- I do solemnly declare that I shall blog more frequently henceforth -
Now that I have broken my silence, let me elaborate on my current life. This is strictly for those of you who keep checking on me regularly to see if I'm still alive!
I am in Geneva, working for a flavors and fragrances company - Firmenich. I had the induction session yesterday and I think I will like working here, for along with their success stories, they also mentioned their failures and lessons learnt. It takes courage for a corporation to say that to its new employees, and also shows the level of trust they have in us. I realise that I am not being chronologically correct, so let me start at the very beginning.
Once I realised that being at Nestlé wasn't doing much to my learning curve and growth path, I decided to go back to India - to some other project or job. This was around August 2006. My departure was agreed to be at the end of March 2007 and accordingly, I put my resumé out on all the usual portals. Just to see the job market in UK, I also put it up on Monster-UK. Along with the Indian offers, I was also called for European job openings. However, the fact that they would have to sponsor my work permit was a dampener for many companies - so much so that they didn't even proceed with the interviews.
And then, one fine day, about a month before my depature, I was contacted by a recruitment agent, R, who wanted to meet me about 2 openings, one each with competitors of same industry. The meeting had a funny incident associated with it. As you know, French is the first language in this part of Switzerland. R called me and fixed an appointment to meet at Lausanne on Thursday morning of the next week. I agreed and accordingly scheduled my meetings at office so that I was free on Thursday morning for the meeting with R. On Wednesday, I was rushing to get to office when I received a call from R, saying she was waiting for me at the agreed place!! For a moment, I was caught offguard. I thought I managed to commit a faux-pas by being tardy for the meeting which mattered. Hey! Wait a minute! It's Wednesday today! Now it was R's turn to be confused. Hehehe... Apparently, she mistook Thursday to mean Wednesday. Anyway, we met the next day and after listening to my experience, she told me frankly that the openings were for BW Dev experts and that my profile did not meet the requirement. Since I was not too keen to stay on away from home, this didn't hit me hard, though I requested her to convey to the clients that I was willing to be judged technically before being rejected based on my experience. We parted on good terms and I never expected anything positive to turn out from that meeting.
A week passed by before R mailed again - this time with an appointment arranged with one of the clients. I was asked to go to Geneva for the technical interview. On D-day, I jauntily set off, only to reach the wrong office (They have 3 offices in the area). During the hour long journey, I had worked myself into a bundle of nerves but all that was forgotten in the anxiety to reach the right place on time. I must have made an amusing sight - when I stumbled into the office, apologising profusely to O (one of the people who was going to interview me and who received me into the office). Thankfully, O turned out to be a very humourous guy and put me at ease within 5 minutes. As it turned out, the TL was off ill and joined us over the phone. And then the interview began. They asked me stuff and I replied honestly, knowing I had nothing to lose. When I didn't know something, I just said that plainly, without making a big fuss about it. I guess my confidence got through to them. After the interview, I went back to my life and the technicalities of packing my luggage to send home by cargo. With a week remaining for the take-off, I shot off a perfunctory mail to R, thanking her for her help and support and informing her that I would be leaving within a week. Did she receive any feedback concerning me, coz I would like to know areas where I can improve?
That mail set off a series of events. Apparently, the two guys were very impressed by my positive outlook and enthusiasm. They recognised that I didn't have much of a functional knowledge but that could be remedied by trainings. They had given a positive feedback to their HR, who, as HR is wont to do, sat on it for many days. When they realised that I would be leaving to India soon, they arranged another series of meetings - they called it "discussions". That was to take place 2 days before my take-off. So, I went trudging again. I thought it would get over in 2 hours and took permission to take off for 3-3.5 hours that afternoon. Little did I know that I was going to be there for the whole of the afternoon!
First, I had a "discussion" with the HR. During the middle of it, I realised that it was the "negotiation" that was going on. The day suddenly seemed very bright! :P After speaking to me for about 40 minutes, the lady said that the next person would meet me in another room in 20 minutes or so. Dutifully, I picked my bag up and went there. It was snowing on and off outside, and I spent my time standing at the window and looking out towards the Jura. Suddenly, I got called by a frantic Raj. He'd organised a farewell for me and didn't know why and where to I had disappeared. I was trying to calm him on the phone without revealing the purpose of my visit to Geneva, all the while finding the situation quite amusing. It was a pity that I couldn't make Raj see the humour...
While speaking to him, someone walked into the room. I gestured towards the phone and silently requested some time to finish the conversation. The person walked out with an understanding nod. I managed to end the conversation with Raj and walked towards the door. At the same time, the person peeped in to check if I was done. As he shook my hand and introduced himself as the VP of the project, I kicked myself a thousand times!! And Raj too!! Where there was some hope before, a cold certainty was taking hold. I wasn't gonna get this job, afterall. Strangely, I still didn't care. I think that was the best interview of my life!! I was spontanoeus, positive and confident - and looked undaunted by the fact that the VP of the project was taking my interview. You see? I was so certain that I wouldn't be selected. :) This guy seemed visibly impressed by my attitude towards the end of the interview!!
I had one other "discussion" which was not my very best - but by now, I hardly cared. I was then told to go home and another person, who couldn't find the time to meet me today, would call me the next day. I thanked O, who was showing me out and went back to Vevey. The next day, I received a call as promised but the person was only interested in knowing if I would stay on in the project, inspite of social pressures to get married and settle down! I assured him on that front and I was done! Oh yeah! One other thing I forgot to mention is that each of the person I met, made a big deal out of my age. According to them, I was too young to get this kind of experience. Lucky me, that they don't know the job scenario in India! :) In fact, the HR lady wasn't calculating one component of tax since she thought I was not yet 25! That really was the best compliment ever!!
Ok! So, I left from Switzerland soon after that. After being delayed by a stray snow-storm in March, I made it into the welcoming arms of my parents. I spent two weeks in Bhopal. Awesome! Then lots of things happened - I resigned, spent time at home with family. Dad got transferred back to Bangalore. Gran came to stay with us due to her ill health. She recovered. I got the offer from this company. It seemed like a good alternative, even though it meant leaving my parents again. Once again, my family proved itself as a champion by supporting me through this, and I found myself in Geneva again!
I've been here a month now. Work hasn't yet taken off and I've just shifted into my apartment. I'm taking french classes (Oui! C'est correct!) and some driving classes to get used to the rules here. I'm looking forward to this life. For the first time, I am in a new place, without any support structure in place. It is like making a new start in the literal sense and I promise to keep you posted. :)
