6. A JOB HOP WITHIN NINE DAYS (YEAR 1970)

STRESS, SUCCESS AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN
The Highs and Lows of A Woman’s Journey in the Corporate World

CARE: This is Chapter 6 of my book Stress, Success and Everything In-Between. These are individual anecdotes but to understand the professional journey in totality, I would recommend reading the book from Chapter 01 onwards.

Nine days in the new job passed like a dream, and I had already started enjoying the wonderful time in Dehra Dun. At this time, I received another interview call. It was from a college proposed to be opened by the Delhi Administration under Delhi University. The salary offered was more than double of what I was to get at the College in Dehra Dun. While in Uttar Pradesh, the salary of a lecturer was a mere Rs 300, in Delhi University, it was the University Grants Commission grade ensuring Rs 760 per month to a degree college lecturer.

Fortunately for me, the interview was on a date when it was a holiday in Dehra Dun but a working day in Delhi. After my lecture, I took a bus in the afternoon and reached Delhi by night to attend the interview the next day.

In Delhi, at the interview venue, the atmosphere was tense. About two dozen young women, clutching their degrees and certificates, sat with anxious demeanours, waiting for their turn to come for the interview.

One of the candidates, who clearly stood out amongst all the candidates, was a tall, slim girl with a dusky complexion and a charming smile. Wearing a gorgeous red and black tie-and-dye georgette saree and her hair tied in a massive bouffant, she had adorned her forehead with a huge matching bindi. Restless as she was, it was perhaps impossible for her to sit still in one place. Suddenly, she stood up and, addressing no one in particular, asked loudly, “How many of you present here have got first division in MA?” I was the only one who raised her hand hesitatingly.

“Then you are through,” her broad grin exuded confidence.

“I wish you were the Chairman of the interview board,” I felt like saying, but only a vague smile appeared on my lips.

The interview process started on time. All the candidates were being called one after the other, but my name was not announced. After the girl in the red saree also went in, I was left alone in the waiting area. I was scheduled as the last candidate. Perhaps the Interview Board wanted to meet all the candidates who had passed out from Delhi University before interviewing me, the only outsider. I wondered whether their unstated preference was for selecting someone from the local university: the thought made me a little edgier than I already was.

Finally, it was my turn. Walking into the interview room, I could feel my mouth drying and my legs shaky. I was aware that I was the most qualified candidate academically. But the long wait on a hot and humid afternoon, coupled with the fear of failure, had started working on me. I had a pressing need to excel in whatever I undertook, and failures scared me to no end.

My interview lasted much longer than that of any other candidate. The members of the interview board bombarded me with questions from each and every area of my discipline. From the political thoughts of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau to the Constitution of India and Britain, from International Relations to various forms of democracy, nothing was left out. I was surprised that I could respond to every question clearly, precisely and without hesitation. As the interview took off, my heartbeat returned to normal, and my voice became confident. After an hour of intensive grilling, the Chairman of the Interview board smiled, thanked me and asked me to leave.

I walked out of the room and left. The same afternoon, I took the bus to Dehra Dun, reached there by night and was teaching my students the next day as if nothing had happened.

To my utter surprise, the appointment letter reached my Delhi address in two days, and my uncle in Delhi immediately informed me about the selection.

The college had appointed three lecturers in Political Science, and I was given the special designation of Lecturer-in-Charge, akin to the Head of the Department. Thrilled to the core, I rang up my parents in Lucknow to share the great news of my second job in less than a fortnight. My parents were delighted to hear of my success. They asked me to resign immediately and join the college at Delhi University. But there was an issue here. I had not applied through the proper channel. I was already employed and legally could not leave the job unless they accepted my resignation. And why would they relieve me just because I had got a better job? How am I going to handle it? Should I tell them the truth and leave the decision to the college management or take control of the situation in my hand? It was a tricky situation I had to handle. But how?

The next day, I wrote my resignation letter and went to the Principal to submit it. She was stunned, “Hey, you joined just about ten days back. Why are you resigning so soon?”

I knew that if I told her I had got another job, she might not relieve me, which was not an option. I played my cards cleverly and said, “I do not know why, but my mother called me up last night and asked me to resign and come back immediately."

She tried to explore further, but I stuck to my statement with a straight face. Finally, she gave up and smiled, “Aha, I got it now. They must have finalised your wedding and want you back quickly, and you are too shy to share it with us.” The other two senior lecturers in the room also agreed with her wholeheartedly. I looked coy and did not respond and thus managed to wriggle out of the sticky situation. My resignation was accepted, and a Discharge Certificate was handed over to me the same afternoon.

I knew I was not being honest with her. But could not think of any other option to come out of the mess? Whenever I think of this episode, I feel bad that I was not straight with my first boss, who was too simple to decipher my poker face. This was my first step towards survival in the big vile world.

The next day, I boarded the bus to Delhi to start a next chapter of my life.

(To be continued....)

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