SINGAPORE: A jobseeker recently complained on social media that recruiters nowadays are playing mind games with job applicants.
“They straight up give assignment after assignment, and then literally ghost us,” the jobseeker wrote on r/askSingapore on Monday (May 13).
“And, when asked about the budget for the position we applied for, they keep questioning us but never give a straightforward reply lah.”
The jobseeker then sought advice from forum members on dealing “with such highly unprofessional HR while searching for a job.”
“Because,…it feels like you should hold a Doctorate in street smartness and politics to deal with these people. Are the job seekers doing something wrong? Is there anything we need to learn more than the skills?”
“Unfortunately, there is nothing much you can do, other than move on quickly and it will never be your last encounter.”
Rather than feeling sorry for the jobseeker, one Redditor congratulated him for ‘dodging a bullet.’
This was because the Redditor believed that if the Human Resources department is not professional or the company’s recruiting process is very bad, it is not a good company to work for.
Another Redditor shared her experience, “Had someone call me and then scheduled an interview then after that ghost me. I think she take my resume to apply job and reject it, so that can fullfill unsuitable SG candidates profile.”
A third Redditor, who claimed to have done a lot of hiring in the past few days, explained things from HR’s perspective.
“For roles with assignments, if your response is not within the criteria/quality set by the Hiring Manager, it’s immediately rejected.
And no, the HR doesn’t know why it’s set that way, or if you managed to answer it in an equally acceptable alternative way; if it doesn’t match, it’s thrashed.
You are probably not doing something too wrong, but for every open position we hired, there’s 200-300 applicants per role. HMs only have enough time to interview 20-30 at best, sometimes even less than 10.
It’s completely up to the discretion of the HR to choose which 10 resumes to show us.”
Why do employers give assignments during the interview process?
According to the job listing website Indeed, employers typically give out assignments during the interview process to determine which candidate is best suited for the role.
Seeing examples of potential candidates’ work allows them to evaluate their talents and skills in addition to those stated on the resume.
Work assignments can also prove advantageous for individuals with gaps in their work history or limited experience on their resumes because they let them show how capable they are through these tasks.
Read related: Recruiter explains why “she would rather hire foreigners than NUS undergrads”
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