I am no more "Jobless"

As I have indicated in the previous blogs, I was keen on getting some part time job at LSU. I might have sent 100 odd emails, have dropped by numerous offices submitting my resumes but no good news!! The week I had my Launch 16th-20th August was very hectic and I had no hopes of hunting for job during that time. Our daily schedule was 8:00 am to 5:00 pm!!! But fortunately or unfortunately I missed an onsite-campus visit on 20th August. The reason being, I had been to pay my fee bill and the cab which was taking us left before time. I came and checked at my department, and they said they can't do anything much now and that I have the next 3 hours all by myself. I was so happy to hear that!! I had a zillion mails to reply, a zillion mails to spam the departments asking for JOB!! ;-)

So after having my lunch, I was browsing in a computer lab. After about an hour, I thought why not visit this place called Highway Safety Research Groups (HSRG) and check on some openings.

Pre-Reading: Pri and I had been to HSRG the 1st week of our arrival to LSU. But they said they have no job openings there. Hari, suggested us to e-mail a guy there along with our resumes. My bad, I had emailed a wrong person CROY instead of CORY. I realized this 1 week later and then forwarded my resume to him. Pri had got a call for an interview at this place during the "Launch" week and she informed me about the job openings there. The job profile was tailor made for my work experience.

So that day, post lunch I went in to their office and checked for a job opening. I was greeted by Cory and he told me the same thing "No job openings". I told him I will drop my resume just in case they find some work coming. This was on Friday. From Monday 23rd our classes began. That day, I wanted to go to another place to apply for job. We had already submitted our forms; wanted to just check when they would call for an interview. Hari and I were together, and I borrowed Hari's mobile phone to browse my Gmail. I was expecting an e-mail from my brother. And there I saw a mail from a guy called Mark, he wanted to schedule an interview appointment. I spoke to him, and scheduled an interview for Tuesday post lunch. My brother told me to do a little bit of my coding brush up, but I didn’t have the time nor the energy to do it. So, technically speaking I attended the interview unprepared.

Interview went on well, and nothing much was asked except my work-experience and what kind of job I will be doing. He told me he has 2 more interviews and by Thursday will let me know the results. After that I pretty much forgot about the job, because by then we knew we can't rely too much on Mark's words. Thursday was the day, after my classes I came home all hungry and tired! Once again I came online to check my brother’s email, and I see an e-mail from Mark offering me a GA position. I was glad to see that, but I was not happy happy!! I wonder why though.

All I had to do was go and collect the offer letter on Friday and start work ASAP. After my classes on Friday, I went to meet Mark. He gave me a few forms to fill-in and asked me to come back on Monday. I was still not that happy I got a GA, I knew this was something I had worked so hard for, but when I got it my happiness was not at all proportional to the effort!! Monday, out of the blue I get an e-mail from Mark telling me I cannot work until my Department gives a letter stating that my job will not interfere with my academics. When I dug into the reasons behind it, I got to know this is because of my "Probation Admission" into LSU. Then was the moment when I realized how much this GA meant to me!!! I met my Department Director on Tuesday to obtain a letter. He asked me why was I under Probation? Was is because of my low GMAT or in BE scores? I was pretty sure it was neither. On further investigation, we got to know I was placed under Probation by mistake!!!! Wow!!! This could be one of the reasons that I had not heard from so many places I had applied for within my Department or outside it!! This was the last hurdle I had to clear and now I am working here since a week and my GA is guaranteed at least for this semester.

Looking back, I would say I had loads of luck because and well-wishers

1. I had emailed the wrong person asking for job in the 1^st place!!!

2. If I had not missed my onsite campus visit I would never have had the time to submit my resume here.

3. Because of this job offer, the mistake in my admission was corrected

4. It made me appreciate my GA even more!!!