Telephonic Discussion with Vrunda

I was instructed to call Vrunda around 6 pm the following day. At the specified time:

Me: “Hello … Hi … Am I talking to Vrunda?”

Vrunda: “Yes …”

Me: “Hi Vrunda … This is Sharath here from Chennai!”

Vrunda: “Oh hi Sharath … how are you?”

Me: “Great (Mimicking Pakhir’s response) … and you?”

Vrunda: “I’m good … So … Shall we discuss about the opening?”

Me: “Sure … Please go ahead …”

Vrunda: “Well … As Pakhir mentioned, the project is called Porrotta Systems Baselines Support. The client uses a product called Piperion, which as per them, is a very high priority application. It reports their financial number to the SCC. And so, they need someone efficient to support the same.”

Me: “Is Piperion something Diapro developed for the client?”

Vrunda: “Actually, No! It is a third party software which we support.”

Me: “Oh … Ok … What technology is it based on? Pakhir mentioned that there are lots of ASP and .NET components in it. I think you should know that I am a Java/J2EE resource. But, given the right time and training, I can pick up .NET as well.”

Vrunda: “Well … Piperion is primarily written in Java and VB. But, since it is a third party software, we do not have access to the code nor permissions to modify it. Hence, on the whole, there is little to no coding in this project!”

I was very let down. All my dreams of a very “bright and shining” resume had been washed down the drain. But, I needed to get into this project. I was not about to let an opportunity to become billable slip out of my hands. God knows, when the next opportunity will come along!

Me: “Hmmmmm … Any idea what Pak meant by the .NET and ASP components then?”

Vrunda: “There are a couple of asp pages that the Pespi web portal uses. But, that’s about it. And you won’t be working on it anyways. So, I am not to sure what he meant by that. You should probably check with him directly.”

Me: “Hmmmmmmmm … I think I will do just that.”

Vrunda: “Ok … So – are you interested in the opening?”

Me: “Sure thing … Count me in!”

Vrunda: “Nice. I will pass your profile to the client. They would probably request an interview with you. Once that is over, we can proceed.”

Me: (in a panicky tone) “Interview???”

Vrunda: (sensing the same) “Oh don’t worry about that. I’m sure it will be a breeze!”

Me: (feeling much better) “Thanks for the reassurance. It means a lot to me!”

Vrunda: “Anytime!”

Me: “Ok then … I will talk to Pak (aka Pakhir). Please do let me know if there are any topics I need to prepare before my interview.”

Vrunda: “Sure … I’ll give Pak my inputs and we will take it forward with the client. Deal?”

Me: “Sounds like a plan … Ok then Vrunda … Have a nice day at work…”

Vrunda: “You too … Bye!”

I was elated that she had liked my profile, and was pretty sure I would get through the “client interview” (If I could clear Diapro’s interview, client interview was gonna be a walk in the beach).

But, I had to talk about Pak regarding the “no coding” aspect of this project. So – I head over to his cube.