Jaggism

Whats your name?
Where do you come from?
How would you rate our company on a scale of 1 to 10
Why the rating
Do you have any questions (The bored looking interviewer would begin closing the file)
Next candidate please.

And so on.. this was the second round of the "unique" recruiting process of a consulting firm designed to "strain the best of the best"

First round - resume shortlisting.

I didnt make it. Jaggi did. I was of course jealous.

Second round - Was this dumb mini interview:

1. Whats your name?
2. Where do you come from?
3. How would you rate our company on a scale of 1 to 10
4. Why the rating
5. Do you have any questions - begin closing the file
6. Next candidate please.

The expressionless interviewer went about it like clockwork. Nothing my classmates tried or said impressed him. Nothing.. till Jaggi walked in.

Last weekend Jaggi decided to pay me and Bangalore a visit.

Jaggi is a jolly sardar and my classmate from SIMSR. On June 1st 2004 me and Jaggi started our careers in the same company (not this consulting firm of course).

And May 31st 2008 - (the chennai vs Punjab semi final on giant screen) seemed the perfect way to celebrate 4 years in the rat race and relive those moments. (Yes Chennai trounced Punjab and Jaggi paid the bill!!)

Placement season was on. Some 4 and a half years back. Jaggi and me had the noble dream of becoming management consultants - a dream shared by 99.99% of our class. So there was a mad scramble when this one small time management consulting firm came to our campus with their "unique" recruiting process.

Name.. Where? Rating? Why the rating?

Any questions? no? file close.. Next!

and so on in a mechanical cyclic loop till Jaggi walked in.

Jaggi goes through all the standard questions with standard answers.

Name, where? How would you rate? Why the rating?

The interviewer goes on mechanically.

Any questions? Next candi.. Yes Sir, I have a question - Jaggi all bright and clear.

Interviewer is midly surprised. He has stopped turning over the file.

His ears perk up. Has he heard correctly? This was not supposed to happen. The candidate was supposed to say no and move out.

But! This was Jaggi. Smiling face, bearded and turbanned right in front of him with a question on his lips.

Ok go ahead says the interviewer expecting some smart ass question on the global economy and its effect on consulting.

Sir begins Jaggi his smile widening..

"How would YOU rate your company?"

WHAT???

The interviewer is aghast. First time someone else has asked him this question.

Jaggi is still smiling waiting for the answer.

Well...er hmm the interviewer recovers.. well I'd give it a 7 and sighs with relief and starts to put things away that this unpleasant episode is finally getting over and he can get back to his precious schedule.

But Jaggi is not done yet.

Sir he goes on in all seriousness.. Sir but why this rating?

They say that that the interviewer never fully recovered after this fateful day. Some wild reports say that the interviewer came running out of the hall and refused to interview anyone again in his life.

And our juniors say that this was the last time this uppity consulting firm ever came to our campus.

Later that day in the canteen we all had a good laugh about it.

Jaggi's similiar advertures or rather misadventures were so common in college that we had to coin a new word to describe them. This word is faithfully filed in our college year book for posterity under the "ABC of the batch of 2004" as - J for JAGGISM.

Come home one day and I'll show you :)