‘Unprofessionalism’ could have started with ‘S’, only if…

Note: I have not written this blog as an author or writer. It is based on the true incidents and is written/issued in public interest.

The month of August is not at all soothing in Delhi. The sun rays pierce the chest of earth mercilessly and the tides of hot air can burn one’s face easily. Afternoons are fierce and brutal. I could easily imagine how difficult it is to step out without a vehicle? But there are few people, who are out-stationed and have made Delhi their ‘KARMA-BHOOMI’in order to earn their livelihood. Among such countless people, there is one name, my name.
I am also out-stationed and do every daunting task to keep myself alive in a selfish city like Delhi. Away from all political zigzags and cranky ideas of easy money, I and people like me work constantly and hard to keep feeding our never satisfied stomachs and dare to see small dreams of supporting our family.
This agonizing and unfortunate episode took place with me in the month of August last year. And the reason why I am sharing this shameful event with you guys is quite evident. I don’t want you guys to suffer through the same thing, what I have experienced.
I returned home on 17/08/12 from a night shift and was trying to sleep. I received a call from a lady who asked me to check my email. With my eyes half opened and mind still dozing off, I checked my e-mails. For a moment my eyes glittered, there was an email from someone called Shweta Jha from ‘Saviance technologies’. It was an interview call for ‘Share-point support’ position.
I was working for almost 3 years with the same kind of profile and it had become monotonous for me. My eyes stretched to its full diameter and mind hauled itself back from sleep. It was a chance to change my profile and do something new. I instantly went in the refuge of Google to know more about Saviance. It was not that big company but my perception for such companies was good. I always thought that companies like it, do recognize the talent and potential instead of pondering through the CV and making pale faces on the mentioned diplomas or degrees. It was an opportunity for me….or was it?
I checked the interview timing and address. As soon as I saw the address, my confidence and happiness both jolted a bit. The address was 25kms, up-down 50kms, away from my house and without a vehicle it was a tough ask in that vicious climate. I felt my eye-lids getting heavier every second. After spending 12 hours on an escalation desk, where everyone who comes is definitely pissed off, it was next to impossible for me to travel through such heat and ruthless winds. My zeal of changing the job and entering a new domain seemed vaporizing.
Thanks to the boredom and homogeneous-ness of my life, I shook my head and dipped my face into the cold water to completely get rid of lethargy. I eventually decided that I would go against the forbidding hot wind and robust instincts to sleep.
11:30 am, 17 of August 2012. I was waiting anxiously in the office of Saviance technologies. My body was almost covered by the sweat and my bright shirt had struggled all the way to here, in order to maintain its presentable look. After gulping two cups of chilled water and feeling the coldness of AC, my body temperature relaxed a bit and sweat started to vanish rapidly. Within 15 minutes, I was looking fresh and ready. I took out my smart phone and browsed every possible page to know everything about share-point.        
‘Chandan Sharma’
Somebody called my name and my heart skipped a beat, or may be two. I held the arms of chair to get some support, as I found myself unable to stand by my own. I stood still for a moment and took a long breath, as long as I could. I went in with gentle steps as if stepping on a boat in river.
Rohit Mahajan, the MD of the company had dug his face in his 19 inches monitor of ‘MACINTOSH’.I gently stepped in with his permission and stood in front of him (I imagined a goat standing in the shop of a butcher, unaware of what’s coming).   
‘Sit down.’ His voice was gentle but there was an authority in it. The interview started and he asked me every possible question he could. My current profile, skills, sales record, life, writing, goals, blah blah. He entered a cocoon of silence for 3 minutes and I could feel my heart in my mouth.
‘Why don’t you consider the position of technical recruiter, US staffing?’ He was evidently impressed.
‘What?’
‘Yes, I think you have the caliber and we are hiring for the position as well. Think about it. Though you have cleared the interview for the share point support as well but I will ask you to give priority to technical recruiter’s post.’
‘I would need some time sir. May be, 1 hour or so.’
He started talking about the opportunity and scopes in this profile. He almost convinced me about the profile and asked me to fill up a form. He asked me to meet Shweta, once I decide to join, and asked me to collect my offer letter from her.
I quickly evacuated his room and felt bliss in my heart. I felt something good coming my way. I quickly went to the nearest ‘Dhaba’ to eat something. I was hungry as never before.
While gobbling the tasteless ‘Aaloo ka Pratha’ I again took refuge of my well known savior, Google. I consumed everything about technical recruiter along with the ‘Pratha’. It was a challenging profile but was interesting. I closed my eyes and felt my heartbeats in my ear.
I called Shweta instantly and told her about the interview and my acknowledgement for the profile. She didn’t respond well. She was also a recruiter but in domestic, her jittery English perhaps was not enough for international processes. I asked her whether I could come right away. She amazingly denied and asked me to go home. She added that she will call me once everything is ready (may be offer letter).
I returned back facing same brutal winds and intolerable heat. It was above 24 hours since I had not slept. I crashed on bed as soon as I entered my room, praying for delay of my company’s cab.
Days were passing rapidly but my mobile didn’t get the privilege to receive call from Shweta. I called her trillion times but she didn’t pick up, sending e-mails to her became a daily affair for me. An unknown fear entered my heart.
The next day I send ‘nth’ e-mail to Shweta. And I called him from a friend’s mobile. She picked up the phone. I was surprised that she was still alive. I thought she must have dead and therefore no one was picking phone on her desk. I asked her about my offer letter ‘as politely as I could’. She said that ‘it’s in progress’. As soon as she said that, image of banner with ‘work in progress’ written on it flashed into my mind. These banners rest for eternity near under construction over-bridges etc. I asked her the number of Rohit Mahajan or someone senior. Her answer was a blunt ‘NO’. It was harsher than Pakistan’s reply on India’s plea to arrest ‘Hafeez Saeed’.
That day I was upset and sad, but as an Indian, I had my weapon ‘JUGAD’. I found Rohit’s e-mail address from ‘Linkedin’ and sent him a mail across, about the whole episode. Fortunately he replied and assigned my case to ‘Anjali Pratap’ (Vice president).
After unfortunate and disastrous deal with Shweta Jha, I was assigned to meet Anjali Pratap. She called me and asked me to meet Mr Pradeep Yadav at 7pm on 29 of August. I thanked my angels who gave me another chance and went to meet the person on the mentioned day and time. I had to go to my office too but I decided to go a bit late.
I was in the ‘Saviance’ waiting for Mr. Pradeep Yadav. Finally I was called after waiting for 2 hours at 9 pm. He was staring at my resume as if was trying to find something which was not there at all. He looked at me and asked me whether I had any experience in the profile? I told him that I do not have, but I have learnt a lot about it since the time I was selected for the profile. He smiled, it was a crooked smile.
He asked me a few questions and I answered all. I had really learnt many things from Google regarding technical recruitment and US staffing. After 40 minutes of question-answer session he smiled again at me, it was a smile of surrender. He asked me to leave for the day and informed that Anjali would call me up.
Next day, I was perhaps in the deepest part of my sleep when I heard a nostalgic music. It was familiar but my brain was confused. The voices of my dream were also getting mixed with that sound.
‘MY MOBILE’
I picked up the mobile with lightening speed and after seeing Anjali’s name flashing on the screen, connected it as soon as I could.
‘Hi Chandan, Rohit wants to meet you on 4th of September at 11 am.’
Again?? 50kms of up-down.
But I did it; for the sake of getting an opportunity I did it.
Date: 4th of September 2012. Time: 11am. I waited in the reception area for the MD of the company, Mr Rohit Mahajan, who was in a meeting. After reading every column and advertisement of ‘The Times of India’, I looked at my watch. It was 2 pm. I was hungry, annoyed, bored and devastated. I called Anjali and asked her about the meeting I was supposed to have with the MD.
She came to the reception area. Her mature face was well covered under makeup. She smiled and apologized to me. She said that Rohit would not be able to meet today because of his hectic schedule. I felt miserable. I felt as if my time had no value. I hadn’t slept for over 24 hours; I was supposed to go to office that day for a night shift again; I hadn’t ate anything since morning and now, after wasting 3 hours, which I could have utilized in sleeping, the MD of the company can’t meet me, even for 5 minutes. Perhaps my anguish was visible on my face, therefore Anjali proposed me to meet another person (don’t remember the name now). I wasn’t able to understand whether I was ‘to be employee’ of that company or ‘to be groom’? Why was I supposed to meet every Tom, Dick and Harry of that small company?
Anyways, beggars are no choosers. I met this person who constantly tried to manipulate me over my salary. Finally he assured that they will send me the offer letter in couple of days and also told me that Rohit had told him about me.
That day while returning home I felt tired, exhausted and weak. I could not remember when I slept after reaching home, 25kms back from the Saviance technologies at around 4 pm.
When I woke up, it was 10pm at night. I quickly picked up my mobile and browsed through the miss calls and messages from my TL (team leader) and manager. I called my TL with a heavy heart. He scolded me to an extent that I felt throwing my INR 17000/- worth smart-phone. I also saw the SMS from Anjali that she wanted to discuss salary with me again. Somehow I felt no happiness.
I took an auto and reached my office with a pale face. My TL told me that they were giving me CAP1 (corrective action plan). It was the first time in my career that I was about to get a CAP.
Considering that I was offered 35k (34 was my existing) from Rohit and assuming that my job was confirmed in that company I resigned from my company. It seemed better than signing a CAP (which appeared like signing on the knife which will eventually cut my own throat). I returned home and slept again. I didn’t eat anything that entire day.
Next day I received a call from Anjali and she proposed 25k salary instead of 35k and no cabs. I had no energy to negotiate; hence, I accepted it without uttering a word apart from acknowledgement. She asked me to send an e-mail regarding it.
I sent an acknowledgement e-mail on 11/9/2012 and asked her about shift timings and few more questions regarding the joining. She answered me on 19/09/2012 about shift timings and since then I have not heard anything from them. Every time I called her, she said they are working on it. Slowly I lost the hope of getting a job there and decided to work elsewhere.
This world is harsh and selfish. People betray you on every step and try exploit you in every way possible. But I had a good perception about MNCs, at least about their professionalism but after dealing with ‘SAVIANCE TECHNOLOGIES’ my perception was rightly shattered into pieces of distrust, betrayal and ill feelings.
Many would question me that why I am taking the pain of writing down all these things after almost 8 months, the answer rests in my inbox, where I got an email from the same company which talks about an opening for a post of ‘Technical Recruiter’.   I think that the word ‘UNPROFESSIONALISM’ could have started with letter ‘S’ (may be silent), only if the English-creator had met anybody from this company. I still respect Rohit for his vision but whatever his colleagues and company did, cannot be summarized in a word like ‘unprofessionalism’ or ‘bizarre’.