Tips to select a candidate…

When we talk about hiring the candidates, interview process comes up as the first thing in our mind. Without interviewing anyone, it is impossible to judge if he/she is a suitable candidate. But how does the interview process happening now in the IT industry? What time frame do we take to close a position? We do interviews and judge candidate on the following two methods only. I suddenly remember a zen story which describes the scenario better.

Now the story starts like this…..

Disciple X of a great zen guru clarifies a doubt with his master.

Disciple X: Master, I have a doubt to be clarified.

Master: Yes, goahead X.

Disciple X: What is love?

Master: Can you see a paddy field in front of you?

Disciple X: Yes master.

Master: Get inside the field and pick the tallest paddy crop of the entire field. But one condition, you can start from east to west, but you can’t turn back and see if the previous crop was a taller one than what you have in your hands.

Disciple X agreed, starts from east to west. First crop of the field seemed to be the tallest, but he had a curiosity to find the better and taller crop. He travelled much inside, saw another taller crop but still wanted to explore the best. Atlast he came to the end of west paddy field where he found that the first crop on the east field was the tallest ever he saw in the field. As he can’t turn back and check or pick the tallest he returned with the empty hands. He explained everything to his master and said he was looking for the best, but when the best has gone he couldn’t pick up again. Great zen master smiled at him and said, this is called as ‘Love’. You can’t get it back if you lose to choose once.

Then, disciple X asked another question, ‘Master, then what is marriage?’

Master: Same rules and laws applicable, but you have to choose the tallest bamboo tree from the nearby forest.

Disciple X immediately overlooked the eastern side of the forest and started cutting the first bamboo tree. When the great zen master asked why he didn’t went inside the forest to see if there are any other tallest tree than what he had. Disciple humbly said, ‘master, this time I don’t want to return in empty hands and not interested to hunt for the best to get disappointment. So I cut the first tallest tree I saw in the forest. Great zen guru said, ‘X this is called as marriage’.