'Job Interview' Reference Guide

I was having a tough day today, and thought would publish one of those posts that I have written in advance for days such as these. And then, I checked the calendar, to realize that today is Wednesday, and no other but Work could go today. So yes, a little less enthusiasm and more of a home-work-feeling is what I am feeling as I type.

So whether you are appearing for campus, or heading for an interview for your next switch, here are quick pointers of what you must always keep in mind.

• Dress for Success, because as everyone knows, the opposite person makes your first impression in the first three seconds of when he sees you, and you sure wish to make that first imprint sharp enough.

• Be on time, no matter what. No one would like to wait for conducting an interview. In case the reasons are unavoidable, make sure you call and clearly communicate that you are delayed. Mention the approximate time of arrival too, so that the other side can re-plan accordingly.

• Sit straight throughout, even when waiting for the interview to start. Everyone wants to see smart, attentive employees at work. A slouchy posture would make you look lazy, and that is not what they wish to hire you for.

• Behave sharply on the way - while you park your car, in the elevator, at the reception. You never know who may notice you, and gather an image.

• Always have a spare Resume copy and a  pen with you. Makes you look prepared.

• Do your homework before arriving. About the profile, about the company, about the hiring process. This reflects on your interest, and goes to show that you are keen on taking up the job.

Mobile Phone Etiquette

• Keep the volume acceptable – low is best, medium is acceptable, high a total No. And switch the phone silent at Concerts, Cinema, Dinner table, any other closed or personal space.

• When in middle of the conversation, do not automatically give your phone the First priority. Pick if you must, and tell them you are in middle of something, and that you would have to call them back.

• For office, set a formal tone. You don’t want to be identified as that person who has the latest dance number as his or her ringtone.

• Just as was the case with looking at your watch in the middle of a conversation, looking at your mobile phone or worse still, checking on your messages sends the same signal to the people you are keeping you company. That not only are you bored, you are getting rude as well.

• Call back on the same day, for any call you have to interrupt or cut short on.

• When texting someone you are not on regular texting terms with – be a little formal, and include your name at the end. It’s a little too much in this fast life to expect of someone that they will save your number across years. And anyways, a little formality never killed anyone. Right?

Dismiss the Greys

My day today did not really kick-start, and I took the complete morning to let the grey clouds to finally move past my mind. December always does this to me, makes me feel like I am not doing enough in life, not going at the right pace with it, and not acting to the best of my potential. I am not even sure if any of it really is true or is it just the fear of time slipping out and another year passing by.

What got me out of my trance is something good, though. A simple sentence, which just lifted my spirits. 

Something close to this -

Someone else - "Do you miss being with someone?"

My friend - "Oh yes, I do. Just like I miss taking exotic yearly vacations, not having a restaurant of my own, or even winning the Olympics in weight lifting category"

Well put, I must say. 

You cannot let life pass by, waiting for something wonderful to happen to you. Instead, you have to live it to the fullest despite all the deltas. May be everything in Life is not for you. Should that stop you from making the journey worthwhile? I guess not.

Coming to the post of the day, which I have not yet started. I am losing just a bit of motivation for writing for the lack of feedback on this blog. I mean, hardly anyone is commenting, liking or even criticizing this space or its contents. Come on people, I know you are visiting. (Thanks to Blogger stats). Won't it be kind to leave a comment, or say a Hi on Facebook. Rather than just coming in, staying for a minute and silently saying ta-da. I really would understand even if you have no kind things to say to my baby (AllThingsSixx), but please, please speak up.

Now, moving on to the Sixx things for the day, since this has been a largely personal post so far, I would disclose you some secrets about myself. On how I lift my spirits on days when God does not make me read any of the inspiring text like the one above. 

• Put on some perfume - yes, may be the most expensive one in your collection. No one deserves it more than you today. By the way, putting on red or fuchsia lip color has the same effect.
• Listen to your favorite music, may the one that can make you think of brighter things or days.
• Food is my savior on such days. Ditch the rules, and eat all the yummy things that you can manage until there is no room for more. If you are not into eating so much, then cooking is the next best thing. Cooking, as the wise say, is therapeutic.
• Call up anyone you do not feel close to and get them to talk - about the weather, about their domestic help, about the latest trends, about movies. Anything impersonal, basically.
• Watch reality television, just for the senselessness of it.
• Take on house chores. Get it in order, clean the hidden corners, DIY some art.

Better your Shopping Spree

We have talked of sale time blunders to watch out for earlier on AllThingsSixx. But of course, we all know that Sale is not what lasts all twelve months. It is Shopping that does. And that is one exercise, we all, at all points, think about optimizing. To make the most out of it, get everything we would like to while still staying in budget.

• Make a shopping budget. Depending on your shopping habits, break it up into weekly, fortnightly or monthly amount and stick to it. I usually use my phone to key down whatever I spend and reduce it from my budget for the fortnight.

• Rely on different places for different kinds of items you usually shop for. Within the same city, there is bound to be a mix of expensive and not-so-expensive outlets or markets. Try and mix them both by relying on different places for different kind of clothes. I usually buy my flats from all over the place, but stick to the shop whose make fits me the best for high heels. Get the idea?!

• Buy basic items like lingerie- tights- tanks etc. at Sale. More or less, there is nothing like trend in this area, and sooner or later, you would need these. So why not make the hay while sun shines, that is, shop for it when the sale is on.

• Mix both expensive and inexpensive buying in one trip, so that there is room for more in your next one. Mix expensive items like bag, with lesser expensive items like scarves, accessories etc.

• Look for deals on make-up products, which is almost always the case, even if it is not advertised. Try and haggle, (yes, even on  the most expensive product stores), and you would end up getting makeup brushes, kitties, nail paints, or foot creams for free.

• Be proactive and look around for options in advance specially for items you know you will wear only once or twice like wedding wear or that white business suit which you indeed would wear only once a year.

Three Mistakes of My Life

about 

Written by an Indian writer Chetan Bhagat, the book is a work of English fiction.

rating

1/5 

up(s) 

The Only saving grace of the book is its cost; Rs.100 for the original copy, at least the reader does not end up feeling cheated on money, only the time.

down(s) 

The author has written this book with a clear intention of selling the most rather than writing the best.

the plot 
The story belongs to 3 friends, Omi, Ish and Govind and the last character doubles up as the narrator. The story is set in a small town in Gujarat, and is given as a justification for Govind’s incline towards making money in the early half of the book. The other 2 characters are shown as typical 20 year old, without any direction or concrete plan for the course of their lives. These friends share a common interest in cricket, a sport close to the heart of most men born Indian. The story unfolds onto some basic ideas – business, love-lust and Communism.

To make the first mistake of the life, the narrator invests all his and his friends’ savings in an over ambitious deal of a shop which is destroyed in a massive earthquake. This mistake makes Govind feel guilty for an incorrect decision made. The second mistake is made when Govind gives in to the persistent passes made by Ish’s sister, and sleeps with her. As both his friends find out one after the other, accusing him of crossing a moral boundary, the first point in the bible of code between friends, Govind finds himself falling in the eyes of both his friends as a show of lack of character and chastity. The last mistake is set amidst Godhra riots when to save one of the Muslim kids being trained to become a cricketer by Ish, both Ish and Govind become witness to Omi’s death, who is bound to a communal Hindu party, as payment for a debt taken from his uncle.

The glorified mistakes in the book lack strength – why would one blame oneself for a natural calamity which has taken away your lifelong investment? And there is something called insurance which the self professed intelligent Govind has chosen to ignore completely. Still, this is the only mistake which still portrays some life. The next mistake, when Govind falls for Ish’s sister Vidya, there is hardly any love shown between the two. The only facts mentioned are that the female is very beautiful, and is more than ready to get active in the protocol for making babies. Some intimate and first love moments are thrown in here and there, but I fail to understand who smiles these days reading that ‘she touched my hand gently’. The easiness of making advances at her maiden home for a girl lacks practicality, and is very story like. The 3rd mistake is not very convincing either, when one of the friends dies in the riot. This is a bit of a saving grace after the shallow second mistake, but I could not comprehend how Govind holds himself responsible. The narrator sustains the first couple of years with these mistakes, and one day after, overcome by guilt and grief, pops up sleeping pills, and is rescued by our dear writer, to whom he has been narrating the story. The story ends like all such novels do, all the live characters coming together and hugging each other, thus forgiving and forgetting the past.

The language of the book is plain English, with no difficult words or literary phrases. The ingredients of friendship, cricket, love or lust and the great Hindu-Muslim divide in India is used to touch the feel-good and feel-bad points of the common man. To add a lit of glitter, there is even a short trip to Australia, featuring a line or two about inexhaustible cricketers and topless women.

verdict 

A total thumbs down.