Monday, December 1, 2008

How to Screw up an Interview

This was my first personal interview. It was for my summer intern, '08. I'm providing only snippets of non-CS questions, let me be left with some dignity!

Disclaimer: This is a true incident. All similarities with real-life characters are totally intended and inevitable. But names have not been disclosed for obvious reasons. And I was nervous.

Interviewer: It's alright, Jyothsni. You seem very nervous. Stay calm. Let's have an informal discussion here.
Me: Okay.

Interviewer: Your grades were good until the last sem. What happened suddenly?
Me: Well, I did badly in just one course and my CGPA went down.
Interviewer: Why?
Me: We had a bad rapport with the prof.

Interviewer: Which lab assignment, do you think, was best learning experience you had till now?
Me: Compilers
Interviewer: I'm sure you had some problems in it and were stuck at times. Who among your teammates was instrumental in getting past these obstacles?
Me: We used to discuss and figure out what to do. Cannot say who in specific.
Interviewer: No? It was never you?
Me: No.

Interviewer: What do you like to do, apart from acads?
Me: I love shopping! (And a million dollar smile)

I seriously hope they thought I was trying to screw up the interview! And ya, they're coming for placements too, with an irresistible (unreachable?) package.

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