My exciting journey in FaceTime came to an end on 12th of Feb 2010. FaceTime is and will always remain very special for me and let me assure that its not just because of it being my first official workplace...but because of uncountable diverse reasons which I am going to write in this blog. Actually,I wanted to keep the content of my 5 page "good bye" mail in this blog but due to some serious and genuine objections I decided not to do so. Well if few of you got shock by knowing that my good bye mail was 5 page long then let me give some more stats to get u guys faint on the floor...it took me 5 hours to write/compile/recompile it and another 2 hours to get it finalized and edited with the help of my friend "sanjo"* ** !!!!
*please use US accent to pronounce it
**name changed as he did not want his mailbox to get flooded with mails to edit the content/s :P
So, If you are still in senses then lets continue with our main story.....
I still remember the late 2007 days when market has started showing the chances of going down and hiring was at new low. I was about to complete my studies and was tensed about my future though I had my plans very clear. I wanted to come here and search job by myself rather than wasting time in Delhi. I still remember that even after applying to a lot many companies we were seldom getting any interviews/tests call..........around mid december I got call from FaceTime for written test. Fortunately I cleared with best marks and hence, got first preference for interview. The interview was extensive and I was been asked questions from almost all the subjects and ultimately I got the offer to join as intern!!!!
Since my joining on 17th dec 2007 till the time I left the company its been amazing journey.It was very tough for me to start at the first place as being employees of product based company, Facetimers were quite aggressive as far as "work completion" and "meeting deadlines" are concerned. This meant that they use to have very little time for me to interact, chat or even ask! unlike other companies which has gym, cafeteria providing lunch, indoor games space etc. here we had none of these distractions....or rather I should say that lack of all these facilities meant no place to get introduced to people casually. But one thing which all companies 'support' secretly and I have not heard of any company which does not have this space is known as SDSZ"Self-Declared-Smoking-Zone"****. SDSZ is the place where I got introduced to many of my co-workers and my circle of friends kept on increasing day by day. Its been always said that if u are new in a company then try to make as many friends as possible as it makes ur life easier...and same happened with me. I started feeling the urge to come to office daily; not only for work but also to meet my new friends and spend time with them. With my friend list growing I fell in love with FaceTime. There was an attraction in the enviornment, a warmth which use to give me a feeling that I am in safe hands and with right kind of people. I was very comfortable in Facetime enjoying my work and the environment itself.....But little I knew that one day I will decide to come out of this comfort zone.....
****SDSZ is a term invented by me while writing this blog and soon I will be writing a blog on this abbreviation itself... @copyright Dhiraj Singh :P:P:P.... but it is free to use and I will love to see people using this world quite frequently)
At one place if my social life was going rocking and smooth, my professional life was bound to follow the trend. I got permanent very soon ...a lot of thanks to my then Manager, Team Lead, 'Kesu'(name changed..) and Biswanath in particular and whole FaceTime in general. I was completing my assignments before time and had great support of my team. They helped me at each step and never ever made me feel alone while tackling with issues related to product. I completed my one year with the team before being moved to another team which were working on new technology and a product from scratch.
As with all of us, I was a bit reluctant to move to the new team as I was very much in love with my current work plus I was afraid of new members. But things in faceTime keeps on getting better and never vice versa......When I met my new manager on the first day then only I understood that I am going to learn a lot while working with him. Sometime in college, I used a word on college sweatshirt: "Perfection-personified" but it took me 4 years to meet someone for whom I can use this word!!! Believe me, If a manager can be like him then any guy working under him will try to perform at the best of his ability. He was always been very motivating, supportive and inspiring leader. And the best attribute of him is CALMNESS. He understands that if something is getting bad then getting angry over it or shouting over it will make it worse if not the worst. Team was full of energetic engineers all of whom were learning or working on new technology called Flex. I never used it and first few weeks were very frustrating but if it would not be support of "manjo"*(*Name changed, please use US accent to pronounce :P) most probably I would have thought of giving up. Team also supported a lot. We worked hard as a team and with God grace, people started liking the product which evolved after few rigorous cycle of reviews and changes. Soon I have been promoted though without any hike :P :P :P but no regrets, at least it made me feel that I am going in right direction....
TO FACETIMERS:
Life got changed a lot. But this change would not have been this smooth and exciting if I would have not been here in FaceTime. I am thankful to all of my friends there in FaceTime for making my life so comfortable throughout my stay. Moreover, as you guys would have already read some part of my last mail(as I do not expect you guys to spare ur precious time to read whole of it ;) ), u all can guess how much I enjoyed your company. Thanks for being there whenever I was in need......
Time to say bye to all of you.......but I know as each 'hi' ends at 'bye'...each 'bye' will end with a warmer 'hi' next time!!!
