Your Friendly Philosopher & Guide

I always felt that deciding to go to work is a favour we do to companies, which I later realized that the truth is otherwise.

My internship at Zee TV Mumbai was good, and they had asked me to come back after I complete my MA course. I was under the impression that I will be given a red carpet welcome and people will long to greet me with open arms at Zee TV. To my dismay, the whole management had changed in 3 months and the new person hardly knew about me. He was in a hurry, and didn?t have enough time to listen to what exactly I was trying to say. He said come after 3 months let us see. I was completely shattered, and was waiting at the bus stop to catch a bus to go back. To my surprise, I saw the same person coming towards me. Aww, I was sure someone has told him about my potential, and that he has realized his folly of not recruiting me at Zee TV. I had a smile on my face waiting to greet him - and it was indeed the most short-lived smile I ever had. He collected a Manickchand Gutkha from the nearby pan shop, and pushed off, as if I never existed. Now I knew why he was in a hurry!

I was not sure where exactly I could get a job - in print, in ad agencies, in TV or in some PR firm. I thought I would apply everywhere. I handed over my resume personally to all the newspapers (The Indian Express, TOI, Asian Age, Mid-Day et al), magazines (Femina, Star Dust, Blitz et al), TV channels (Sony, Zee, ETV et al), advertising agencies (HTA, Lintas et al) and PR (Trikaya Grey et al) firms. Home TV was the only TV channel I could not get the address for, rest I had covered completely in Mumbai. It was after 1 year I came to know that Home TV was based in Delhi and not Mumbai!

None called me for any interview and it was already 1 month. No company, except for Trikaya Grey, had the courtesy to let me know that they didn?t find me suitable for the ROCKET SCIENCE work they do. I was getting desperate, and hated to take the second round of money from my dad for survival.

I came to know from one of my friends that Jetwings ? the in-flight magazine of Jet Airways, needed some editors, and I met the proprietor directly. The interview went on well, and he said my experience is more suited for newspapers and not magazine and he could not take me. I was so desperate that I said, it is ok if you don?t pay me. I will come everyday ? at least to learn things. Thankfully he said ok. And thus I became the first person in Mumbai to dispose my services free of cost.

The people were really good there, and the Editor was damn supportive. He asked me to keep trying for newspapers, which no boss will ever do. It was here where I saw an ad that The Indian Express Online Media needs sub-editors. I applied and I got through. I started off my career with 3 k per month, and the proprietor of Jetwings was kind enough to issue a cheque of 2 k for the time I spent in their office. I started my career with his blessings?

Do check out for few interesting interviews I attended