The ONLY question to be asked in an interview!

As an interviewer how many of us have felt "How many more should I need to ask to be sure I have asked enough?"

As an applicant how many of us have felt "How many more questions/rounds am I going to be subjected to before they make a decision?"

ஒரு பானை சோத்துக்கு ஒரு சோறு பதம்

Tamil Proverb

It suffices to check one grain to ascertain the quality of the entire pot.

If you have been on this rocking boat on either side of the table then here's a guide to making life simpler. Interviewers can just 'use' the template question while applicants can be 'prepared' for it. Sit tight and let's get going.

To a fresher

Q: Could you detail your thought process, approach & experience in writing your resume?

P.S. Hire the one who responds to this with utmost conviction, everything else can be trained.

To a founder seeking investment

Q: Please help to explain your engagement with your repeat / long-time customer(s)?

P.S. This could save the pitching, vetting time to a great extent for all parties involved.

To an architect

Q: Can you explain your domain of expertise to me like I am a 5-year-old?

P.S. The one who can do this can architect something that does not need their support after architecting it, even to simply understand it.

To an HR professional

Q: Could you list out the top 3 qualities you look for in a potential hire and substantiate it?

P.S. This gives insights on what is near and dear to the person and how they would treat the people in the organization if hired.

To a Program Manager

Q: Can you show me a screenshot of your email client's folder-pane?

P.S. If you can see that organized and managed, the person is worth the salt in the management skills.

To a Software Developer

Q: Apart from googling, name the top three forums you reach out to and for what reasons?

P.S. The devil is in the detail ;-)

To a QC Professional

Q: Name one issue with your phone that is a definite no-go for production?

P.S. The devil is in the detail ;-)

To a Scrum Master

Q: Can you explain the difference between what's in theory and in practice of this role?

P.S. The quality lies in the understanding of the real world of what scrum masters do.

To a person wanting to move from technical to a management role

Q: How would you respond to the question "Why you want to make a move from technical stream to a management role when you don't have any real reason whatsoever"?

P.S. Hire the one who is convincing yet with conviction.

To a customer support executive

Q: What's the percentage of idiots have you interacted with, in your experience?

P.S. Look for empathy quotient.

What's your checklist that makes or breaks an interview?

A Subliminal Jigarthanda from Karthik Subburaj

                   This is not a review and hence watching the movie before continuing reading this is highly recommended. What makes the premise of this movie a herculean challenge is the fact that this is not a unknown path but was one that was tried umpteen times with little or no success (Kandukondain Kandukondain, Vellithirai to name a few). Karthik Subburaj managed to win over it with such elegance that no one would care to say that he did that by chance but was destined to do that right from the time this idea dawned on him. All said and done in various reviews about the numerous deftness of his craftsmanship, it is quite obvious that certain aspects are privy to only this man (Karthi Subburaj) and those being all the subliminal stuff he has added and still guffawing at innocent digestion of it by the audience & dimwit industry personnel. Here's a little compilation of my attempt to pick his brain on the subliminal yet hard hitting messages.

• #7 - For those who believed that this was Karthik Subburaj's story or its exaggerated fictional anecdote then you are wrong. Because the various characters splurged across the entire 3 hour length are not those who happened to be there in his story but a clear casting after a detailed profiling of handpicked bunch of real people based on the experiences from the lives of many struggling directors (to be).
• #6 - Life's full of distractions & pessimism (Lakshmi Menon, Karunakaran) when you work towards your ultimate goal, those who steer unfazed reap its clear benefits.
• #5 - Most of you would have noticed the gangster part, if you were wondering where the musical part was, watch again! Close your eyes and listen to the attitude in background scores. Musicals doesn't necessarily need to have the 'song' segments or have music as a part of storyline & screenplay.
• #4 - The cinematic success of Bobby Simha as Azuguni Kumar is a sounding proof that many a time in life what you think as your strength (fear inducing, thick skinned, killer) is not really the ones that gives you the accolades or takes you places but your talents though absolutely unnoticed or in this example hated by you, gives that soul soothing everything that you have been searching your entire life. You need to make peace with your malign mind and start believing on what others enjoy about you instead.
• #3 - Sangili Murugan's late night roadside advice is a mere hallucination when it comes to real life, its just you and no one else who has to back yourself.
• #2 - Remember the three monkeys & a gangster boss with the protagonist's attempt to crack the story? The analogy being cracking the gangster boss's story being achieving success in films via Booze friendships, Sleaze relationships & Plagiarized story. A mix of one or all of these has been the traditional pathways while true achievers steer clear of all these either by chance or by choice.
• #1 - The last ten minutes or so depicts that the practical world is very much accomodative, it has the space for the wide spectra of directors | actors how much ever good | bad they are.

Top 5 Reasons Why Vishwaroopam Should be Banned in Tamil Nadu

              Just heard here and here too last night that the Vishwaroopam screening was (allegedly) banned in Tamil Nadu on request from the Muslim minority representatives and I sort of got the hang of the plausible underlying reasons. Without further ado here are the top five reasons for it.

• #5 - The movie did not really represent the minority of Muslims in Tamil Nadu but rather showed certain elements that exist at large on a global level, which is really an insult to the locals. Of all people, Kamal Hassan being a Tamil movie maker should have given priority to the practices and lives of the Tamil speaking ones rather than what he had shown. 
• #4 - National Muslim groups had their share of limelight with issues like Kashmir, Gujarat and what not, every now and then leading to media attention on them. "The most recent development in Andhra Pradesh on Muslim leaders was the spark to  awaken us and we the Tamil Muslims think tanks decided unanimously to make us 'visible' to gain media attention" said a Tamil Muslim primary school graduate on grounds of anonymity.
• #3 -  Kamal Hassan said in an interview that Muslims are a minority only in this part of the world however they are a major section of people in the world at large. Hence this triggered fears in Tamil Muslims that they might lose all the government ordered perks that they enjoy as minorities if the government sided with the actor in those views.
• #2 - Some Muslims who had worked in this movie had said Kamal Hassan had portrayed a Muslim character with so much deft and authenticity that he could easily  be seen as an age old Muslim. This further triggered fears amongst the Tamil Muslim minorities that if by chance Kamal converts to Islam, he might take over the coveted leadership roles of the current Tamil Muslim leaders across the state of Tamil Nadu.
• #1 - This is the most important reason I believe, which is a two part reasoning when Kamal decided to showcase a special screening of Vishwaroopam to the Tamil Muslim group leaders. One part being, the Muslim leaders had asked for a few hundred more extra tickets for the show so that their extended families could be accommodated for that special screening, which apparently was denied wholly by Kamal. Other part being, after the end of the screening, most of the 'viewers' could not grasp the actual story or portrayal or even the character names for that matter, as they were busy looking for number of Muslims shown and hence they requested Kamal for another show for which he asked them to watch it on DTH, a week later.

PS: This is a pure work of fiction on a satirical front.

PPS: Any resemblance to reality is purely a coincidence, unintentional and unwarranted.

The Promise

It takes months to conspire.

A few think alone while 

some discuss with people, 

for days together.

Minutes of contention 

within one's own self 

followed by

propagation of the decision to the entire world.

A few seconds/minutes/days it holds

&

finally that resolution gets broken.

And hence begins yet another new year!!!

Top Five Ways To Eradicate Poverty In India

      Wikipedia defines Poverty as "The state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money". Its been 60+ years now since India has been attached with this tag of being a poverty ridden Independent Country. Its high time this situation is addressed once and for all. Being 'a responsible citizen' of this nation its my duty to put my best foot forward in marching towards eradicating poverty. The following is my Panchsheel which would 'eradicate' poverty. 

• Calling Representatives - An easy and age old way is first to identify the poverty ridden regions and then its representatives. Call them for a meeting and buy them out one by one and if you can completely appease the entire section and bring them to your side, the problem is solved and these representatives would take care that no more in future someone would raise a voice telling there are poor and suffering people.  
• FDI Strategy - Identify the poorest village, take away land from the locals. Give it at throwaway leases to MNCs across industrial verticals to invest and setup industries, which in turn makes the real estate boom, land value increase, Malls come up and the locals can be inducted into the workforce and boom, the village becomes rich in spending and lifestyle.
• Mass Movement - Take a census of the approximate number of people who're poor, clear up a State (that borders with another country) and move all the poor people to this state. Reach out to TRS party's Chandrashekar Reddy's book of "Creation of New State for DUMMIES". Else use the existing states like Jammu & Kashmir or Arunachal Pradesh and once the migration of all the poor people is complete, disown the state and give them  to Pakistan or China respectively, which would solve the border issues as well make India free of poverty.
• Media Bluff - Buy out any and all forms of Media (for this cause as well) and make them propagate to  the world to believe that India is a poverty free country and most importantly close all gaps to prevent the International Media from finding the truth. I think 'The Namesake Gandhi' family has pioneered in this feat and just that they have to extend their support and knowledge for this cause too.
• Rajapakse's Guide  - If none of the previous ones works out in eradicating poor, fly to Sri Lanka and talk to Mahindra Rajapakse. Remember this is the Brahmaastra, so use it only when all others fail. He will guide everyone who seeks his help on 'How to commit mass murders of innocent people with compelling evidence and still hold the head high with a sense of achievement'.

       Each of the above policies is a novel approach which may be suffice to achieve the goal as a stand-alone. However if doesn't work out that way, its wise to use combinations of all of these and make our country 'a better place' to live in. After all one need to eradicate the cause (poor people) in order for the effect (poverty) to cease to exist.

VIDHURAN by MacTrics - A Review

             I'm still awestruck and gaping, yet to come out having experienced a truly vivid display of sheer performance, at its best of coordination and execution. Having said that, in my humble opinion every performer or rather every person who has been a part of this theatrical production has to completely believe and go by the spirit that "What I did was not my best, what I've learnt and gonna do next could be my best". In that spirit of the game here's my take on what went right and what went wrong, where the right should be taken in the humble spirit of acceptance of appreciation and pride should not find a place and wrong should be taken as a scope of improvement of one's respective contribution and nothing personal.

• MacTrics - The Mummers
• You were the pillars both metaphorically and literally.
• As the entire part of yours involves a high degree of precision and timing, being the audience I did not see even a bit of that been missed out or delayed.
• Though the entire performance involved a lot of physicality there was not a compromise on the expressions at various points that required.
• I especially loved the expression of the girl who played Draupadi Kunthi during the moment where a Vidhuran's man would fall at their feet pleading them not to go to the palace and she would be the last to leave and I felt her reaction was just priceless mixed with anxiety, confusion, worry, concern etc.
• The quick regroups portraying the flash back, the mirrored maze and final exit from the cave were my pick of best of formations and executions.
• Dancers
• Firstly, the idea of portrayal of dangers bound for Pandavas via a dance form, was a commendable and novel interpretation.
• The expressions at varied points enhanced by the well synchronized lighting was just a visual treat.
• The single beat of foot tapping resonating out of 10 feet altogether at many instances was an audible testimony to the coordination with which you girls performed.
• A few instances of gestural and hand movement miss of coordination were seen which apparently is not a big issue however it just does not give the tag of being called a flawless one.
• The Joker
• The way The Joker began (circling the audience and making stunts) really set the mood of the audience to get hooked to the performance right from the word go.
• There was that variety of expressions delivered by you at different points in the monologue which was doing justice to the role however your dialogues could not keep pace with that clarity.
• The subsequent monologue transitions from the mime began to be felt like more of a dip in the attention level rather than increase or maintenance to the audience energy levels. However the course of monologue "managed" to uplift the energy levels towards the end of each of it just before being transitioned into mime again.
• The monologue as such was a long one and with many of the line endings being said twice and sometimes even more, made it even more dragging. 
• I felt it would have been better if The Joker finished just the way he started, circling around the audience and exiting finally.
• Background Score
• I must say that MacTrics have been what they are, with a huge role of such a wonderful and talented mind behind, scoring the music tracks.
• The music indeed has been the string that held and moved the puppets (Mummers & Dancers) in the way it is supposed to.
• The expectation bars have been raised and the next time it would be a lot more.
• Lights & Sound
• If Victor Paulraj had done this feat I would have said, "His experience and versatility has done it again", however it was Charles who did the magic and its truly laudable.
• The inexperience, 20+ meters of distance from the stage, swift light change queues did not cause even a bit of downtrend in the commitment and quality of his deliverable.
• Way to go Charles, hoping to see you create much more wonders in the future.
• Just a concern was the stage blue lights when The Joker walked in during every mime to monologue transition. I felt it was not necessary and the show would've gone good with a black out instead, each time.
• The Marketing
• I guess it was the toughest challenge to the MacTrics throughout the entire production.
• I feel MacTrics (one of a kind in this city, at least) truly needs a lot more support from this crew.
• Maybe the ones here need to get to the drawing boards and start from scratch if need be, for branding and reaching out to the best, for the future MacTrics productions.
• Shutter Monkeyz
• Being the video and promo partner, I understand it was the first attempt at something of this sorts and there is quite a lot of learning you guys have to take away from this.
• Promotions these days are of much reach and ease more on social network than anywhere, hence you should have done a lot more on that front. Probably teaming up with the Marketing team at some points would have given better results.
• Stage Manager
• Managing the stage with such an enormous cast being entirely present almost the whole of showtime is no easy task and I must appreciate the work done by the one responsible and it was truly commendable.
• The Monologue Writers
• No doubt that the script as such was well written and the crowd's applause and appreciation at many a time is the proof for that.
• However in my opinion there were certain elements that were either not thought off or rather overlooked which did not make the The Joker's role on par with the performance of the mime and dance.
• There's this fine line of cohesion and comfort that should be there between the performer and the script which I felt was lacking to some extent. The script as such was good and well written, The Joker as such was a good performer however these two coming together did not deliver that punch expected out of a monologue and need to be really worked out together, moving forward.
• The Concept
• The message that MacTrics wanted to send out to the audience was truly a practically viable and needed one, drawing parallels from VIDHURAN from Mahabharatha and hats off to you folks for choosing this.
• I felt the audience could have been more informed of what's coming on the show maybe in the form a prelude via something as simple as a handout while they walked in, so that they can be a little aware of what's in store for them because what's been performed on stage was something which they have  to relate and assimilate without a blink and stay engrossed. On top of all these expecting the audience to catch the connect on what's the message being told in the end all by themselves is a bit too much to expect out of them.
• The length of the monologue each time and the switches between monologue and mime transitions could have been crispier.
• The Director
• Last but definitely not the least, it was a fabulous and well orchestrated show and you can pat yourself and your team for such a brave and daring attempt at a showcase on something that was as different as this.
• As a follower of MacTrics performances I would expect the next direction to be totally different and most importantly not involve any of the formations or representations that I've seen already.
• Probably that's a huge challenge and well that is what MacTrics is all about, in my opinion.

      Definitely living to true spirits of what MacTrics believed this production of VIDHURAN to be, it made justice by being a show that was never seen or attempted before in the theatrical arena. Congratulations to the team MacTrics, yet again...!!!

'Hand'some People

          

          If you had been to an Indian wedding especially the South-Indian ones, you would have noticed that the feast would mostly be served on a large banana leaf. What’s more interesting is the fact on how people eat, finish off their share of food. Further on shifting focus to how the people’s hands are, at the end of a meal, struck coherence with the following analogy in my mind.

• All fingers draped – These are the set of people who have all their fingers dressed-up with food (mostly of the sorts of last consumed) and they are the type of people who would like to have a grab of anything that comes to their offing in life but may actually do/make-use-of that, uninterestedly. They do not seem to have the passion of enjoying whatever they do.
• All fingers clean – For a second, these people may give a picture as if they haven’t had a meal but on a closer introspection, one can notice that their deft lips and tongue have made their fingers clean (and maybe better than how it was, when they started). A variety of people fall in this category with the likes of those who thoroughly enjoy the experience of whatever they have, use or like in their lives, to those people who grab stuff (be it a company quarters, official travel, or even simply a friend’s treat and lots more) to utilize or enjoy it to the fullest at someone else’s expense.
• Few fingers draped – There are quite a handful of people, who make use of just few of their fingers as a compulsive, self-ascertained dining etiquette immaterial of how much they eat. These people are more of the self conscious type for whom their appearance and presentation of their own selves is next to being god. More often than not they choose not to do/have/use something that they like to, in the manner that it needs to be enjoyed/cherished because of “What if other may think…”, “What if I don’t look classy and decent?”  Sorts of questions pondering in their minds redundantly.
• Spoons in lieu of fingers – These kinds of people are a rare breed but yes they do indeed exist. They cannot subdue their practice of using cutleries for dining and, banana leaf meals are a no different ball game for them. They for sure end up as highlight elements for other meal-mates to giggle about, for the next few days.  They are interestingly a daring breed who stick to their principles and practices wherever they are and (most importantly) do not shy away from doing it in spite of the vulnerability involved of being laughed-at/commented/criticized. They are firm believers of what they do and are ready to debate endlessly justifying their actions, though it (their actions) may be out rightly out-of-place/unaccepted/refuted by many. 

With such a variety of ‘hand’some people around which one do you think you fall under..? or Are you totally a different unlisted genre?

Note :This post is a syndication to my article published on Thoughts On Sale at this link.

Born Winners !!!

It was a do or die race for survival and existence.

It was not on a track of 8 people nor a race of many laps.

It was a Marathon of thousands of aspirants

for the ONE WINNER GETS ALL contest.

In the end I WON,

so did Billions,

 in their respective Marathons, 

world over!!!

Achievement !!!

Right from the day she joined school

all she was coaxed repeatedly,

 was to excel in her education.

She topped throughout school,

further onto securing State-Ranks,

and the Gold-Medals at graduation,

was a pioneer in a ground-breaking research in her PG

and FINALLY went on to start her proud career as

"Dr.Mrs.Homemaker"

Top Five Reasons That Indian Girls Say While Rejecting a Guy's Proposal

    Proposing or professing their love to an Indian girl, a guy can get either an overwhelmingly excited YES or a "variety-filled" NO. There is also a third possibility of a "silent" reaction which will anyhow boil down either of the two above, finally. In the world of countless possibilities of reasons for why a girl would say NO,  here are 5 varied reasons which I think will top the list.

• #5  Caught Unaware - Who're you btw...? I don't even know your name in first place and how did you even think of approaching me and doing such a thing DOT.
• #4  Family Woes - You know what happened when my cousin sister did the same thing and how it bombed in our family. I do not want a similar story out of me as well. This will not work out for me various reasons, forget it DOT.
• #3  Brotherly love - I think the heading itself is self explanatory DOT. 
• #2 The Unclear Chatterbox - I never expected this from you. Off all people I never thought you would do this to me...blah blah...on and on and ends her bombastic speech obviously pointless DOT. 
• #1 The Ultimate Killer - (With sense of much concern for the guy and with no commotion) I "like" you a lot BUT...

The Great Indian Barterers

           The Barter system has been something that has been existent in the period prior to the thoughts and ideas of using money. Practices changed with the course of evolution however we Indians have still stuck onto the Barter trade in a variety of aspects of course with loads of reasons nonetheless and have given up a lot of  "pridefully ours" for things that may not be truly worth it...

• Cheap labor and remunerations FOR Indian Brains.
• Comparatively high paying outsourced good for nothing jobs FOR possibly challenging local jobs.
• Gymnasiums and Health SPAs FOR Yoga and Meditation.
• KFCs, McDs and Pizza Houses FOR கை ஏந்தி பவன்ஸ், Indian cuisine restaurants and dhabas.
• Traditional relationship oriented Indian marriages TO sex and convenience oriented to-be-named relationships.
• Natural nutrient-rich home made or country made hair supplements TO the likes of L'Oreals and Garniers.
• Beverages like Coke, Pepsi & Co FOR the elixir called water.
• The safety of Indians in the name the Nuclear Liability Bill.
• The age old traditional Kamasutra TO you know what.
• The well nurtured laziness in our blood succumbing TO punctuality, deadlines and quality policies. 
• From the various Indian English accents TO various English accents to the Indian languages.
• The Western lazy seats instead of the "Indian" styled muscle flexing exercisable toilets.
• Nike, Reebok, Adidas brands of clothes and accessories instead of the lesser known actual exporter brands from India.

...and those above are just a shred of a whole lot of stuff that we Indians have bartered/are bartering/will barter FOR!!!

Who's dumb?

We were schoolmates until 6th grade.

His parents made him drop out 

as he was a shame 

being the dumbest of guys on every possible front.

We never crossed roads, for years.

Following my IAS, I found I was posted in the State 

where he served as the 

Minister for Higher Education!!!

Divine Search

He knew about all my past,

present and future.

Well, many went in search of him terming him as god

some confided in the god-men instead 

some others found him on the Zodiac, Astrology, Palmistry and what not.

I realized he was none of these

and

was indeed my very own sub-conscious mind.

In Pain

It was wholly my decision

Hence I stayed mum

every-time I was bumped, slapped or even kicked.

When told, nobody believed 

cos I neither had the scars nor the red-spots.

Finally the excruciating pain breached my tolerance levels

and out of me came my naughty little rascal

whom I could only adore, even in pain!!!

The Raid

The bedroom was pretty dark,

BANG!!!, The door opened.

Policemen stormed in, turning on the lights.

A couple lay there semi-nude.

She hugged him in fright

both looked drowsy unaware of what's happening.

The Inspector exclaimed in joy

"Isn't it really cute to see her guard her twin brother, being just an year old"

Friends?

I liked what she told me about herself.

Her interests seemed to match with my preferences.

Even her zodiac sign was in-sync with mine

Of-course she was looking really pretty

and I asked her - "Can we be friends?"

She remained silent 

And even after many days I found her status to be

"Awaiting friend confirmation"

Lift

It was around midnight,

A lone guy was waving his hand for a lift.

I came to a halt, few meters past him.

He walked up-to me and hopped on and said

"Just keep driving, will tell you where!!!"

"Where exactly?", I questioned.

"Where are you going?" he asked, pressing his hand on my thigh.

Anything more to PR beyond talking?

                  Three things that are most commonly associated with Public Relations are phone, e-mails and newspapers. Most people either don't understand what PR is all about (and that constitutes 90% of the professionals who need it to support and grow their respective companies). The other 5% (include family/ friends and people you randomly meet) who no matter how much you try to explain derive this conclusion that it is one cool job where all you need to do is talk on the phone! and remaining 5% who understand the know-how of PR are rare finds, alas!

           So the following is to clarify that those working in a BPO or a call centre are paid for talking on the phone. While in this profession it is just one of the tools to communicate with clients/media/internally just like in any other business.

            PR is one service that no professional company can ignore and why should it be limited to businesses. Personal PR is given as much importance now days. A statistic say, in a month a PR company gets at least 3-4 requests from individuals who want to take on this service to boost their image. Basically everyone from a company like TATA to a Pizza Corner or an NGO, from Bill Gates to a Kathak dancer need PR for brand building and to talk to the world.

          I know, doing PR for Bill Gates probably sounds like a cake walk and a wow project to work on. Almost everyone may say yes. Though it is comparatively easy but to walk on the cake you need to bake it and for baking that perfect cake you need to get ingredients in the right proportion.

         PR is a profession for thinkers! It needs people who can think, analyze, conceptualize, identify the respective target audience develop strategies; make a POA to achieve the set targets. and mind you no two clients even if they belong to the same industry will have the same strategy. It requires patience in abundance and most importantly it is a 24X7 profession, especially if you work with a hospital client. If the hospital gets an accident victim or a VIP patient one needs to be on site even at 5 am to execute the crisis management process.

       A PR desk gets about 15 newspapers every day and about 20 magazines a month. For a PR professional reading them all (if time permits, else there are dedicated people to do this part of the job alone) is step one. It helps to identify how to place the clients, which story can be plugged where so on and so forth. Oh yes, most of the stories you read in the paper are thanks to people like us!

         Clients think PR is like magic which will boost up their sales or enhance image in a day and that is a constant fight factor for us! Because PR is a sustained effort that supports the advertising and marketing efforts of a company. Ironically this is one of the most under-mined/rated services but highly valued and required at the same time. Costs are negligible in comparison to the huge advertisement budgets and involve much more hard work. For an advt. there is a fixed cost for which you buy space in a newspaper or on a channel.While we put out the same message without paying a penny to anyone and the art is in packaging it perfectly!

          Though unfortunately there are no set standards in the industry to measure the worth of PR but it is said that a story via PR carries 5 times more value than an advertisement. The credibility attached to it is higher as it is a third person endorsing your message.

        Some feel PR has a high glam quotient attached to it. Yes, there are these stuff like, to dine at fancy restaurants and stay at 5-star hotels but then there are no free lunches :). The 'G' factor is hardly an attraction.What keeps us going is to see our stories reaching out to the masses, just like hitting the bull's eye!

        All of this is just the tip the iceberg of what a PR profession is all about. Just because what one notices most is that the PR people talk it doesn't really mean that's all they can do...!


PS: This is a guest post and the views expressed are solely from the mouth of it's author