam!! Good to hear from u... no wonder at times, i am totally in love with these socail networking sites! :)

@ Aparna - Part II is Coming Soon ;)

Swaram said...

Wow! Nice reading this one .. read the second part n then came here :P

g2 said...

Did you actually go to dubai to get away from mallus :p ... Anyways, have been reading all entries in your blog for the last one hour or so. You made my day :)...

Back to Top