Top 10 Ways of Not Getting Selected in the First Round at an Interview

When we posted about a vacancy a couple of weeks back, we received various resumes which made me wonder just what the candidates were ‘thinking (or the lack of it),’ while sending the email. This made me chart out the top 10 ways of NOT getting selected in the first round at an interview.

1) Yes, I am not serious.

First impression is the last impression. So show us just how casual you are, by having an informal email ID. Shout out that you shall take the work as casually as your email ID is. Good to have things cleared right at the beginning.

2) Subject doesn’t matter!

Just in case the HR personnel misses your casual email ID and still considers reading the email, let him know you are not interested by putting in an inappropriate subject. Confuse the HR personnel.

3) Just forward it!

Tell the company all about just how busy you are, because you don't have time to erase 3 letters from the subject: ‘Fw:’ It speaks volumes about your arrogance and that you've applied to various other companies as well.

4) Prove it

If you badly want the HR to believe that you have applied to various other companies, blindly forwarded the email you have sent to various other HRs. It may help the HR personnel to apply for a job in a competing agency!

5) Start abruptly

It's good to be concise and not beat around the bush. Start abruptly. It shall show us that you are too busy and the agency may think you are the best guy for chasing payments from clients.

6) Mr. India Fan

A better idea is to show us that you are a Mr. India fan. Let your text be absolutely invisible. Let the HR guess who you are and what position you are applying for. After all, what better things could they have to do? Are you listening, Calendar?

7) Subscribe for an email package, send bulk email

Time is precious, you need to apply to a thousand companies. Why don't you show us how you're into efficient time management, and buy an email package and send a mass mailer with a standard salutation. HR will not have the time to see if the primary email was sent to them or if they were just put in the bcc list. We wonder if these candidates of mass destruction are North Korea Approved!

8) Decode 0158974674465

Name your resume as if it's a million dollar code. Keep the HR on their toes by making them figure it out. Show us you're smart enough for the job. Maybe it's that secret job at NASA.

9) Yo! I am up-to-date

A lot of resumes have the golden words, 'UPDATED' written in the file name. After all, the HR should know, if you don't write these words in the file name, it indicates that your resume is not updated. It is most certainly something you should boast about-the fact that you are sending an updated resume. We hope your next resume is named Kit Kat instead, that update sounds better.

10) Stop acting as if you know it all unless you are Google.

Do some research about the company you're applying to. Don't blindly send resumes. A candidate wrote to us seeking a career in PR:

Revert from the company:

If you fall in any of the 10 categories mentioned above, please rectify yourself immediately. A few quick ‘real’ tips which can be useful, before your resume is opened:

• Use a formal email ID, always. Name.Surname@____.com/surname.name@______.com
• Subject should have keywords which can be searched. A lot of times, an HR may want to contact you at a later stage, so it helps.
• Name the resume aptly. Generally, an HR saves the word doc/pdf in his respective desktop. If you name your file as CV/CV Updated etc, he will never be able to search it for future reference. Ideal Name: Name Surname’s Resume as on ‘Date’
• Do not forward your resume. It takes exactly 1.33 seconds to remove Fw: from the subject. Spare that time to remove those 3 letters from the subject line.
• Quickly introduce yourself in the email body. A 3-4 line brief description about yourself to start with certainly helps.
• 3-4 lines should be written about the company. Yes, personalization helps big time. You ought to do your research on the companies you are applying to. Apply to ONLY one company in one email.
• Do NOT attach a cover letter separately. A cover letter need not be a document, and should be in the email body, as mentioned above.
• Follow up. As soon as you send the resume, text the HR personnel. After 2 days, if you have no revert, send a reminder email with the last email in trail.