Microsoft One

To continue what I have written on my last post, I am writing this entry to talk about the Microsoft One.

It was a very tiring trip to BEJ, much more tiring than other trips I have ever had. I had to take a train trip as early as 6.30 in the morning and go home at 8 pm, yet the experience was priceless and the tiredness was not felt. The final round of the Microsoft One program was one of the most precious experiences I have ever had in my life.

Burhan, Willi, Brendan, Steven, Me, Andi, Dimas, Sandro, Fanny, Resha, Livia, Arta, Hera, Yuvita, Mbak Novi (Judge)

Okay enough with the cheesy opening paragraph. It was tiring as hell. Physically and mentally tiring I think I could die. We had to be there at 8.30 and I came there at like 7.50 am. Until 9 am, which was finally the time the program began, there were already 14 people out of 20 listed. I don't know why the other six didn't come, but all I needed to know was that the applicants were already narrowed down to 14 before it even started (yay?). Willi, Brendan, Burhan, Sandro, Fanny, Resha, Yuvita, Dimas, Andi, Steven, Hera (Aussie), Livia (UPH), and Arta (UI). Well those are the names of the other guys based on the sitting position as far as I could remember, and fortunately I remembered them well.

The first round was a group case study. We were split into three different groups; I was grouped with Burhan of FT UI and Steven of IPB. The groups were given a case about a launching event of Internet Explorer 9. Although the idea that my group presented was pretty cool, I personally think I gave the worst performance and Steven did his part really well. Oh – it was Mbak Ndari's birthday that day so we kinda gave her a surprise by bringing a previously prepared cake and candles into the presentation room. Later we had lunch (unlimited free magnum for dessert!) and continued mingling around. Sadly, it was the last time (that day) we would see Arta, Burhan, Sandro, and Brendan as they were eliminated from the top 14 right after.

The next round was a personal interview session. The last ten people were once again grouped, now in five, and headed to different rooms in different floors. I was grouped with Steven, Dimas, Hera, and Resha. While waiting for our turns I found out that Steven has had a lot of experience failing in life but knows how to beat a shark by punching it on the nose, Dimas, who has two older brothers who are already successful abroad, doesn't believe in big wishes coming true, Hera actually took a Diploma program before continuing her study to Australia, and Resha was actually a calmer person than I thought.

The day continued and the five of us finished our interviews and headed back to where the ten people split. This time, the judges announced that two more had to leave the building because they didn't make it. I was thinking that it would be the time I headed home. Turned out I was chosen to stay with Resha and Hera. It was time for Steven and Dimas to go. Seeing them sent home just like that was really… frustrating. In my personal opinion, they were better guys than me.

With the last eight guys remaining, we had to go through a series of interviews (again!) with three different people from the directors board. One of them was Indian who practically would not understand Bahasa Indonesia well enough. I had a tough time with him. After the interviews, all of us headed home and continued to wait (in pain) until the announcement on the next Monday.