The Call that changed my life…

I was in deep sleep when the phone rang! Who could it be? Disturbing my afternoon siesta, wasn’t something I took lightly! Little did I know that this one phone call would change the course of my life….

A polite, cultured voice said ““Hi…. You have been selected and we are offering you the job. Can you report for work, in Mumbai on Monday?” These were just the words I had been longing to hear. After all, employing a fresh graduate wasn’t all that attractive to employers. Everybody looked for “experience” and my question was, “If no one gives me a chance, how WILL I ever get experience?”

I had been job hunting and interviewing for over 8 months. My parents did not understand why I couldn’t get a job while the neighbour’s daughter, the niece in Calcutta and Mr. Murthy’s son had all bagged prized jobs in no time at all. I was a bit sick of explaining and kinda getting fed up of the jibes and taunts. What a fresh graduate goes through, while job hunting, only she knows.

So, finally, I was selected! Monday was 2 days away! Time was short and even though I was thrilled, I hardly got time to celebrate! I had to get moving: flight tickets, packing, politely refusing to pack the pressure cooker mom thrust on me, and saying no to dad’s prized “pen set” which was close to 20 years old and barely wrote! He firmly believed I would need it “someday” and that would regret not having taken it with me. Saying bye to friends was a hurried affair.

Mumbai here I come! My first job with a multinational, a fat pay cheque in the offing, a chance to hobnob with the Mumbaikars. I was so excited that I forgot my fears! Fears of living alone, as a PG, and living in a strange city, where I knew no one. I couldn’t stop thinking about my new life in the corporate world.
Anxious, nervous and excited…day one began! We were asked to assemble in a conference room for an HR briefing. Then came the formal offer letter and the access card.

I have since moved on. Five years of work ex behind me and now in my third job, I still cannot forget the thrill of that phone call that brought tidings of my first job! My heart still misses a beat when I think of it, till date!

- Shraddha Kaul

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