Hiring People
I have been trying to hire some people for a company that I recently set up - And in that context, I put an ad on India's No. 1 job search site Naukri.
Though I have gotten several excellent responses, there are some funny things that I have noticed ...
1. Would you like fries with that ?
A large number of applicants (Indians) with a degree from the UK or Australia. That isn't funny by itself, but its incredible how, without variation, each one of them has worked at Burger King, Blockbuster or sort of a dry cleaner and has put that on their resume as "Work Experience" ! Guys, take that off unless you are applying to Saravana Bhavan !!
2. Incredible, but true ...
I remember a story that my grand-dad's brother (who became Principal of one of India's top 10 Engineering colleges) used to tell about an interview for a professorship at BITS, Pilani.
He went in and found his interview panel full of Tamil Brahmins. The custom then was to append one's caste to one's name. He was asked for his name and after listening to his response (which did not reveal his caste), they asked for his father's name, which again did not reveal his caste ... He was not asked any further questions and was asked to leave.
Of course things have changed DRASTICALLY since then and I was a well-accepted student at Pilani myself, with so many great Brahmin friends ...
However, after so much development and globalization, I find it amazing that a few applicants still put their religion on their resumes ! And worst of all, some of them have their caste as well ! I instantly trash any resumes that have any mention of religion/caste, no matter what their religion/caste may be ...
Though I have gotten several excellent responses, there are some funny things that I have noticed ...
1. Would you like fries with that ?
A large number of applicants (Indians) with a degree from the UK or Australia. That isn't funny by itself, but its incredible how, without variation, each one of them has worked at Burger King, Blockbuster or sort of a dry cleaner and has put that on their resume as "Work Experience" ! Guys, take that off unless you are applying to Saravana Bhavan !!
2. Incredible, but true ...
I remember a story that my grand-dad's brother (who became Principal of one of India's top 10 Engineering colleges) used to tell about an interview for a professorship at BITS, Pilani.
He went in and found his interview panel full of Tamil Brahmins. The custom then was to append one's caste to one's name. He was asked for his name and after listening to his response (which did not reveal his caste), they asked for his father's name, which again did not reveal his caste ... He was not asked any further questions and was asked to leave.
Of course things have changed DRASTICALLY since then and I was a well-accepted student at Pilani myself, with so many great Brahmin friends ...
However, after so much development and globalization, I find it amazing that a few applicants still put their religion on their resumes ! And worst of all, some of them have their caste as well ! I instantly trash any resumes that have any mention of religion/caste, no matter what their religion/caste may be ...
Comments
And it also from the fact that south Indian names do not have a conventional 'last name', and when in West, the formal way of addressing one is by his/her l.name. Of course, father's name is used as one, causing one Mr. 'G Ramanathan', to be constantly addressed as 'Mr. Ganghadharan'!
And IM, I'm sure lots of 'Iyers 'and 'Iyengars' would very much like to conceal their caste names, to avoid prejudices of a different kind!
So I feel that you shouldn't disregard a resume, just because it carries a caste name tag. Perhaps, you should've made it very obvious that the jobs are in India :D
I wouldnt delete a resume if the name is just their last name - But some people in their bio-data say something like:
Name: XXX
Date of Birth: YYY
Religion: Hindu
Caste: ZZZ
Those are the ones that go to the dustbin !
I m working with naukri.com and to be very frank with you, the market in india looks for caste and gender during a job.
Specially Public Sector/Goverment Organizations look for caste and gender while fullfiling their criteria of jobs.
Since long back, there has been reservations for OBC/BC and women in india and that is still being followed by these organizations. And we being india's job portal have to cater to the market requirements.
But good private organizations do not look at gender or caste while appointing a person.