Interview story: From Everything to lose to Nothing to lose Attitude!

Interview story: From Everything to lose to Nothing to lose Attitude!

In 2008, I was preparing for an internal promotion interview at Larsen & Toubro. I had put in a lot of effort, completing two written tests and two interviews. Inspired by the "Secret of Success," I began dreaming about what I would do after securing the promotion. 

During the interview, however, I struggled to articulate my work. Each detailed question made me stammer, and I stopped trying to clarify my points. With each struggle, I became more concerned about what my colleagues and friends would think if I didn't get this promotion.

Fast forward to 2015, my resume was selected for my dream job in consulting at ZS. I prepared extensively for the process, which included four interviews. The first two interviews, focused on data understanding and visual interpretation, went well. The third interview was the toughest, with 45 minutes to prepare a presentation from a 30-page case study. I spent so much time understanding the case that I had little time left to create the presentation.

As the interview began, I sensed it wasn't going well. The interviewer started shaking his head, and I felt he might call it off at any moment. However, I decided that I wouldn't give up until I left the room. I had nothing to lose!

I continued to clarify and justify my answers and my mind was working full speed to find ways to explain. Suddenly, I realized that the interviewer was speaking calmly and slowly, while I was too excited and talking fast. I decided to match his calm demeanor, and when I did, I could communicate my point of view clearly and he was good with it (Or perhaps he took pity on me by seeing my desperate efforts 😀, by the way, I did meet all the other criteria such as my tier of college, relevant previous job experience, and academic achievements. And hence, interviewer might have made decision from the heart rather than the brain and moved me to the next round.) 

The key difference between L&T and this interview in ZS was my attitude. In L&T, I focused solely on the outcome, but this time in ZS, I enjoyed the process and gave my best effort. The outcome became secondary because I was committed to doing my best.

Enjoy the process and give your best—this way, you have nothing to lose!

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Read past stories like above at https://lnkd.in/d9ijze8r