SCOPE INTERNATIONAL :)

Phew !! Finally I feel so relieved . Words cannot do justice to the amount of happiness , relief and joy I have now. Euphoric would be an understatement for the kind of state I am in. I would rate this higher than JEE ,thats because I was confident of cracking it. But, I was in a total depression now after screwing up CAT - resulting in a feeling that I am analytically challenged and reject after reject in the 1st 3 days. Like Sisyphus who continued to roll the stone up , very well knowing that it would roll down the other side of the hill, I continued filling up infinite forms, writing the tests, waiting eagerly and the inevitable reject. I cannot agree more with Kesavan's (Baada) words after he got his job - Hajaar, no, lakhs of money are there. I am elated and excited, probably have not been this much since post JEE. Dad is impressed, mom had never heard of the company, but is of course extremely happy. And I am sure junta here are slightly syked and surprised by this turn of events, especially given my worst level CG here.

My mom's initial reaction was "Oh no not another banker in the family !". Thing is there are too many people in banks in our family and extended families . I suppose her apprehension was short-lived after further impressive details from my side. Dad is yet to digest it ! Many do not seem to be knowing Scope International, so I prefer saying I got placed with Standard Chartered Bank as Scope is a subsidiary of SCB.

There were 5 rounds - 2 online tests, 3 250 word essays, 1 GD and a final interview. A pain maxx psychometric test took 2 hrs, a quant test 1hr. After that the 1st s/l of 80 guys was put up just yesterday night and today morn was my GD. I went in with zilch expectations because the PPT said we would be having a tech and HR interview after the GD .In the tech part, analytics and coding, both would be tested. I thought pack,I dont even know the syntax of printf or what include meant. Lets do the GD and get a feel of it.Thats all.This was my first GD.

The first lucky aspect was a mild group with no sood putters. GD was peaceful. He wanted our views on Next Gen banking. I started off very arbitly, my points not being very well received. A weird point by one guy was the driving force for me. I blasted him, diplomatically of course, and from then it was very strong. Someone suggested grassroot banking and I came up with sood points ,using jargon which not everyone was well versed with ,like microfinancing andNobel Prize for Grameen bank, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)- educating farmers and giving them loans would be a win-win situation, thinking on the lines of NREGA in banking for rural areas and all that. I am sure the moderator was perplexed. Junta in the group were talking about gadgetry, fingerprints, eye detection, security, a new 3rd form of virtual money this that blah blah and I was totally tangential , talking irrelevant stuff like microfin , upgrading PSUs, and crap in all forms. 4 from each group were shortlisted. I felt I would have been screwed had it been 3 , because there were 3 guys better than me.

Then followed the interview. Again luckily, the same mod was the interviewer. As soon as I walked in, he recognized me and asked me if I was Rajeev. That was really heartening. I was kinda prepared for HR , so it was a cakewalk. More so, because he was very friendly. I felt that it was a travesty of an interview. It was like a conversation in a pub between 2 strangers. Not an iota of C, not a speck of tech !! HR, unadulterated. Finally, when he was through, he told me that my GD performance was excellent. I had a flicker of hope then. And finally I get the news. The profile says Business Analyst , the way I see it, it is more of coding with a full knowledge of banking operations.

The training as of now will be in Nungambakkam. With MOP Vaishnav, Ethiraj, WCC, Stella all nearby I can look forward to some eye candy now after 5 years in this place. It is also a shopping hub and has many good restaurants and is in the heart of Chennai, so no cribs as of now. With no other branch in India, I will surely be here for the next 2-3 years. Room mates are already taken care of, a couple of my dear old Btech wing mates who are with Covansys here. This is again something which I really look forward to , as I badly need a frequency matching social life.

I only need to meet my prof to kill this euphoria. He has told my fellow Mtechs that all Duals under him are on the verge of getting an extension and a couple of guys have already called me up saying prof is seething with rage and I need to meet him once. I am about to leave now , will cook up some story on the way.

For a change, after years of mediocrity, I am proud of myself .