Getting interviewed by Media.Net
Both of my interviews were more of discussions and less of formal interviews. Both of them. We literally chatted and discussed stuff.
I have narrated my journey till now in my previous blog. Here is the link: https://medium.com/@priteshopawar/theplacementday-b48e9d941dd
Check that first.
Continuing from the previous blog, I reached the floor where we were asked to come. There was a large tray of Samosas kept over there. Probably for the interviewers. I felt hungry and thirsty because of the nervousness. Waiting for almost 5 hours to attend an interview builds a pressure strong enough to make anyone nervous. The fear of not getting selected, the expectations of people, the wasted time of wait and everything started haunting me.
I asked one of the volunteers, “What is the ratio of students getting selected?”
“They are just rejecting. Hardly 4 people have made till the second interview. Good luck”
I got even more anxious but somewhere I had confidence in myself that the I was having the exact skills and knowledge that they wanted. Even interview questions seemed simpler.
Striking my thoughts in between, I heard a girl, “Pritesh Pawar, please go inside.”
I quickly recalled all the highlights that I was going to dump over there. I was ready to market myself to the fullest. And I was fully ready.
As soon as I entered the room, the pretty lady smiled, “Hello Pritesh, please have a seat.”
“Hello Mam, good evening!” I made sure to wear a permanent smile for that period.
She said in a typical interviewer tone, “So Pritesh, please introduce yourself.”
“I am Pritesh Pawar from EXTC department. I have been the blogging head of Aura Magazine which is the official magazine of KJ Somaiya. I also served as a core volunteer in NSS department for two years. Apart from that, I am deeply interested in cybersecurity and digital marketing”
I made sure that I would highlight as many qualities of myself as possible. After all, that is what I had done in these three years.
Her: That is impressive. Which platform is your magazine using to blog?
Me: We used Google Blogger. As it was easier to connect on Somaiya’s domain and it was much convenient then.
Her: So, as your resume mentions that you worked as a content writer as well. What experience do you have?
Me: It started from Quora where I was allotted a freelance content writing job. Then I started actively participating in online content writing jobs from Facebook, Linkedin, Quora and all. I even collaborated with some local brands to promote them on my Instagram page. I advertised a lot on my page.
Her: What do you exactly post on Instagram?
Me: I write quotes. It has become a daily habit where I write stuff and post daily. It is almost a daily ritual now.
Her: Where else do you write?
Me: I am currently using multiple platforms for multiple topics. I write about current affairs and my opinions on Quora. Then I write daily quotes on my Instagram page. I recently started writing about psychology on Medium and I am soon launching my own website to write about technology. It is already built but I am making it more presentable and planning to buy a domain soon.
(She interrupted…)
Her: You seem to be always doing something…
Me: Yeah, I learned about digital marketing and particularly social media marketing in that way. I was always passionate about that. So, never bothered much.
Her: So can you tell me 10 national and international current affairs?
I gave her 10 national affairs easily but got stuck after around 5 international affairs.
Me: Since I love learning about the technical market so will it be okay if I tell you more about current technical affairs?
Her: Yeah sure, sure. Carry on.
I listed around 10–12 tech-news to her. Thanks to YouTube channels I follow every day.
Her: Okay that is more than sufficient. You seem much enthusiastic when it comes to the latest technological trends and market, right?
Me: Yeah, I follow that closely.
Her: So which phone do you use?
Me: MI A1
Her: When did you exactly buy this phone? And why not any other phone?
Me: For me, the processor plays a very important role because I play heavy games, edit a lot and stuff. In short, I need a processor which would handle heavy usage pattern. So, I am a fan of One Plus and Xiaomi in that matter. However, being a student, budget plays an important role for me and I had to buy a cheaper phone. According to me, Xiaomi is the only brand which provides value for money product with the most efficient hardware right now.
Her: That was a great reasoning skill. So Pritesh, we will start the GK round now. Let’s see how far it goes.
I was asked basic GK questions like:
1] President of India, USA
2] Prime Minister of India, Chief Ministers of Goa, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, etc.
3] Ministries of Road & Transport, Defence, Telecomm, Foreign affairs, Finance, etc.
4] Capitals of around 10 states, capitals of 10–12 countries.
5] CEOs of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon.
6] List 5 products of Google, 5 products of Microsoft, 5 e-commerce websites, etc.
7] What is digital marketing? What is SMM, SEO, PPC, SMO, Adwords, Adsense, etc?
These are just some questions that I can recall now. There were even more. Moreover, this was not a rapid fire round. We discussed every bit of it.
I felt nice and happy as I was asked the capitals. I had spent my Engineering lectures by glaring at those world maps and Indian maps at the last pages of my diary. It seemed so easy for me.
Her: It is written in your resume that you interned in Kurla Carshed. So what exactly did you do there?
Me: Yeah, I interned there as a trainee. We basically learned about EMU trains and how exactly the Central Railways of Mumbai work. It was an interesting period. Whatever we learned in Electronics was seen practically being implemented there. Overall, we got to learn much more about the application of Electronics there.
Her: That’s great. Now I’ll ask some questions. You need to answer them.
Me: Okay, let’s see.
Her: There are manholes on the road which are drilled for sewage. Why are they having circular lids only? Not any other shape?
I thought for around 5 minutes… I kept guessing in between. I was not really sure.
Me: The machines which drill the holes are made to drill them in a circular shape. A circular shape is more uniform than any other shape too. Maybe because of that?
Her: Can you come up with a better reason? What can be your theory?
I thought for some more time…
Me: Let’s suppose it is made square or rectangular. But they are really heavy lids and if misplaced, it becomes really difficult to shift the lid to fit perfectly. So why not make circular which can be fitted in any way with much ease? It does not have edges. It can be just pushed and fitted in any angle.
Her: Okay, now that sounds convincing. Let’s move to another question.
I was relieved but got anxious for the second question. Such questions are really unpredictable.
Her: There are 3 switches in this room and 3 bulbs in the next room. You can switch on the bulbs but you cannot go to that room to check. However, you can only visit that room when all the switches are off. How will you determine which switch is associated with which bulb?
I kept thinking for a while because I didn’t want to sound stupid by merely guessing some stupid theories. I stayed numb for a few minutes and it worked out.
Me: I got a solution. I’ll turn on two switches at the same time. Then after 15 minutes, I’ll switch off one of the bulbs. I’ll wait for another 10 minutes and turn off the remaining bulb too. Now, I’ll visit that light and touch all the bulbs. The hottest one will be the one which I turned off recently. The slightly warm bulb will be the one that I turned off some time ago and the coldest bulb will be the one that I never turned on. This will work efficiently as bulbs get heated with time when on.
Her: Hmmm… Okay, that was a good way out.
Me: Thank you, mam.
Her: There is even written about Spanish in your resume. Can you speak Spanish?
Me: Right. I am still learning it. Although I cannot speak fluently, I can read and write well in Spanish. But yeah, if you drop me in a Spanish island, I would still be able to communicate slowly with the localites for necessary stuff.
(She giggled)
Her: Now this is really impressive. What else do you do in your free time?
Me: I run my YouTube channel and read. I keep reading all the time. Be it Quora, Reddit, Medium, blogs, newspapers, magazines or anything. In fact, I was reading until I was waiting outside.
Her: Oh, so you kind of utilized your waiting period. What exactly were you reading?
Me: Yeah I knew I would be waiting for a long time. TPO already informed us. So, I am reading the book on which the upcoming movie ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ is based on. Already completed more than 200 pages since morning.
Her: I hope you won’t give me spoilers (laughs). Also, you mentioned something about YouTube. What exactly do you upload?
Me: I generally upload my cover songs, travel vlogs, technological stuff, and many more videos which I feel.
Her: Okay, so you sing as well?
Me: Yup, sometimes.
Her: That is great. Now, what do you know about our company?
I told her all the details that I came across on various forums and websites. I mentioned the business revenue model of Media dot net. She was highly impressed.
Her: Since you already know about Wordpress websites and YouTube algorithms, I’ll ask some questions related to that. What product comes to your mind when I say color Pink?
Me: Barbie doll?
Her: Here is a website named barbie doll dot com. Now write 10 keywords and tell me how can we rank it higher on Google?
I wrote 10 keywords and explained them as well.
Her: That’s good. Now tell me the same thing if the website is… ummm… let’s say lipstick dot com.
I again wrote 10 keywords and explained them as well.
Her: Impressive. You can wait outside for the results. Do you have any questions regarding the company?
I knew the working but I decided to shoot a random question, just to look cool and curious, which worked well…
Me: Yeah, I had a question. Media dot net ranks second after Google Adsense, right? But it gets strong backing from Google and zillion of bytes of data which is collected from the users. So that Google can target those advertisements to the users? But Media dot net never collects data so how does it manage to give such strong competition to Google?
And she satisfied me with an answer which I already know.
Her: Anything else?
Me: No Ma’am. Thank you so much.
She greeted me and I left the room.
I came outside and people surrounded me for obvious reasons. The same way when you face the first viva in your batch and everyone is seeking to get some hints. I was asked to wait and I went to the classroom which was situated next to the interview room.
I merely waited for 5 minutes and another company employee returned. The same person who was handling the chaos in the corridor.
“Pritesh Pawar?”
“Yeah, Ma’am. Here,” I said in a bold voice from behind to make her audible.
“You’ve cleared the first interview and you need to go on the 3rd floor. I’ll call you soon.”
I felt relieved and lightly said, “Thank you, Mam”
I kept waiting for my turn and I was getting a bit optimistic as this was an elimination round and I had already cleared it. I felt much relaxed now. I was getting more desperate to hand a job. I even started imagining the moments after being selected. I kept roaming at the same place waiting for my name to be announced as soon as possible because I was simply unable to wait for the second interview.
The same lady turned up and said, “Pritesh, your turn. Please come along with me.”
It was all dark in the college and no lights seemed to be turned on. I don’t know why they did this especially when a company had visited the college. We had to walk all the way from 5th floor to 3rd floor.
“Can you see? Isn’t it too dark?” she asked while turning on the flash light of her phone.
“Actually I am habitual to my college,” I said sheepishly.
She laughed. I was no way interested in getting an illuminated path. All I cared about was sneaking into the interview as soon as possible. I really could sense where I was going as it was my very own college.
We reached in front of the interview room. She went in, probably to confirm or inform about my interview. The interviewer seemed to be a huge bulky guy with a well-built body having a height of more than 6 feet.
She allowed me to enter in. I walked inside the room and he was there already waiting. Any person would get scared looking at him.
He stood up and I looked like a dwarf in front of him. We had our hands shaken and he comforted me with a huge smile, “Hello Pritesh, good evening.”
“Good Evening, Sir”
After all, he was not as scary as I imagined. He seemed to be a nice guy at the first glance. We both took our seats.
Him: Tell me about yourself.
I repeated the same sentences which I used in my first interview. Yeah, that was the only highlight I was having and I marketed that to the fullest extent.
He started looking over my resume. There was a deadly silence and I felt as if he was out of questions already. I was there, still waiting for next command.
Him: I read your essay and it was really mesmerizing. You have that writer’s magic. Can you tell me more about that incident and your family?
I told him the detailed version of how my nephew was born and so on. I tried to ignore my family details because I often get hesitant to discuss such personal matters. I always hated that.
Him: That must be really a valuable moment. I can feel that. Can you tell more about your family members and hometown?
I had to talk now. So I gave as much information as it was necessary. I mean, why do I even need to tell that to someone? Ask about me. I mentioned a few basic details about my family members and hometown.
Him: Okay, so you are in Mumbai only for your Engineering? How often do you visit Amravati?
Me: Yup. I visit Amravati with a frequency of 6 months or a year. Basically, whenever the time permits.
Him: So what difference do you see between Amravati and Mumbai? Which one is better?
Me: One is my hometown and one of them is my present. I can’t really compare the two but…
He Interrupted…
Him: I am not comparing exactly but where do you like to stay?
Me: Of course I have some of the best memories in Amravati since I grew up there. But I can’t really see my future there. Mumbai being a huge city has loads of opportunities and Mumbai seems more promising for future.
He smiled. I guess he got his answer that I would not keep taking leaves for visiting my home and stay up in Mumbai. I just felt that.
Him: Your resume says you know MS Office. So what do you know about MS Excel?
Me: I am at the beginner’s level right now. I use it to track my Expenditures, Daily targets, and much more. I find it convenient because MS Excel sheets are in my pocket right now. I know some basics and whenever I face any problem, I just visit an online forum and seek the answers to my questions. That is how I have learned.
Him: Apart from writing, what exactly do you do in your free time?
Me: I am a YouTuber so I produce my videos, I sing cover songs or I simply read in my free time.
Him: Oh! You are a YouTuber. So do you know how tags and keywords work?
Me: Yeah, that is how I grew up on YouTube. (I explained him the complete algorithm)
Him: Interesting. What are your interests?
Me: I am much interested in cybersecurity, digital marketing, and business models. Although I am a bit out of cybersecurity field now. But it was worth my interest. I’m concentrating on building my own website now.
Him: Can you tell me how Google earns?
Once again, I explained him the ecosystem and complete business model of Google. I was thankful for my research and learnings that I acquired on my own. Business models interested me, always.
Him: I’m impressed with your in-depth knowledge of business and market. Can you tell me how Facebook works and how it earns?
I was so happy that I had actually read Mark Zuckerberg’s biography and I told him everything from scratch. Some details were irrelevant but he kept on listening. Maybe just because he was learning something new.
Him: You really seem to read a lot on various topics. You somewhere mentioned about your website. Did you get the domain?
Me: I have still hosted it freely because I am working on making it more presentable. Once it is good to go, I’ll buy the hosting and domain.
Him: Where did you host now?
Me: It is still on a free version of Hostinger. I’ll be hosting it soon on GoDaddy or somewhere. I need to research the most cost-efficient hosting service. Although I have already researched, the market prices keep on fluctuating.
Him: I wish you very good luck with your website. So coming to the point, you must be aware that whatever you know or whatever you learned in Engineering is of no use in this company. Is that okay?
Me: Sir, I spent all my Engineering time in blogging and digital marketing. I did various internships and freelancing jobs in the same industry. I kept on researching and learning new things. I think this company will be an ideal company for my personal growth as well.
Him: Hmmm… Where did you work?
Me: I got various projects but UC Web was the biggest project I dealt with. I worked with them for months and it was a good brand to work with.
Him: That is great to see your contribution to the industry and management of your academics parallelly.
Me: Thank you very much.
Him: As you might be knowing, we don’t have a specific dress code. What are your thoughts about this? What do you feel?
Me: That is what separates this company from other corporate companies. I mean, the highest productivity has nothing to do with the appearance. Of course, there might be some limits but it is necessary as well.
Him: Is there anything concerning you regarding your post, timing, or company?
Me: No Sir. They have already made it clear.
Him: Okay. It was nice meeting you, Pritesh. You can wait till we declare the result.
I walked out wondering if I missed something or messed up anything. I was pondering continuously. I was glad that they just valued my skills and didn’t even bother about my grades. I felt much satisfied.
I came out and once again, students surrounded for the same reason. I talked and kept chitchatting for a while. Some other students were also waiting for their results of the second interview. The same lady who led me to the interview room returned with a bag in her hand. She called four names of the people who were waiting for the results even before me. We were asked to leave the class as it was a sensitive moment.
I went outside and tried peeping in. All the four girls got a letter. Three of them came outside. Two of them were nearly weeping and one was way much disappointed. It really feels dejected to reach the last round and not get selected.
The fourth girl remained for a longer time. Probably she was selected. Yes, indeed she was selected as she came out with a huge smile. She even thanked TPO and every other person.
I was still waiting impatiently for my results to get announced. I didn’t care much about the job but I just wanted to know the result sooner. My whole day was consumed in this process which didn’t allow me to complete my daily targets. At least, I don’t want to return with a piece of bad news after waiting for so long.
The same lady approached me. She took me to a dark corner in front of an elevator where nobody was present. That was a secluded place and I was getting more nervous because I was alone to absorb the result.
“I know this seems weird in such darkness but we don’t have any option. First of all, tell me how was your interview?”
I meekly said, “I guess it was good from my side and I seem to be fit with what exactly they wanted but… I don’t know. Anything can happen.”
She suddenly wore an ear to ear smile on her face and handed me a bag saying these exact words, “So Pritesh, welcome to the team. You’re in Media dot net. Yes, you’re fit for what we are looking for and you don’t need to doubt it. Heartiest congratulations.”
I was expecting that but I was shocked with happiness. I was nearly in tears for getting selected and these moments are precious. The first formal job of my life, the first company, the first news of getting selected and all those things mixed the emotions and I got an adrenaline rush. I got goosebumps all over my body. I shivered for a moment because I simply couldn’t believe my ears.
I could only utter four words out of shock, “Thank you so much.”
Her: So, your joining will be from 15th June and we will convey further details on your mail. Before that, you need to send the scanned attachments of your Aadhar card and PAN card within 3–4 days. You will be informed about the details very soon. Do you want to ask anything?
I was still unable to digest the fact of my selection and still in the semi-conscious state. I merely replied, “No Mam. I got it.”
Her: Good. Once again, Congratulations for making it up. See you soon.
Me: Thank you, Ma’am.
And we walked out. As expected, everyone was there waiting and eager to know my result. My smiling face was enough to convey the message. I was anyway numb to even speak much at that time.
Everyone congratulated me and I felt like MS Dhoni after winning a World Cup. That is lame but that’s what it felt like.
“If you want to cry out or something, you can do that now?” said Vidit. Everyone had a burst of light laughter.
Vidit pulled out his phone saying, “Issi moment pe ek photo to banti hai boss”
I didn’t feel the necessity of clicking a picture at that moment but now I realize that this was indeed a special picture. Maybe I’ll cherish this picture after some decades being selected for the first job. Special shoutout to Vidit Shah.
Vijay, one of my friends, took my bag and pulled out the things to see what was present inside the bag. A T-shirt, a diary, etc. I was least interested in knowing what was inside. The only thing that I cared for was leaving that place as soon as possible as I wanted to break this news to my close people.
If you still want to know what was inside that bag, here are the contents:
I’ll cover about my journey in the next blog. How I started hating the IT field and turned from there to go to a completely different path. Here is the link:
[Go check it out: https://medium.com/@priteshopawar/the-accidental-engineer-7a20bb6dccb8]
I walked slowly, thanking the universe for making it possible. Such happy moments make you thank each and every person and thing you come across. That is the beauty.
P2
