This post follows the events of Our Luxurious Abode – Orchid 307. Adapted from my private journal entry on 10th March, 2015.
The day was the 4th of August, 2014. We woke up in the morning, completed our chores as soon as possible and rushed downstairs to catch the company bus. The bus took around 20-25 minutes to take us to the TCS Peepul Park office. The office had the resemblance of some temple. Tiles were more commonplace than rooftops even in the office premises. This was supposed to be one of the largest areas owned and operated by TCS, and it was the largest of its kind to be used for imparting training among new recruits all over the world.
We assembled in an auditorium after having breakfast at the office canteen. Some introductory sessions were given to us, and then our ID cards were issued and we got to know our LG numbers. Mine was TJA41, and my employee ID: 840001. It has some 007 type feeling associated with it, I’ve been told.
Anyway, we wouldn’t be separated from our batch TVM10/14 until the end of the week. Saikat and Naveen were in different Mainframe LGs, Rony and Kaushik were put in the same BIPM LG. Akhil was sorted in TJA41 like me. We would have to give a few tests before our onboarding would be confirmed. Those would be held on the next Monday. So, we had one week of time.
In the meantime, our document verification and service agreement submission had started. When my name was called, an HR associate told me there was an issue with a paper supporting the service agreement and hence could not be accepted. She returned me the papers and told me to get it redone. While, on one hand, she said with a smile, “We are in no hurry. You take your time”, she also didn’t fail to mention that time meant a maximum of 18 hours. I explained that the documents need to be sent from Kolkata and it would take time at least till the next day afternoon just to get the scanned copies here as new stamp paper was required to be purchased from Kolkata High court.
At this weird juncture, while I was having lunch at the canteen, another miracle happened. The company which was only decreasing my interest in it by not giving a joining date suddenly came back into the picture. A person from IBM GBS called letting me know that they would like to get me on board on 18th of the month. I’d have to report to IBM Bangalore. So, I thought, okay, is this some kind of sign? When I was supposed to have submitted my service agreement and got bound by its terms, something unexpected happened preventing me from having entered the bond. At the same time, another company was now beckoning to get on board in a fortnight.
I conveyed the details to my family as they would be arranging the documentation to be processed and sent. This also forced me to rush over the formalities of opening bank account for receiving salary and reimbursements. I got help from my roommates who helped me complete the same in the minimal possible time.
A few others also had certain issues with their documentations. One special case was the ones graduating from Mumbai University. Their final mark sheet hadn’t been released and hence their employment remained provisional. There were discussions among the HR and those recruits about whether they should be sent back for the time being or assumed to be on board provisionally. Although a bit selfish, knowing that I’m not the only one whose status was in question at the moment was a bit relaxing.
I spent the night in anticipation and rebalancing the pros and cons of TCS over IBM. Well, perhaps it was more like attempting to convince myself why TCS was not a bad choice rather than an objective evaluation. Finally, I decided to make my best effort in getting the issue sorted out, and stick with TCS if I succeed.
(To be continued…)
[P.S. It may be some time before I post the next entries as they need to be redacted a bit. Till then, look out for “The Crash Pad Auditoriums”.]
One Reply to “First Day of Corporate Life with The Sorting Hat”