The Road to Employment (Part II)
Thus started my never ending(or thats what I'd thought) journey for a JOB. Well, Its not always a bed of roses, you see.. You gotta deal with the thorns sometime or the other. So, Its Saarang time and was very busy with most of my ticket saleswork, there by letting quite a few companies go. This was the golden age for the wing. Two out of the three Ashwin's managed to get placed. Jumper got placed in
PWC, while Khatta in
GLOBAL ANALYTICS. This was on Choreo night 25thJan 2006. The entire Saarang was merry, peaceful, fun-filled and also had its serious elemnt for me for I was a co-ord taking care of the tickets. Saarang ended on 29th, and thus restarted my quest for a JOB. Samsung came on 30th, took away most of the left over elec junta. I didn't sit for it assuming it was a software kind job, only to realise lately that it did have an hardware section. But, I did sit for
COSMIC CIRCUITS the next day. The test was peaceful, was the only Btech to get throught the test and then went to the interview. Interview was good, was able to answer all their questions. I wanted that JOB desperately and I knew, if they had to take somebody, it would be me. But, cosmic was more that what I imagined. It took nobody... can you believe it?? I was shattered that day, imagining how bad my luck was. Apparently, they wanted someone very enthu about Analog Circuits to actually take the job. One really hopes there is someone for their job. Then, as usual every day, make this holy trip to the placement office, check for companies... I was getting restless, especially looking at all junta around me getting placed and me, the lone person left... Then came
KLA TENCOR some genmaax company, which tried to put hazaar pseud in all its instruments it made... the people never ever had a clear understanding of a particular subject.. they expected ppl to know things from a bird's eye point of view.. something lacking in me... and as the fate rode the horse like it has been doing all these days, i was once again let lose and thrown into the sea of disaster... one disaster after another... i guess i was immune to it now.. and i kept making the holytrip again and again... somehow, the IITM placement office was not a very lucky place for me.. all my interviews here fluncked.... so, the change of place did it all... This company called
CHARTERED SEMICONDUCTORS had come before offering a handsome salary in terms of Indian Rupees... was supposedly a FAB... and guess what, me best suited for devices... obviously was their best choice... my interview was at Tnagar... so the place also made a difference... and finally after a real rough patch...
I DID IT... I GOT A JOB..... I was very happy... went everyplace to cheer... jumped up and down... went all the way... this side and that side... and finally I was very happy... happy all the way... But will I take the Job, will some university sweep me off my feet? lets see what happens... but for now... I'm very happy
:)
World's collapse, India's rise?
Read this article on Rediff, found it very interesting.... COme on Team India!!!!
The United States economy is on life support from Japan, China and the OPEC countries. The dollar is about to be devalued by about 50 to 80 per cent. America's $3 billion-a-day deficit, which is driving the world economy, cannot be sustained. The world's economy is tottering on the verge of a major crisis. The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals are a means for aid agencies to perpetuate, an attempt by governments to show that they were doing something, when actually they aren't.
The 21st century will be known as the Indian century. The Asian giant is in the "sweet spot" of development. These were some of the opinions hurled about and contested at a discussion about India's Economic Policy: Strengths, Weaknesses and Prospects for the Future, as part of the Asia Society's ongoing 16th Asian Corporate Conference at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. And everyone was bullish on India.
"I have invested in India, I'm making money and I'm happy," began Clyde Prestowitz, one of the two speakers of the discussion, who Richard C Holbrooke, the moderator, described as "one of the leading experts on international trade in the United States, and one of the most outspoken."
"He (Prestowitz) has written a number of books, each extremely provocative," noted Holbrooke, chairman, Asia Society.
"In Japan, he is particularly famous, but not always loved," Holbrooke added, referring to Trading Places, Prestowitz's book that looks at Japan-United States commercial ties.
Prestowitz, president of the think tank Economic Strategy Institute, said everybody knew India had problems, such as red tape and lack of infrastructure.
"You try to go from Electronic City to Leela Hotel (in Bangalore) and you realise India has infrastructure problems," he said. Instead, he wanted to talk about some problems "not so usually talked about."One of which was the model of development India would choose.
Prestowitz, a Ronald Raegan administration adviser-turned severe Bush critic and the author of the book Three Billion Millionaires, said the Western world's and the US' model of heavy consumption – which is identical to India's -- was not sustainable.
The role of the United States in the world economy is to buy, he said.
China had a problem in over investing, Prestowitz continued. For every dollar of GDP, China invests half, resulting in tremendous capital in manufacturing.
"If you set up a plant in China, the government gives you half the capital," he pointed out. But the main buyer for the manufactured products, US, could not go on buying, he said.
He cited the recent controversy over the handing of management of some US ports to Dubai firms as example that the political backlash to the just-buy model's tottering had begun. He said there was a legislation pending in the US Senate to put 27.5 per cent tariff on all Chinese imports.
"But, there would never be an India-US trade crisis," he added, concluding that all Asian currencies were under-valued and they would be rationalised against the dollar soon.
Surjit S Bhalla, principal and chief operating officer, Oxus investments, who was the other speaker at the discussion, said, "India is in the sweet spot of development."
The die is cast for 8 per cent growth without any further reforms, Bhalla said, pointing at the healthy Indian economic growth in the last three years, which was a great upswing from the last 50 years of below 5 per cent growth.
What India had witnessed in the last 15 years was completely unprecedented, he felt.
According to him, the rise of the Indian middle class with its purchasing power was a revolution that would drive the world economy.
"These people (the Indian middle class) have made money the old fashioned way," he said. They had invested in education and they were enforcing policy, he emphasised.
Though the infrastructure problem was a reality, no country had built infrastructure before it needed to, except Franklin Roosevelt after the Great Depression, Bhalla pointed out.
"China faced the infrastructure 10 years ago, we are facing it now," he said, confident that the problem would be solved.
When countered with questions about problems with social services like healthcare, Bhalla said India spends 5.1 per cent of its GDP on healthcare.
The problem was not with spending, the problem was with delivery of services, which was in the government's hand, he said.
When asked why India has not managed to attract $5 billion foreign direct investment when China attracts over $450 billion, he pointed out that the efficiency of capital usage is more in India than China.
That was contested by Hang Lung Group Chairman Ronnie Chan, one of China's most powerful businessmen, who said China's capital mostly went into manufacturing which had higher costs than services -- which India concentrated on -- which had less set up costs.
Bhalla acknowledged there were hurdles for India, but he was confident the Great Indian Middle Class would surmount all odds.
About the threat to the world economy from the US economy's apparently imminent collapse, Bhalla quipped, "As an investor, I have learnt to never bet against America."
Some Interesting questions.....
1. There is a man that lives on the top floor of a very tall building.
Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the
building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only
travel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way
unless it's raining! WHY?
This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all lateral
thinking puzzles. It is a true classic. Although there are many possible
solutions which fit the initial conditions, only the canonical answer is
truly satisfying.
2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the
scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the
surgeon says "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son!" How can
this be?
3. A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks, trousers, jumper, gloves
and balaclava. He is walking down a black street with all the street
lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its light off too
but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
4. Title : The Elder Twin
One day Kerry celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin
brother, Terry, celebrated his birthday. Why?
5. Title : Manhole Covers
Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?
This is logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle which can be
solved by lateral thinking techniques. It is supposedly used by a very
well-known software company as an interview question for prospective
employees.
6. Title : The Deadly Party
A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early.
Everyone else at the party who drank the punch subsequently died of
poisoning. Why did the man not die?
7. Title : Heaven
A man died and went to Heaven. There were thousands of other people
there. They were all naked and all looked as they did at the age of
21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognized. He saw
a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did
he know?
8. Title : Trouble with Sons
A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of
the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?
9. Title : The Man in the Bar
A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The
barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thank
you' and walks out.
This puzzle has claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple in its
statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying
solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one yet they like
the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it out.
Scroll down for the answers.
SOLUTIONS:
1) The man is very very short and so can only reach half way up the lift
buttons! However, if it is raining then he will have his umbrella with
him and so can press the higher buttons with it.
2) The surgeon is the boy's mother.
3) It was day time.
4) At the time she went into labor, the mother of the twins was
travelling by boat. The older twin, Terry, was born first early on
March 1st. The boat then crossed a time zone and Kerry, the younger
twin, was born on February the 28th. Therefore, the younger twin
celebrates her birthday two days before her older brother.
5) A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal
of the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole.
So for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.
6) The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drank
the punch, the ice was fully frozen. Gradually it melted, poisoning
the punch.
7) He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels because
they were not born of women, they had never had umbilical cords and
therefore they never had navels. This one seems perfectly logical but
it can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments.
8) They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets etc.) This puzzle
stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving test-tube
babies or surrogate mothers. Why does the brain search for complex
solutions when there is a much simpler one available?
9) The man had hiccups. The barman recognized this from his speech and
drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the
hiccups - so the man no longer needed the water. This is a simple
puzzle to state but a difficult one to solve. It is a perfect example
of a seemingly irrational and incongruous situation having a simple
and complete explanation. Amazingly this classic puzzle seems to work
in different cultures and languages.
Pick Up Lines
There were some pick up lines I tried using and the replies I got for them......
1. I wish I was one of your tears, so I could be born in your eye, run down your cheek, and die on your lips.
Reply : I don't mind where you die.. as long as you do!
2. Did you know they changed the alphabet? They put U and I together.
Reply : So, how many times did you fail kinder garten?
3. Are your legs tired? Because you been running through my mind ALL day long.
Reply : Yes, they are. I've been running away from you!
4. Are you lost? Because it's so strange to see an angel so far from heaven.
Reply : How many times have you been to heaven, anyway?
5. Do you believe in love at first sight, or do I have to walk by you again? Reply : Yeah.. why don't you walk by and just keep walking!
6. What's that in your eye? Oh...it's a sparkle.
Reply : What are you on? Crack or cocaine?
7. Do you have a map? I just got lost in your eyes.
Reply : (too corny.. maybe a disgusted look would be enough)
