Worklore #11: Intrusive Interviewing - The Indian Reality

Earlier today, I read and “liked” an article on LinkedIn which expressed outrage at the fact that a prospective employer (abroad) had the temerity to ask for proof of an interviewee’s last drawn salary. And this led me to dwell, not for the first time, on the intrusive interview practices which are prevalent at the Indian workplace, and which are accepted as routine by the bulk of the working population.

Examples abound, and some of them are positively horrifying. Sexism, racism, political incorrectness, rudeness – they’re all there. A single lady is invariably asked when she’s planning to get married; a married one is asked when she’s planning to start a family! Someone who can’t speak English well is asked whether they can write it better; someone who’s changed many jobs is asked to describe the reason behind the change of each job, frequently going back a decade or more. And of course, every interviewee is asked to describe each component of his / her last pay drawn, and every salary at every job prior to that, and every grade at each major examination taken, and eventually to provide documentary evidence of everything.

After all this, the “optional extras” that are covered may include a leisurely understanding of the interviewee’s family and the profession, trade or calling of each individual member of that family; a discussion on the candidate’s hobbies, and so on.

The accent, it would seem, is on exposing the inadequacies of the interviewee, and on ensuring that he / she becomes radically self-aware in that behalf, if not already thus. Patent and latent weaknesses are dwelt upon in nauseating detail, whereas the need is clearly to identify strengths and discuss how those strengths can be leveraged to the benefit of the interviewer.  All this, of course, is done in the name of identifying the “cultural fit” – when the truth is that the interviewing company may not actually have any corporate culture to speak of in the first place.

This is not to say that every Indian organisation recruits people this way – but a large majority are doing it. Do you agree? What’s your experience?

Take #49: Kingsman - The Golden Circle

My biggest apprehension after seeing this film is that Salman Khan might poach the OTT bits for his next action film.

The trouble is, those bits constitute almost the entire movie.

It wasn't for nothing that the first Kingsman film was a sleeper hit - it was original, unconventional and fun and offered an interesting new alternative to, say, James Bond films.

Matthew Vaughn, a very competent director even on his worst day, decided differently: he decided to make this a Johnny English-type spy story sequel - minus the signature humour of the inimitable Rowan Atkinson.

The story line, although unoriginal, was promising and the cast of characters could have worked wonders if the caricaturisation and the crass bits had been dispensed with.

Crowd-pullers Channing Tatum and Halle Berry had very little to do in their "guest appearances" (Bollywood lingo)- but Elton John, playing himself in a unique avatar, was irrepressible.

To sum up, this was my most disappointing sequel in a decade or more.

Take #48: American Assassin

If you're an action film junkie, look no further than this for your weekly fix.

This is a cracking good entertainer in the tradition of the Bourne, Kingsman and Mechanic franchises. Although lacking the inventiveness and originality of the MI series, there's enough pace in this one to hold your attention. Special mention must be made of Michael Keaton in his role of the "warrior" ex-SEAL.

This movie will surprise you, because you would normally expect absolutely nothing from it. And they've even left room for a sequel.

Game for some onscreen mayhem ? Check this out!

Take #47: It

The trouble with this film is that there is so much that is unexplained that it dilutes the horror component. Barring the clown (Bill Skarsgaard), who is brilliant.

There is a fair bit of blood and gore à la John Carpenter, and a fairly effective, if loud background score to keep your goose pimples on the upswing for most of the time. 

A tad long but reasonably fast-moving, this is watchable for horror movie buffs and Stephen King fans, but has little to offer anybody else.

Take #46: Shubh Mangal Saavdhan

The hall was pretty full, and everyone left looking as though they got their 

money's 

worth; I didn't. 

Granted that this was a delicate subject, but it was handled, in the main, somewhat 

clumsily, and ended as limply as one of the liberally tea-dipped biscuits so eloquently showcased in the film. 

To be fair, though, the dialogue had its moments, and the performances were really very good - both by Ayushmann, the poster-boy of taboo-themed Indian Cinema, as well as by a slimmed-down Bhumi Pednekar, and also by some of the supporting cast. 

And oh- the movie was more about performance anxiety than about erectile dysfunction (which is what the reviews kept telling you) - although one can argue cause and effect on that one.

Worklore #10: Do Your Own Induction

We would all like to think, wouldn’t we, that the company we have just joined will put us through a structured induction programme so that we are onboarded in a fast, organised manner ?

Alas, all too often, the reality is something else entirely. Be that as it may, there is no reason to wait beyond the first 7 days, for such a process to be initiated. Simply make your own induction programme. Make room for casual introductions with as many relevant people as possible (ideally all major department heads), and then request them to give you a few minutes for you to drop in and have a chat. You won’t get a positive response from everyone, but it’s still better than nothing; and you may be surprised at how much grist for your beginner’s mill you are actually able to accumulate. Make sure to keep a finger on the cultural pulse of the organisation as you progress through this path, so that you are able to stay on the border between curiosity and intrusiveness without breaking any unwritten rules, treading on any toes and squandering what your boss may consider as quality work time. Remember, then : induct yourself; if you don't, it means that you don't know where you are; which in turns means that you’re already lost. Which makes for a really bad beginning.