ISB Interview

It was a very plain/non-stress interview. I had to write an essay on mobile phones pre-interview. There were two panelists from the ad com.

Int 1: So Deepak you have a rich exp. working overseas. What is the difference between an American vs. Indian employee.
Me: Well, the average Indian employee works to meet his ends. He needs to work for his food, clothing and shelter to happen. Else he will end up in the street. So the job comes first before his personal interests. The average american is at a slightly higher level. Even if he doesn't work his govt. will take care of him to a certain extent. So his interests come above the job per se. This is quite a generalization and may not be true for all cases.

Int 1: Ok. That was a positive. Did you see any negatives?
Me: Well yes. I'll have to generalize again. Although americans seem to get on to their field of interest a lot of them begin to wane. They do not seem to higher their bar once they reach a certain point. The average Indian though always tries to improve his status quo. Also Indians work better as a team.

Int 1: Ok Deepak. Say I have an american employee and an Indian employee. Fit them in two of the three roles namely Superior/Peer/Sub-ordinate.
Me: Ok. Once again I'll generalize. I'll place the American as a superior and the Indian as a peer.

Int 1: And why would you do so?
Me: The average American is very objective and will not let emotions sway his decisions. So it is good to work under him. At the same time the american is very individualistic and his free will rules the reign. So he will not be a good peer/sub-ordinate. The Indian mentality is more of a collective mind. So the Indian makes an excellent team mate. I have relished teamwork with my Indian colleagues and so I would fit the Indian as a peer.


Int 1: Ok Deepak. Please do a SWOT analysis of Infosys. (This went on for 20 mins or so)
I asked for a paper and pencil and my main points were around
Strengths : Existing talent pool, Derisked business model
Weakness : Low domain knowledge, new talent entering the company
Opportunity : Large accounts present opportunity to move up value chain
Threats: Being in ADM space makes Infy easily replacable

Int 1: Comment about the standard of new employees in the company.
Me: The standard is going down a little bit not 'coz of the inherent ability of the candidates. They come loaded with so much info that they take everything for granted. They expect things to happen for them without any effort from their side.

Int 2: You mean too much info is bad.
Me: Absolutely. Only people with a certain level of maturity can handle that much of info.

Int 2: can you compare offshore vs. onsite roles ?
Me: Offshore roles are good to gain technical knowledge and process knowledge. Onsite roles help you learn business better as you work closely with the end users.

Int 2: So which is better?
Me: Each provides its own challenges and opportunities. Offshore more to deal with technical and process knowledge. Onsite deals with business and challenges managing client perception.

Int 1; What is your further career progression path in Infosys?
me: I have returned offshore after 2.5 years. I'm being mentored to become a Project Manager and will see a career growth in the delivery side.

Int 1: So why did you stick with Infosys.
Me: I never got bored and always got newer challenges.

Int 1: Will you go back to Infy post-ISB?
Me: Well. I would not like to go back to delivery. may be to the consulting division

Int 1: But why is it that so many TCS guys want to go back to TCS post-MBA?
Me: I do not have any comments on that.

Int 1: List two non-professional goals you have.
Me : Further my learning of Salsa dance and Spend more time with my family.
Int 1: The second one is tough to happen. Are you married?
Me: No

Int 2: When did you last do Salsa dancing?
Me: Few months ago when I was in US.

Int 2: What is difference between Salsa and Indian dance forms?
Me: Indian dances, like kathakali for e.g. have more depth and more scope for expressing emotions and have narrative ability. Salsa is more of a rhythmic dance and does not have so much depth.


Then they asked if I had any questions. I asked about exchange programs in ISB(WGCP in particular) and they explained the bidding process at ISB. I then asked why Google is not in the list of recruiters. They said Google didn't come last year but came for both years before that. I was then asked if it was my dream company and I was asked to reason it. I had some prepared stuff to talk about here.

Then I thanked ISB for the opportunity given to interview with them. Overall I had no stellar moments in the interview and my answers were very bland . Post-interview I got a feeling that they were probably not interested in me. Anyhow I'll have to keep my fingers crossed till mid February.

Wikipedia and Wikihow

Wikipedia has been around for a while now. But I have started appreciating it very recently. Although I have witnessed the internet do astonishing things that impact our day to day life I have always felt that there is so much more of untapped potential. One thing that I always wanted the internet to help me with was to satiate my appetite for information. While there are billions of websites I donno where to go for information. I want to know everything in the world that I ever need to know at one place and it should be easy to assimilate. Whether it be current affairs or historical information, sports or science, psychology or pharmacology, everything under the sun should be available.

Wikipedia does this job brilliantly. The free encyclopedia as it calls itself is an astonishingly simple website. It has an excellent screen layout and very friendly navigation. The articles come from authors around the world and it can be anybody including you and me. Making the gazzillion internet users as authors, wiki stands the best chance of becoming the ultimate repository of information in the electronic world. The clear categorization and the international multi-lingual outlook shows the futurstic direction of this website. I'm gaga about this website and it ranks at the top of my list. The fact that this website runs on donations is another surprising thing for me. It may not be too late before some corporate giant devours this company. But I only hope that its essence remains the same.

Another wonderful offshoot from the wiki stable is the wikihow website. How many times have you wondered how to do fishing or how to bake a cake. If you have any "How to" questions you just need to go wikihow and I'm almost certain you will have your answer. I had a tough time removing the shell of an egg and thought lemme see what wikihow has to say. And lo behold it came back with a dozen articles and guess what, now I'm an expert at peeling hard boiled eggs. So what are you waiting for. Log on to wikipedia and wikihow and know the world around you.

Thanksgiving

As I sit back at the fag end of the Thanksgiving weekend, I see that I have had quite a week. I submitted my INSEAD application on Wednesday. Soon I heard results of some of the R1 applicants. Some really good profiles have not received calls. Some believe it is due to perceived lack of diversity and some blame their own essays. Why on earth do I have to read these right after I submitted my app :( ... I have started getting some self-doubts about my application. Even though nothing can be done after submitting your applications I started thinking about the $250 application fees !!! I could have done a hell lot of things with that much money !

Aside of this I had a good trip to Grand lake, Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a serene lake about an hour east of Tulsa, OK. We were a party of eight and we had good fun grilling, cooking, schmoozing and not to mention boozing. My favorite white wines(Chardonnay/Zinfedal are my favs) were not available for the first two days and so I had to remain sober, but on the last day got some and went into my orbit ;-) ! Came back on saturday night. Today I did some shopping for my return back home. Got a Girgio Armani code perfume for myself a nice watch for mom.

Three more weeks before I head back home. I have lots of things to do by then. Must complete the company mandated certification, must get my Singapore visa for the stoppage enroute home, must do some more shopping and ensure that my transition of responsibilities is as smooth as possible. When to the world it looks like I'm all done I'm just boiling inside :-). I plan to blog soon on my total experience in the US. It also occurs to me that I can prepare a lot of travel blogs too.

Anyhow Happy Thanksgiving to y'all !

MBA blues

Again I took a break from blogging. Been busy with so many things. I have been so much occupied with my MBA thoughts the last 4 months. With a lot of self doubts about my aptitude level 5 years after college I prepared for my GMAT. I did quite well and surprised myself with my ability to compete gamely. My apping process is on full swing and a week ago I posted my ISB app. In hindsight I have a feeling that I have not submitted my strongest of apps. But I have to let bygones be bygones.

My INSEAD app is coming along well now. I hit some fairly good ideas for the culture shock essay and my describe myself essay has also come along well. I'm really liking the B-school admission process. After this I plan to app to RSM and MBS. If things don't work I'll look at US B-schools next year. Irrespective of what the outcome is, I think the whole process has made me think deeply about myself and what i want to do in life.

Looping in Winamp

It has been almost a week now. This one song is looping on and on in my Winamp !!! It is a song called "You're beautiful" by James Blunt. The video is also excellent. The guitar is excellent and the pitching of the song is great. And the lyrics relate well to guys like me ;).

I was never a great fan of vilayathi music except for the fact I knew the really big hits of the likes of Michael Jackson, Backstreet boys, Enrique etc. courtesy channel hopping and occasional college culturals. Recently I have started listening to a lot of english music. I have started enjoying the likes of Blunt, Kelly Klarkson and Toby Keith. Looks like I have started becoming more eclectic. I'm not too sure but I think this is way to go !!!

Now itz just 32 days more for my trip home !!!!

Blogging after a long time

It is a really really long time since I blogged last. I do not know what I want to blog about now but just felt like I should start out again. Thousands of things are happening around us. What do I write about???
Well this week was hectic with lot of things happening at work. Did some partying last night at a nearby country club called "Electric Cowboy". As usual I did not drink (I'm the sober guy u see). Did couple of line dances I learnt last year from the Topeka Youth association(Supported by the Kansas state Govt.). I did meet a lot of americans outside of work because of this. I came to know a lot about the culture of people in Kansas. These people are quite religious. I started paying more attention when I drove on Topeka roads and I did see a lot of churches here.
I have now got 33 days more before start to home sweet home. Yeah I'm starting from here on 15th June, 2006 and I'll be in Chennai on 16th night. I'll have 3 weeks of fun. I've set up a countdown clock in my google home page and I love to see it ticking. It'll be peak summer when I reach Chennai. But whatever I love Chennai !!!
Now gotta go and make some sambar for tonight's pot-luck party !!! The return to blogging feels nice. Hope I blog more !!!