Unveiling the Hidden Truths of Hiring: Why HR Practices May Not Be What They Seem

Let's face it: Some truths part 2: Hiring

Okay, it's time for hiring in companies, and it's time for some money as well.

Hiring is done for various reasons. Sometimes for genuine needs, sometimes for the stock market. Some companies use advertisements in newspapers to influence share prices in the market. There are plenty of examples. That's why one may never realize, even after a very good interview, HR never called back.

HR plays into the hands of management and collects a lot of CVs for no hiring at all.

Sometimes hiring is done for nonexistent projects in IT. Be very careful with this kind of hiring. You never know when the job ends, or if it would even start. In this case, HR tries to hire people even when knowing the situation is not good.

Even after a good interview, none of us receive a call from HR. Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes?

There is a money angle. It is not uncommon to hear about HR professionals accepting kickbacks, cuts, and money shares from HR consultants. If your consultant pays less than others, you are unlikely to get the job. Your talent, experience, and education play no role. For those who think I made it up, please correct yourself. Visit the following link: [The Hindu Business Line: Cuts, kickbacks hit recruitment industry](http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/01/13/stories/2006011303630900.htm)

I don't believe the HR system has been cleaned up since this article was published. It may have even worsened.

Some good companies' HR departments call experienced candidates and start asking for marks from 10th and 12th grades. A HR professional from a reputable company once asked me for my 10th-grade marks. I questioned him, "Can you ask an American or British person for their 10th-grade marks?" The answer is a resounding "NO." I fail to understand the relevance of 10th-grade marks to the job I would be doing in a new company with 12 years of experience. These questions are irrelevant and serve no purpose, yet HR professionals continue to ask them. Someone please inject some sense into the minds of these individuals!

It seems ethics and good practices no longer guide HR professionals. Lies and misinformation now dominate the HR industry.

HR professionals often paint a very rosy picture of a company in disarray. They promise onsite positions, knowing full well that such positions either never existed or will never materialize. Be cautious with such individuals.

HR professionals frequently complain that they extended offers to four individuals, none of whom accepted. If HR professionals manipulate the situation, candidates have every right to protect themselves and act in their best interest.

I have stopped trusting HR professionals because I have found that out of every five sentences they say, only one contains a hint of truth.

The truth behind referral schemes: if you submit someone's CV to them, they may not contact that person at all, or they might delay it. Eventually, they may pass the CV to their HR consultant and share the money, or contact the person after several months without paying you a referral fee.

Various tricks and lies prevail in the market. HR has become a puppet of management, neglecting to use their own judgment. Ethics and fair business dealings are scarce.

HR professionals who post on job portals often have limited or no knowledge about the actual requirements. They call you for interviews and make you wait for hours without considering that they are wasting your time.

Sometimes, HR professionals ask experienced individuals with over 5 years of experience to take tests. This is a ridiculous waste of time.

A new trend emerging from HR professionals is demanding security money ranging from 50k to 75k for onsite opportunities. When I questioned an HR professional about this, I asked, "Did you have to pay money to secure job opportunities in your career?" These HR professionals, merely serving as mouthpieces for others, failed to justify this practice. Is it acceptable to demand money from candidates under any pretext? I have never paid, and none of my friends have ever paid money to secure jobs.

Most HR professionals provide various excuses about offer letters. Soft copies are sent quickly, but hard copies may never arrive. When I inquire about hard copies, they offer excuses. Many companies and HR departments are hesitant to make commitments.

In one major company, HR conducts interviews but delays sending offers for months, potentially benefiting HR consultants who forwarded CVs.

Dealing with these HR individuals and their tactics can be a truly frustrating experience. Candidates often end up losing out. Freshers who are not connected to HR or management have a tough time entering companies.

To HR professionals: if you extend an offer and the candidate declines, do not take it personally. It's a cycle that completes itself. What goes around comes around.

Candidates, be cautious. If you receive offers from multiple companies and join one after thorough research, you are not doing anything wrong. Before joining any company, seek feedback from friends and acquaintances. Trust no word from the HR professionals of the new company.

I will post "What happens after you are hired" in the next post.

Here is the link to Part 1: [CiteHR - Let's face some truths Part 1](https://www.citehr.com/97567-lets-face-some-truths-part1.html)

I am not aware of such things happening, especially in a good company. I have worked in the recruitment department for quite some time and have realized that companies are in constant need of good employees. Though hiring sometimes becomes a tedious process. Maybe one candidate had a good interview, but the other one had a better one. So you see, everybody can't get the same job. Also, HR keeps on asking questions just to inquire about the communication skills of the candidate. HR is not in any poor position but rather is part of making crucial decisions in the company. Hope I could make my point clear.

Difficult for HR professionals to defend the wrongdoings in the industry. As candidates, we have started to understand the rules of the game. Any comments!!!

I had read this post some days ago and had trashed it. Took some time for me to trace it again and reply.

To start with, I am VERY HAPPY that you are neither in HR nor Admin. With the kind of negativity in you, you would have been an insult to either of those roles/teams!

Secondly, India Cynic seems a more appropriate name than India Rebel. Rebels stand up for justice and set things right! And not just sit around and bad-mouth people!!

In today's competitive business scenario, every company/business is trying to make every employee of theirs productive. Most sensibly run companies continuously invest time and effort in removing unproductive clerical jobs and ensure technology/automation is used to its utmost benefit. Given this, I am not willing to buy people staff HR and Admin departments with good-for-nothing relatives and junkies.

In these days, every team leader/line manager has the additional responsibility of being the HR person for his/her team. They are actively involved in hiring/training/grooming their people.... Their ratings depend upon their teams' performance and success. Who are you telling about kickbacks and cuts? Do you think some manager will hire a useless candidate and lose out on his/her appraisal (forget the HR person).

The days of seeking formal feedback for everything are gone. Everyone is involved in running their Company, and they share feedback and suggestions for improvement voluntarily. Formal feedback is collected through E-Sat surveys and in Townhall meetings, and the results and action plans from these are also actively shared, and there IS visibility to everyone on all these.

As an HR professional with long experience, I have seen, many a time, incompetent candidates blame the hiring company or the HR guys in those companies for their not getting hired. Rather than finding lame excuses and trying to fix blame, if one spends time introspecting what went wrong, the possibility of success in the future will be better.

In this time and age, companies (even small companies) articulate their values and ethical practices very well, and anyone not following the code of conduct does get ejected from the system (sooner or later). If someone looks at short-term cost benefits and decides to work with fly-by-night (or also-ran) consultants, one may face the issue of poor quality (and possibly kickbacks!)

With the kind of booming business opportunities in India, I am not denying that there would be some idiots who (without thinking of their and their organization's reputation) indulge in malpractices for short-term gains.

But that DOES NOT give you any right to call the entire fraternity names like the way you have done!

Anybody who cares at least a little about their individual and organizational reputation and the Company that feeds them will stand up and ensure malpractices are stopped.

Mr. Rebel, rather than spending time in such mindless mud-slinging, stand up and raise your voice to stop corrupt practices. That way you would do an ocean of good to both your organization and your own conscience!

Remember, those who pay the kickbacks are more responsible for spreading the evil than those who seek them.

I had read this post some days ago and had trashed it. Took some time for me to trace it again and reply.

To start with, I am VERY HAPPY that you are neither in HR nor Admin. With the kind of negativity in you, you would have been an insult to either of those roles/teams!

Secondly, India Cynic seems a more appropriate name than India Rebel. Rebels stand up for justice and set things right! And not just sit around and bad-mouth people!!

In today's competitive business scenario, every company/business is trying to make every employee of theirs productive. Most sensibly run companies continuously invest time and effort in removing unproductive clerical jobs and ensure technology/automation is used to its utmost benefit. Given this, I am not willing to buy people staff HR and Admin departments with good-for-nothing relatives and junkies.

In these days, every team leader/line manager has the additional responsibility of being the HR person for his/her team. They are actively involved in hiring/training/grooming their people. Their ratings depend upon their teams' performance and success. Who are you telling about kickbacks and cuts? Do you think some manager will hire a useless candidate and lose out on his/her appraisal (forget the HR person)?

The days of seeking formal feedback for everything are gone. Everyone is involved in running their Company and they share feedback and suggestions for improvement voluntarily. Formal feedback is collected through E-Sat surveys and in Townhall meetings, and the results and action plans from these are also actively shared, and there IS visibility to everyone on all these.

As an HR professional with a long experience, I have seen, many a time, incompetent candidates blame the hiring company or the HR guys in those companies for their not getting hired. Rather than finding lame excuses and trying to fix blame, if one spends time introspecting what went wrong, the possibility of success in the future will be better.

In this time and age, companies (even small companies) articulate their values and ethical practices very well, and anyone not following the code of conduct does get ejected from the system (sooner or later). If someone looks at short-term cost benefits and decides to work with fly-by-night (or also-ran) consultants, one may face the issue of poor quality (and possibly kickbacks!)

With the kind of booming business opportunities in India, I am not denying that there would be some idiots who (without thinking of their and their organization's reputation) indulge in malpractices for short-term gains.

But that DOES NOT give you any right to call the entire fraternity names like the way you have done!

Anybody who cares at least a little about their individual and organizational reputation and the Company that feeds them will stand up and ensure malpractices are stopped.

Mr. Rebel, rather than spending time in such mindless mud-slinging, stand up and raise your voice to stop corrupt practices. That way you would do an ocean of good to both your organization and your own conscience!

Remember, those who pay the kickbacks are more responsible for spreading the evil than those who seek them.

Raj Balkrishna,

You posted:

To start with, I am VERY HAPPY that you are neither in HR nor Admin. With the kind of negativity in you, you would have been an insult to either of those roles/teams!

Secondly, India Cynic seems a more appropriate name than India Rebel. Rebels stand up for justice and set things right! And not just sit around and bad-mouth people!!

I am ignoring your above comments as I do not feel it is appropriate to get provoked by foul language.

To your knowledge, I have enjoyed success in industry and still do. I choose companies after thinking from all angles. I take feedback from industry. I do my own reference check on managers/HR people and company issues.

I am better informed about the gimmicks of HR plays. I can sense what the guy on the other line is thinking.

Mr. Rebel, rather than spending time in such mindless mud-slinging, stand up and raise your voice to stop corrupt practices. That way you would do an ocean of good to both your organization and your own conscience!

It's not mud-slinging. If you think like that, none can help it. I gave you a piece to think, what you thought of it. Hindu newspaper, which printed the news, you mean to say they are also against you.

Remember, those who pay the kickbacks are more responsible for spreading the evil than those who seek them.

Payer and payee both are HR guys in this case. HR recruiters pay, and HR guys accept the kickback.

I can give you names of companies and names of individuals as well, that will further embarrass the fraternity. I am not going to do that. At no point of time, I am going to reveal the identities of individuals and companies.

Read that Hindu news again, It's not me...

We have started to understand the rule of games HR plays.

To candidates, Never resign without hard copies of the offer letter, despite many requests from HR guys. Have 3-4 offers before resigning...

Morality is subjective person to person. Morality cannot be signed on paper; it cannot be produced as evidence. Without hard copies and written and signed words, do not accept it as truth.

Rules are twisted to suit the ruler. We are below such all gods and deserve to protect ourselves.