Unfortunately, life is unpredictable and so are failures. Sometimes it's your fault and at times it isn't.
I received a call from an HR of a reputed company. I was recovering from Typhoid and told her that I can’t make it on the scheduled date. She mailed me nevertheless asking me to confirm my presence for the interview. I politely replied to her reminding my inability to attend the interview given my physical condition. A few days later, another HR called me up and asked if I could attend the interview the next day. I confirmed that I would attend the interview next day and she sent me a mail asking me to confirm my attendance. I replied in positive and rang her up personally to request her to share the Job Description of the position. She gave me a rough idea of what the position was all about and she reiterated the fact that this has got no particular functional skills and it is a client facing role which means I should have good communication skills. I had nothing really to prepare for the interview. I went through the company details and was all set to go. Having had few bad experiences with interviews in the past, I didn’t pin hopes on this one. At least, I thought so! Boy! Whom was I kidding? I knew I had this job. I went to the avenue 30 mins prior and sat there. I was called in and the Manager asked me for my CV and wanted to know about me from myself the “traditional way”. Hardly 5 mins into the conversation, he turned my CV upside down, relaxed his shoulders and asked me a question that caught me off guard.
Manager: ”What do your friends think of you, Priyanka?”
I wanted to confirm what I heard and he repeated the question. I never gave my friends a feedback form to fill it up for me. But I knew that they all unanimously thought I was strong. I told him the same.
Then comes the next question-
“How do you define your life in one sentence”?
This time I was spontaneous- “I live a life that doesn’t allow me to die as a loser”.
Manager: So you are a fighter?
Me: Yes, if that what takes me to survive in this world, I said.
Now comes the important part of the conversation.
Manager: “Your profile is strong and I see that your communication is your strength and you surely possess leadership skills. But am afraid you don’t have the functional skills”.
Me: Wait. What? Do you have a functional skill required for this job?
Manager: Yes. And am afraid we are looking for someone who has those skills readily available to put to use.
Me: I understand.
Manager: It was nice talking to you.
Me: Pleasure is all mine. If you don’t mind, I have a question for you.
Manager: Sure, go ahead.
Me: Have you gone through the Job Description that is being circulated for this position?
Manager: I am sure, I did.
Me: I want you to have a look at it from my mobile and then let me know what are the functional skills that have been mentioned that I don’t possess.
I could see the blood draining from his face. “Fighter, you are!” He said.
He assured me that he would talk to his team. I walked away after forced pleasantries. I had to force myself into a cab before I could break down into tears. All through the way home, I was sobbing uncontrollably. I failed to get a job because of someone’s failure at their job. And I was at the receiving end. While I write this, I still wipe away the tears so that I can see my screen clearly and do not commit errors while writing.
So if you look at this, for me it was a heartbreaking failure. How did I handle it? I cried my lungs out and am still crying my heart out. Does this solve the problem? No! Then what do I do? Accept the reality. The reality being I ended up with a failure for someone else’s mistake. What did I learn out of this? Nothing. Nothing? you may ask. I repeat, Nothing. What would I have to learn from someone else’s mess?
But I know I learnt a way to handle this one and maybe you can handle yours too if we:
* “ Stop thinking about it after this post and move on. No point in thinking about it and breaking one’s head. Whatever has happened is irreversible(until the Manager decides to give me a chance and calls me up; God willing that happens, I shall post it here). We can neither go back in time nor change the way things unfolded. Then why cry over already spilt milk while you have another glass with you?
*Neither let the world nor you judge you by the “Failure yard”. Instead, try the “Attempt yard”. Gives you a whole different perspective.
*Don’t let failure hurt your self-esteem. Your success or failure should not be the yardstick of your self-esteem and your identity.
Just remember that if you fail, you better rise and raise the bar!
Peace on!!!
I received a call from an HR of a reputed company. I was recovering from Typhoid and told her that I can’t make it on the scheduled date. She mailed me nevertheless asking me to confirm my presence for the interview. I politely replied to her reminding my inability to attend the interview given my physical condition. A few days later, another HR called me up and asked if I could attend the interview the next day. I confirmed that I would attend the interview next day and she sent me a mail asking me to confirm my attendance. I replied in positive and rang her up personally to request her to share the Job Description of the position. She gave me a rough idea of what the position was all about and she reiterated the fact that this has got no particular functional skills and it is a client facing role which means I should have good communication skills. I had nothing really to prepare for the interview. I went through the company details and was all set to go. Having had few bad experiences with interviews in the past, I didn’t pin hopes on this one. At least, I thought so! Boy! Whom was I kidding? I knew I had this job. I went to the avenue 30 mins prior and sat there. I was called in and the Manager asked me for my CV and wanted to know about me from myself the “traditional way”. Hardly 5 mins into the conversation, he turned my CV upside down, relaxed his shoulders and asked me a question that caught me off guard.
Manager: ”What do your friends think of you, Priyanka?”
I wanted to confirm what I heard and he repeated the question. I never gave my friends a feedback form to fill it up for me. But I knew that they all unanimously thought I was strong. I told him the same.
Then comes the next question-
“How do you define your life in one sentence”?
This time I was spontaneous- “I live a life that doesn’t allow me to die as a loser”.
Manager: So you are a fighter?
Me: Yes, if that what takes me to survive in this world, I said.
Now comes the important part of the conversation.
Manager: “Your profile is strong and I see that your communication is your strength and you surely possess leadership skills. But am afraid you don’t have the functional skills”.
Me: Wait. What? Do you have a functional skill required for this job?
Manager: Yes. And am afraid we are looking for someone who has those skills readily available to put to use.
Me: I understand.
Manager: It was nice talking to you.
Me: Pleasure is all mine. If you don’t mind, I have a question for you.
Manager: Sure, go ahead.
Me: Have you gone through the Job Description that is being circulated for this position?
Manager: I am sure, I did.
Me: I want you to have a look at it from my mobile and then let me know what are the functional skills that have been mentioned that I don’t possess.
I could see the blood draining from his face. “Fighter, you are!” He said.
He assured me that he would talk to his team. I walked away after forced pleasantries. I had to force myself into a cab before I could break down into tears. All through the way home, I was sobbing uncontrollably. I failed to get a job because of someone’s failure at their job. And I was at the receiving end. While I write this, I still wipe away the tears so that I can see my screen clearly and do not commit errors while writing.
So if you look at this, for me it was a heartbreaking failure. How did I handle it? I cried my lungs out and am still crying my heart out. Does this solve the problem? No! Then what do I do? Accept the reality. The reality being I ended up with a failure for someone else’s mistake. What did I learn out of this? Nothing. Nothing? you may ask. I repeat, Nothing. What would I have to learn from someone else’s mess?
But I know I learnt a way to handle this one and maybe you can handle yours too if we:
* “ Stop thinking about it after this post and move on. No point in thinking about it and breaking one’s head. Whatever has happened is irreversible(until the Manager decides to give me a chance and calls me up; God willing that happens, I shall post it here). We can neither go back in time nor change the way things unfolded. Then why cry over already spilt milk while you have another glass with you?
*Neither let the world nor you judge you by the “Failure yard”. Instead, try the “Attempt yard”. Gives you a whole different perspective.
*Don’t let failure hurt your self-esteem. Your success or failure should not be the yardstick of your self-esteem and your identity.
Just remember that if you fail, you better rise and raise the bar!
Peace on!!!
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