Life is Strange Indeed!!!!

"Life is strange because it provides you with whatever you wish when you expect it the least."- Anonymous.
Well, I am a great fan of proverbs and the one mentioned above is one of my favorites.

Let me explain why?
Have you ever aspired to do things such as enroll for a professional course in a famous college, work for a reputed company, or make it big in some field, and then on one fine day, you realize that you are slowly and steadily moving towards it?

Well, I can't quite say that I am anywhere near achieving my dream. But I just wanted to share my experiences with you.

Ok, so here it goes:

Three years before, I was a fresher, desperately searching for a job in a field that would supplement my skill set. The problem was that I never knew what sort of skills I possessed. Analyzing my strengths and weakness, I decided that I should opt for a career related to content development.
After 3 months of intense job searching, I managed to enroll myself for a two-week program on Instructional Design, conducted by the Ma Foi consultancy. After completing the two-week training program, I and my batch mates were supposed to appear for an interview for a reputed company called SFY.(I learned from my trainer that it was SFY which had actually sponsored the training in order to find fresh talent.)

The D-Day arrived. Being a fresher, I was excited as well as nervous since this was my first interview in a reputed MNC. .
After attending 4 rounds of interview and waiting for a month, Ma Foi announced that I was rejected by SFY. However, my spirits were surprisingly high even after knowing that I missed the offer. Thanking my Ma Foi trainers for their help, I started to search a job in the Elearning industry. Being a fresher, that too a B.sc Bio graduate, I found it extremely difficult to find a job as an entry level Instructional Designer.

After nearly 2 weeks of endless and desperate job searching, I got frustrated and was about to change my mind regarding my career. Just then, one of my Ma Foi mates informed me that there was a company called Expertus in Kilpauk which had openings for Trainee-Instructional Designers. This piece of info was enough to lift my sagging spirit. So, without any further ado, I took my resume and started off to Kilpauk.
Unfortunately, I forgot the exact address of the company and ended up roaming aimlessly. The funny part was that the very next day, I got a call from the same company asking me to step in for an interview. Call it fate or divine retribution, I got the job of a Trainee-Instructional Designer in Expertus. This job was my first ticket into the world of Elearning.

After spending 11 eventful months at Expertus, I resigned and then joined Element K, a reputed concern. At EK, I learned a lot of things which made me a better person both professionally and personally. After spending 20 joyfull months at EK, I decided to leave the company due to personal reasons. Then, finally, I got a job as a Learning Designer(Instructional Designer) at SFY. I joined SFY on August 11th, 2008. Six months have passed by since I joined this company.

When I walked down the memory lane, I realised the following:
During my final year in college, SFY was the first campus interview which I had attended. (I vividly remember how I and 250 of my college friends had attended the test only to find out that there were only two vacancies. The best thing was that my friend MAHESH RAMANI got through.:) )

The two-week course on Instructional Design that I attended, was actually sponsored by SFY. After the training, I appeared for an interview in Sfy for the post of Trainee-Instructional Designer and failed to get through.

Now, after nearly 3 years, I end up working for a company for whom I had aspired to work for in the first place. Wow! Truly, Life is STRANGE!
I wish the same applies for personal desires such as marrying the same girl I love ;)

Note: The observations made in this post are purely based on a personal perspective. Please do not read between the lines.

The End of a Chapter, the Beginning of A NEW One!!!!

August 8th, 2008 marked an end of a chapter in my book called life. I was relieved from EK, my former family (organization) and on August 11th, 2008, a new chapter in my life began, I joined my current Organization, Sify, on August 11th, 2008. On my first day,I finished my joining formalities at Tidel Park. The joining formalities hardly took 3 hours in total. After completing it, I had lunch at the Sangeetha outlet in the Food Court at Tidel. As I came out of Tidel, I remembered that I had to visit the IGNOU regional center located at Taramani, 3 kms away from Tidel, to enquire about the status of my MBA entrance exam hall ticket (It was supposed to reach me by 8th, August).

As the bus frequency along the IT Highway was very low, I decided to walk all the way. As I walked along the road, it struck me that infact it was at this sameTidel Park that I had completed my joining formalities 3 years ago when I was with Sutherland. As I thought of my first job, many memories of the past flashed through my mind. It just dawned to me that I had QUIT EK. No more jolly tea-chat sessions with Sai, Sivan, Deepak, Jayanth, and Nagaraj. No more Cricket nets sessions, no more tea-kadai mokkai sessions at the Guindy teashop, no more Cricket discussions. For a moment, it dawned to me that things had happened too fast for me to even feel or think about it. I had spent 20 months with EK, made so many good friends, had so many great moments there, but within one month, I had said goodbye!

I came to the Nandanam office on August 12th. I got a system at 12 pm, started blogging right away. I was a bit apprehensive on how my new organization would treat me. I was feeling lonely for quite sometime before I saw my old friends Karkuzhali, Devi, and Harishankar. Meeting them made me feel better. Plus, my lead ID introduced me to my team members; all the people seemed to be very jovial and relaxed. I was given a warm welcome and within fifteen days of my joining, I have started feeling that this place would be like my second home and provide me immense knowledge and many good moments. Hope the forthcoming months prove me right!!!!!