My 1st Corporate Interview

Despite the remarkable advancements done by Medical Science and Engineering in the modern world, for more than 25 years of my life, I believed it was overly ambitious for mankind to unite the two. Engineering, to me, was limited to automobiles and medical science, to me, was limited to the body - both requiring completely different expertise. Rockets and spaceships seemed to be the epitome of engineering while surgery seemed to be the pinnacle for medical science. And for me, their synergy was possible only by villains in Spider Man & X Men comics, not in real life until the time I got introduced to Orthopedic Implant Design.

My JOB HUNT - Days of Joblessness!

It was 2021 when I was looking for a job in mechanical engineering. I had a 4 year gap period in my career. No major MNC or an OEM from the automobile industry would consider my resume for an interview. I was desperate for a job and suddenly, I got to know there were some “Small & Medium Scale Enterprises” coming for placement at NSIC, a government agency in Okhla, Delhi. I decided to try my luck and went there. I applied for all the jobs I could at the job fair and I ended up being selected for a Technical Round in one of the companies, named “Auxein Medical” and that was all she wrote.

The next day, I needed to travel to the company for my Technical Round. My 3D CAD skills and engineering design knowledge were in top notch shape. I was quite confident in my skills but still, I couldn’t have anticipated what was coming. The next morning, I reached the company’s location, went up to the gate and told the security guard that I am here for my interview. The guard told me to wait and he had me sit down in a room nearby.?

I still remember the moment I arrived - everyone passing through the gate would call him out?

“Aur Dubey ji?”

It looked like everyone in the company knew the guard well. For the entire time he was greeting the company’s employees, he had a broad smile on his face but he would get all serious in an instant when he would turn to me, probably because I was a new face.

The Moments Of AWE!

And suddenly, Dubey ji called me and said?

“Take this permit. Now, go straight till the end and then, take a right. You’ll meet Sonu Dev, Acting Head of Design & Development.”?

I took the permit and did what he asked. I started walking straight and I entered a room. Usually, I have my horse blinkers on when I am assigned a certain task. I don’t look here and there. But this room got my eyes to wander. And for that matter, I think this room would make any mechanical engineer’s eyes wander. With over 20+ CNC machines operating right there in front of my eyes including Yamazaki Mazak Corporation’s Variaxis series, my brain had an orgasm and started to malfunction. The accuracy and precision of these machines is not an ordinary milestone achieved by mankind. And I stood there in the middle of 150+ such machines. Auxein had 150+ CNC, VMC & Sliding Head machines at that time. For a brief moment, it felt nothing short of NASA to me. I was awestruck and frozen. For a few seconds, I didn’t move. And suddenly, I heard a voice from behind?

“STRAIGHT beta, STRAIGHT!”?

I looked back, it was Dubey ji pointing straight. I recollected myself, calmed down a little and started walking straight again.

At the end, I saw a door on the right. It was my final destination. And as soon as I entered, all the noise from the shop floor was filtered, there was no longer any sound from the CNC machines reaching through the walls. It was pin drop SILENCE as it was the “Design & Development Department”. The color theme of the walls had changed. Now, it was Blue & White. There were six big desks, each having a high quality processor PC for Computer Aided Designing, all of them facing a White Board and a file cabinet containing the entire Design Documentation. I went up to the first desk. It was 30th December of 2020 and there was only one person available in the department that day. I said?

“Sir! I am here for my interview.”?

He looked at me and asked me to wait. After a minute, he handed over a medical instrument and a digital Vernier Calipers lying on his table to me and asked?

“Ban Jayega / Would you be able to design it?”

I took a quick glance. I didn’t know what I was designing. It seemed like a drill bit but it was not, it was a little complicated for me to understand at the time - it had a cylindrical shape with varying diameters across the length, a hexagonal cut at one end and a thread varying in pitch and height at the other end. I nodded positively and he took me to a PC to design.

I was in a good mindset back then. In all honesty, I outperformed my designing skills. I was razor sharp and so, it just took me 15-20 minutes to finish the 3D Model and 2D drawing. As soon as I finished designing, I looked around but there was no one in the room. Sonu sir had left for some work. I was alone and my task was done. And so, my horse blinkers came off and my mind began to wander a little! I began taking a closer look at all the things around. “WHAT A MARVEL AND SPECTACLE THE DESIGN DEPARTMENT IS” I thought to myself “the heart and soul of the company!”

And I started talking in my head

“I would be so lucky if I get to work here. It does seem possible. I am doing well so far in the technical round. I am so excited! Woww! I would get to watch the 5 axis CNC machines daily when I enter and then, I would get to exist here in the Design Department where I’ll WORK. WHERE I’LL FUCKING WORK! I feel like Dr. Otto Octavius right now - The power of CNC machines in my hands. This feels like a dream. Oh wait! What are those in the back almirah? Are these artificial bones? Oh god! These seem to be 3D printed artificial bones. All 206 bones? Nooo, not all but still a little scary! Can’t make out now if this is heaven or hell. Look at those things on that desk! What are these weirdly surfaced metallic rods and plates? Some of them are screwed into these artificial bones. Ohh!! They must be implants. I see. Aren’t they fitted inside the body through surgery during fractures? How do doctors perform such an operation? Would I be designing these? No wayyyyy!”

The Moment Of TRUTH!

And without any warning, I hear the door opening. It was Sonu sir. We shared a quick glance and I told him I completed the 3D model and 2D drawing I needed to submit. He asked me to wait and he began checking the Design Tree of my 3D Model in SOLIDWORKS. His eyebrows raised slightly and lips curled, probably in astonishment. It seemed to me, he didn’t expect me to finish the design. But I did, and he cautiously began checking all the critical dimensions and measurements. And to my surprise, he found an error! The hexagonal cut at the end of the instrument wasn’t on a straight plane, it was slightly tilted. I missed it.?

“SHIT! Is this the end of the interview? Did I blunder my interview chances?” I thought.

My confidence decreased a little. He asked me to sit, and told me he was going to ask a few technical questions. I gathered myself to give answers and nodded. He asked me 3-4 questions related to GD&T and engineering drawing. Fortunately, I knew all of them. My confidence returned back a little and then out of nowhere, someone entered the Design Department. I looked at the door to see who entered. It was someone quite tall and handsome, I must add. He had an overwhelming presence,? it couldn’t be missed. Sonu sir greeted him from a distance and took a small pause before continuing the questions. But my attention was still on this person. It felt like he was on a weird patrol of some kind, checking if work is being done and ensuring there is no irregularity of any sorts. I didn’t have the awareness at that time to recognize the walk of “The Technical Director.” I continued looking at him from the corner of my eyes, while I started answering questions Sonu sir asked. As he moved past our desk, he looked at Sonu sir and gestured “What’s going on?” Sonu sir stood up, I stood up with him. He whispered “Interview, Gaurav sir”. Gaurav sir looked at me and asked?

“Do you know Stack Up Analysis?”

I nodded a No. I barely knew what the company was manufacturing until yesterday. And Gaurav sir quickly lost any interest and continued with the patrol, while I failed to make sense of the situation. “Did I fuck up or am I still good?” He left the room in the next 4-5 minutes and in a short time, my interview ended too. I was sent back to the guard and told to wait for some time. I could eat if I needed to. But I didn’t want to. I was very nervous. I thought to myself

“They asked me to wait. It must mean they are considering my profile. But what if somehow, any negative point comes to their attention? Shit! Why did I miss the plane angle in 3D Design? I also didn’t know Stack Up Analysis. Is this going to cost me the interview?”

IS THIS IT? - The HR Round

After some time, Dubey ji comes to me, with a slightly lesser serious face this time and says “Take those stairs to the top and find HR. They are calling you!”

And the first thought that came to my head was?

“Would they call me in to reject me? No, I don’t think so! This must mean good if they want to talk to me!”?

I got excited and rushed through the stairs. At the end of the stairs, I entered a door and as soon as I entered, my eyes locked with the receptionist at the time, Nibha ma’am. She immediately asked me

“Are you Navraj?”

I nodded yes and she asked me to wait for a minute. She called in HR to confirm I was here. While I was sitting, I saw a completely different world here. While on the ground floor, the company had Production, Quality, Design & Store Departments, the upper floors were where all the business matters were discussed - housing departments of HR, Regulatory, Graphic Designing, Discussion Rooms and all the Directors' offices.?

“This seems to be the place where I would be discussing my offer. WAIT! I don’t want to lose this job. I really really want it. I am going to say a lesser amount than the one I discussed with my family. I want to get this offer”

And suddenly, Nibha ma’am interrupted my thoughts and told me to go in.

“You’ll find HR on the left” She said.

I went in and entered the HR’s room for my final round - salary negotiation. Personally, I hate this round. Discussing and negotiating salary is not my forte. And during that time when I had no corporate experience, I did think HR is an utterly useless department. They, most often than not, have the least knowledge about the company’s products & services and they are not the best judge of my skills. Yet hiring goes through them. It didn’t make sense to me then. My viewpoint has changed now but my earlier views on HR were quite lopsided. With these “not yet matured” views, I finally sat down with Chhaya ma’am to discuss my prospects with my newly found dream company, Auxein Medical. She told me I received good feedback for my technical round. This made me happy going into further discussion. And out of the blue, she asked

“What are your expectations?”

I was caught off guard. I thought to myself

“Should I go with what my family discussed or go with somewhat less?”

My resume didn’t look very bright. I had a 4 year gap period and I was desperate for a job. So, I started underselling myself during the negotiation. I went for a lesser offer and she counter offered an even lesser one. I had made my decision and I had no regrets. Knowledge and experience was what I seeked in this job & salary was at the last of my priorities at that time! I knew my value and I knew I would bounce back.

“Okay Navraj! I’ll finalize the offer and mail it to you. I’ll keep in touch" she said.

I bid her farewell and went to the gate. Now when I met Dubey ji for the 3rd time in that day, he had a gentle smile on his face. It looked like I earned familiarity at the guard’s office. I was no longer an “Unknown” but a known face. It felt like an achievement honestly, even though I did nothing. I merely existed to become a familiar face and yet, it was heartwarming!

My Thoughts Running WILD!

I left the company that day with a broad smile on my face. I think it was because of Dubey ji’s smile. It was contagious and I had earned it. So, I remained in a good mood the entire day. And while I was travelling back in Delhi Metro, I opened my phone to read more about the company. Every product I read last night that Auxein offered, I saw it being manufactured in front of my eyes. I got so excited about my future prospects there.?

“So, it’s going to be Auxein Medical!” I thought. “It feels like I could learn so much here. I didn’t even know this was a possible field to pursue for a mechanical engineer. Go to hell - automobile industry. Now, I reject you! I found my field.” And later that night, my mind was full of thoughts about the company as I continued scrolling through their product categories. I was mesmerized with Auxein.?

“The accuracy and precision of these devices far exceed most of the automobile components. They are designed for the human body! So critical and so much knowledge to bear! How could I not know?” I thought to myself “How could I have remained oblivious to this field? I don’t want to study IC Engines when I can study nature's most efficient system - the human body! Oh wait! It says these implants are made in different thicknesses, but why? And what do these medical instruments do exactly? How could someone standardize such irregular and very individualistic bone surfaces to design implants?? Wow! There is so much to learn and I can design hardcore, I’ll learn about Flesh & Bones uniting with the steel - the Bionic Bond, the future of the world - the synergy of Medical Science and Engineering Design. I am going to be Er. & Dr. Navraj”

With these thoughts circling around my head and being tired with that day’s experience, I went to sleep to further dissect these thoughts in my dreams. I don’t remember my dream, otherwise I would elaborate on it too! Haha!

A Random Day When I am no longer JOBLESS! THIS IS IT!

More than a week had passed and I was sitting at home, jobless. I was expecting a call but as time passed, I started losing hope. But suddenly on 11th January 2021, I got a call from Chhaya ma’am and she said

“I have mailed you Offer of Employment. Kindly check and confirm by mail within 24 hours.”

I nodded, cut the call and quickly checked my mail. The offer was less as expected. But I was okay with it. I quickly showed it to my family. They weren’t happy with what I got. But they were definitely happy that I got a job. Finally, I had a job offer to my name. Finally, I was no longer jobless. Finally, I could count myself out. It was a start, a much needed one for me and that too in a completely new field. I could build new skills and I could learn so much here. I told my family that I was going to accept the offer, that I was going to start my corporate life. They supported me and I quickly mailed back “I accept the offer”.

I joined Auxein in 2 days. 14th January 2021 was my first day in the company. When I arrived there in the morning and went to the gate, I saw Dubey Ji once again. He took a moment to recognize me and then, he asked

“Join krliye aap? / Have you joined?”

I nodded yes and I became the recipient of the broad smile. My Journey into Biomechanics & Orthopedic Implant Design had begun. It started on this same day 4 years ago.

I write it to remember my invaluable experience in the company “Auxein Medical” which opened doors for job opportunities to me at a time when I direly needed one! Thank you Auxein Medical for offering me everything you did! I’ll be eternally grateful.