AT the beginning of my career I was interested in working for a particular organisation. One day I walked in with a copy of my CV in hand. This was long ago, before social media and even before the days of cell phones. Walk-ins were unusual but not considered ‘creepy’ or an act of stalking. The receptionist was kind enough to ask me to wait while she called a couple of people, and one of them was free to meet me. They talked to me for 20 minutes or so, kept the copy of my CV, and told me that they would get back to me. I came home expecting that I would not hear back from the company.

The same evening, I got a phone call from the company telling me I had seven to eight interviews the very next morning. The next day, I had my interviews and during the last interview with the head of the institution, I was given an offer letter. I had no ‘connection’ at the company and there was no sifarish. I did not know a single person I had met and vice versa. For as long as I worked at the institution, I never forgot this initial experience and it shaped/ coloured my perception of the organisation. During my years there I was always conscious that I wanted to continue and further the culture of merit and transparency that I had had a taste of.

Contrast this with another organisation that I had the opportunity to work for. Almost every appointment was on the basis of who knew the owner or one of the senior people. Salaries and promotions were........

© Dawn