101 - TOA My First Day

101 - The One About My First Day...

(Before u start, i would like to mention that this is a hybrid post between F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Scrubs, title is like the former, while i m visualizing myself as if i m narrating this in a Voiceover, just like J.D. of Scrubs...)

Monday, 23rd July, 2007, a major landmark in my life.... its my first day of professional life...I joined GEOMETRIC SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS LTD.......... (dont get surprised...i was supposed to join TCS on 8th Aug, but this offer came up n was difficult to say 'no' to...)..Many of my friends know i always wanted to join GSSL... n so, there I was, being a part of my dream company as a fresher......
My first day was quite an experience in itself....I was required to report @ the Agra Fort Bldg..(yea, these ppl @ Geometric hv got strange nomenclature...gets even bizarre ahead...) at 9.30 am. After signing in at the reception, I waited for the recruitment manager to show up. The receptionist informed him abt my arrival, and I was asked to wait. After about half an hour, i was called in , and I recieved my Offer Letter with salary details. Immediately, I was shown the way to the auditorium, where, I was told, the Induction was going on... when I reached there, a lady then took me to another room, where actually the Induction was being held....n guess the name of the room....Takshashila....lol....(told u...bizarre). I was handed a huge bunch of forms to be filled, which i started to do wearily.. Passport Details form, PF form, PF nomination form, PF declaration, Insurance Form, Declaration, LTA n Food Coupons declarations n related forms, n what not.....all the while, the HR ppl were helping us with these forms, n clearing our doubts...
The form filling session was followed by various presentations...first up was the Organization Overview n Compensation structure clarification.... that was followed by the Infosystems Security rules n procedures ppt... which also included the use n rules of use of email id n related process.... the security presentation was very important as it stressed on the Dos n Don'ts, n also on the importance of Confidentiality.
After that, we were taken for lunch in the company canteen. A table had been arranged nicely for all us Joinees, and the food was also quite delectable. We all ate pretty quickly, in anticipation of the post lunch session, which was to begin @ 1400 hrs.
After lunch, we were educated about our payroll and all related areas, including how to maximize the Take-home salary... This session was followed by the opening of the Bank Accounts...here, representatives from 3 banks (CITIBank, ICICI n HDFC) entered the room n started boasting about their respective banks' offerings and other crap.... i was least interested to listen to all that, coz Vishal had strongly recommended HDFC...so i went in for an HDFC bank acct...now all the ppl who knw how a bank account is opened in nationalized banks, prepare to get amazed.... gone r the days of lengthy forms, signatures n tireless waiting for the account to get opened... all it takes now is a couple of signatures , a photograph, an id, n ur instant bank account is ready..(faster than u can cook Maggi...)..all complete wid ur ATM-Debit card, netbanking pin n cheque book...call it 2 min. account....
After that, again the boring presentations resumed.. with a wide gamut of topics covering the facilities layout, HR instructions, Admin instructions...n such other stuff....
At the end of the day, we got our Access Cards, sans our Ids...only blank access cards...we were told we'll recieve our ids in a week's time...after thaa, all our forms n documents were collected, and we were collected and we were asked to report to our immediate Managers... I wasnt assigned any, but i got a copy of my schedule of the week.....i had to begin C++ training the next day....so i went to chk out the training room on 2nd floor.... (only so that i could use my new Access card...).... Having checked out the room, and used my Card at every possible opportunity n more, i decided it was time to leave... so i went out to where my scooty was parked..(yes..i had ridden Minal's scooty that day..), where there was a customary bag checking..n left for home...beaming with pride on the inside....looking forward to the next morning...
More about my first week at work in my future posts.....