Siyaram's

Aaahhh. I m placed FINALLY. Life has taken a lot of twists & turns last month & I guess it ultimately landed up on the right track. Well all my friends have been asking me my interviews experience as they were more than just interviews. So I am going to mention the best points & dismal points (according to me) that I put forward before the panel.

Good answers

1.       So Lagnajit, tell me the reason behind the journey from Bhubaneswar to Kharghar.

Ans: Sir, it’s the journey of Bharat turning into India. I mean the way India is growing, the way India is going globalized, the way Indian metros are going cosmopolitan & the way Indian tier 2 cities are becoming metros, its only one thing that is on our minds. That’s continuous growth. That is the reason that triggered my decision to come to Mumbai.

2.      If you have to choose 3 persons for Siyaram’s then who would you choose?

Ans: Sir, there can’t be three. I guess I cannot differentiate among four of them. Lagnajit of course. Apart from him, I guess Manjeet, Sonil & Malhaar will prove as assets to the company. (They all were waiting for their interview round)

3.      If your friend is leaving for US & your boss asks you stay back at the office as one of your customers MIGHT turn up, then what would you do?

Ans: (after some discussion) – Sir I would stay back, wait for the customer & give some incentives to my friend like giving him calls more than thrice a week than just once as finalized earlier. If he is a true friend he would definitely understand.

4.      What is special about Siyaram’s that makes it unique?

Ans: The answer is in the question itself sir. “Come home to Siyaram’s” (literally sang the song). The same campaign still has an emotional connect with three Indian generations now. With Siyaram’s customers feel they are wearing an Indian brand & are always close to their near & dear ones.

5.      Lagnajit, you said you love making people confused & mystified by your activities. How exactly you do it?

Ans: Sir, I m glad that you asked me this. As I have already mentioned sir, I never smoked. I used to drink. I had a girlfriend for 8 long years. Now also I don’t smoke. I have given up drinking. Now I don’t have a girlfriend but like someone. Still I am not saying anything to her as I am still verifying the depth of my love.

Interviewer – I had asked you this question 30 minutes back & where this one came from all of a sudden. I mean I did not get you.

Ans: See Sir, you are confused now. This is what I do.

Pitiable answers

1.       Lagnajit, it seems you are a good sales person. But we are not offering any. How can you transform yourself from an executive to a strategist who we are looking for?

Ans: Sales is the toughest part in marketing. As I have already excelled in sales I guess it would not be a big problem to strategize. With sales I have the basic exposure to the ground level realities & that would help me analyzing the problems arising at the strategic level.

2.      What are the weapons that a salesperson has?

Ans: (Pocket main Rocket hai. Don’t worry I just thought of it. Did not say. ). I gave every possible answers starting from convincing skills, finding out needs, adaptive to networking, product knowledge but I felt they were just not convinced by my answers. :(

I don’t really remember other questions but I recall a lot many moments where in there was a complete black-out & I had no answers; I just kept uttering crap to buy some time. Anyway finally I got through & the feeling was godly considering the fact that the selection ratio was 40: 1. Finally they said they needed the best only. I am proud of myself that I could be the best that they were looking for. Henceforth life is going to be really challenging & as usual I am up to it.