Round the Wicket

Having tried his luck with ‘catastrophic’ consequences and a paltry sum for ‘trial’, the pure blood decided to go round the wicket…began considering and applying for in-house roles. This seemed easier said than done. There were many opportunities available but none of the descriptions were attractive enough to grab his attention. He was not interested in being a mere ‘postman’ between the company and the external counsel…neither did he care for a compliance profile. His expectation remained of a creative career and dotted/filled with transactions. He continued to scan through various job portals on a regular basis and would refresh his job profile daily.

After quite a few days (looked like eternity, although probably only a month or so), he received a call from a recruitment consultant. He was intrigued when the consultant introduced himself as part of a consultancy specialized in legal jobs – something that was unknown in those days. The suave voice on the other side of the line had oodles of confidence and removed any doubt from the pure blood’s mind. He was offered 2 openings and the job descriptions shared through email. Eager to start the process, he went through the email the same night (well past midnight after a long day in office) and though he not quite clear on the role, next morning gave his consent for the interview.

It was almost a month before the interview could be scheduled by the consultant. The pure blood had almost given up when he got a call on a Monday morning. A couple of days later he was on his way to the office of the mid-sized information technology company. He has been warned of the long distance and corresponding time to reach the place where the IT Park was located. A stickler for punctuality, he had planned the journey to the minute. He left home a good 2 hours in advance, boarded the only bus that would take him to his destination. The winding roads seemed never ending and the crowd in the bus slowly thinned. He was wondering whether he was on the wrong track since after almost 90 minutes now, he was the only passenger left! Soon thereafter the speeding bus screeched to a halt and the conductor announced aloud that my stop had come. The pure blood looked around and was baffled since it was in the middle of nowhere. A few houses and small buildings could be seen at a distance. He double checked with the conductor, who with an irritating expression, pointed to a narrow dusty lane across the main road.

The pure blood got off quite reluctantly and ambled along as the May heat nearly engulfed him. After walking for a few minutes the dust gave way to a proper concrete road and the small buildings visible earlier came into view. These were not small anymore but large modern office building bringing relief to his mind. After making enquiries at roadside shops he reached the company’s magnificent four-storey glass building. The décor inside was tastefully done and the floors sparkling clean. The elegance everywhere echoed a sense of being looked after and cared for. After clearing the multiple security checks he was made to sit in a small but plush carpeted meeting room. He was admiring the painting on the wall opposite when there was a knock on the door.

A tall young man with curly hair walked in sharp at the interview time. He had a squarish jaw and a clipped moustache. The pure blood felt quite out of place since the interviewer was dressed in casuals and he was in heavy formals. The interviewer introduced himself in a cool unassuming voice as the human resources manager of the company’s local office. The interview commenced with the usual volley of questions. Next were questions around why the pure blood was interested in leaving a high profile law firm for a corporate job. The pure blood had tailor made answers for all. After almost an hour of discussions the HR manager finally asked if the pure blood had anything to ask. Since he was unsure of the exact role he asked questions concerning that.

The HR manager was instantly on the back foot. He stammered a bit as if trying to gather his thoughts. The role seemed to be coordination with the head legal of the company and finalizing various contracts entered into from the current location. If the contract required negotiation with the counter-party i.e. the company’s clients, then it would require conference calls with the company’s international headquarters. However, direct negotiation with a counter-party was not envisaged. On further probing, it emerged that in most cases the contracts would not require more than few changes to the company’s existing global templates. On enquiring about the team size, he was told that it would be one man show at this location and the incumbent would be entirely responsible for that location’s transactions. Currently they were managing from the company’s India head office and since the volumes were increasing multifold, a ‘helping hand’ was required. The salary package for a ‘helping hand’ was oddly quite high. It would be a 5 day week and sometimes late hours but generally a 9-6 job with cab facility and other perquisites/benefits.

The pure blood absorbed it all like a sponge. The pay perks together with the fixed timings was quite alluring. The opportunity to work with global lawyers was an added advantage. His thoughts were broken by the HR manager asking him a rather blunt question “Is it acceptable?” The pure blood almost blurted out ‘yes’ in a reflex action. “You can complete the formalities today and join from Monday” were the interviewer’s next words, possibly after having read the temptation on the pure blood’s expressive face. The perplexed pure blood protested “But I have to give notice”. “We do not have much time for that son. We’ve already selected a candidate who’s due to join on Monday but he’s not that experienced and we may need to recruit another lawyer…but your coming from a more renowned law firm will justify our argument for not hiring him or anyone else and save considerable cost”.

The pure blood felt a gun has been placed on his forehead, quite a formidable reason to meekly surrender his lofty corporate ambitions and beat a hasty retreat.