India’s Hiring Process: Where Keywords, Box-Ticking, And Outdated JDs Make You Wonder If We’re Hiring For Robots, Not People

Hiring in India? Oh, where do we even begin? It’s a delightful mess of confusion, misjudgment, and missed opportunities. The job market is saturated with talent, but the way companies go about hiring is downright bizarre, bordering on tragic. If you’ve ever been on the job market in India (or been a hiring manager), you probably know the drill. Resumes are scrutinized for the number of keywords they contain, interviews are more about ticking boxes than understanding an applicant’s potential, and let’s not forget the obsession with the “perfect candidate”—a unicorn, mind you—who doesn’t exist anywhere outside of an HR manager’s dreams.

So, what exactly is broken in the hiring process? Everything, really.

The Resume Keyword Olympics

Let’s start with the resumes. In India, the first stage of the hiring process is often reduced to keyword-matching. The hiring manager, or more likely, the automated resume parser, has one job: to find the right words. Do you have “team player,” “leadership,” and “problem-solving” on your resume? Great! You’re in. If not, well, good luck. The quality of your work, the creativity in your projects, or the impact you’ve made? Not as important as whether your resume contains the exact buzzwords that HR software is programmed to identify.

This isn’t just a little quirk in the hiring system. This is a huge problem. The focus on keywords is not only inefficient; it’s also a lazy shortcut that ignores the nuances of a person’s experience and abilities. A resume with “customer relationship management” on it might not even get a second glance from the HR software, even though the candidate could be the ideal fit for the role. So, forget about highlighting real-life skills or explaining your approach to challenges. If you don’t match the algorithm’s criteria, it’s game over before you even get the chance to impress anyone.

But hey, the companies can brag about their “innovative” use of tech to streamline hiring, right?

Interviews: The Box-Ticking Circus

Now, let’s talk about the actual interview process. If you thought that having your resume ignored by a robot was the worst part, welcome to the real nightmare. In India, interviews are usually about ticking boxes, not actually assessing whether the candidate has the right potential. Forget about the soul of a conversation or trying to understand a person’s motivations—just ask the same set of “canned” questions to everyone and move on.

“Tell me about a time you faced a challenge and how you overcame it.” Oh, how original. You can almost hear the HR manager asking this question from a script. It’s as if the “right” answer to this question will automatically reveal whether you can be a good fit for the team. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. We’ve all seen it—someone can give a fantastic answer to this question, using perfect examples of their experience, but still be deemed “not the right fit” for reasons that no one bothers to explain.

And while we’re at it, let’s talk about that infamous trait: the obsession with checking boxes. Are you “team-oriented”? Yes, you’ve worked in teams—doesn’t matter how well you’ve actually worked in them, but yes, let’s check that box. Do you “adapt to change”? Of course, you’ve changed. A lot. But do you really know how to handle a shifting environment? Who cares, just check the box.

Interviews in India often devolve into mind-numbing, robotic exchanges where the interviewer is far more interested in crossing off their checklist than understanding whether you could bring real value to the organization.

Overqualified? Too Bad. You’re a Flight Risk.

India has a unique tendency to reject overqualified candidates because, well, they might leave the company after a few months. Heaven forbid a skilled, experienced person takes the job temporarily while they look for a more fulfilling position. How dare they want to grow? That’s a flight risk! Yes, nothing says “ideal candidate” more than someone with mediocre qualifications who will happily stick around for the same stagnant work and sub-par salary for years.

So, let’s break it down: overqualified candidates are rejected because they might leave. Underqualified candidates are rejected because they don’t have the experience. What exactly does that leave us with? A wasteland of job openings that stay open for months because companies are so caught up in their unrealistic expectations.

The obsession with hiring only those who perfectly match the job description is what causes this disaster. Companies are so focused on ticking off the exact list of qualifications, that they forget one critical detail: talent isn’t always defined by a piece of paper. Sometimes, it’s about hunger, growth potential, and the ability to learn on the job. But, hey, who needs that when you can have an army of resume-perfect robots?

Why Finding the “Perfect Candidate” is Killing Your Hiring Process

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the obsession with the perfect candidate. The one who fits the job description to a T. The one who has every skill, every certification, and every experience listed in the requirements. Why? Because perfection is easy to measure. Or at least it seems that way. So instead of hiring based on potential or a willingness to grow into the role, HR departments hunt for candidates who come with a pre-packaged set of qualifications, just like buying a pre-cooked meal.

Here’s the truth no one wants to admit: this fixation on finding the “perfect candidate” is why so many positions remain open for months. Companies believe they need a unicorn—a person who can walk in on day one and be 100% ready. But that’s not how it works. People evolve in roles. They grow, they learn, and they become better at what they do. Yet the hiring system insists on looking for someone who is already perfectly molded for the job. Spoiler alert: perfect candidates don’t exist. And even if they did, they’d probably be a little too good to work for your company in the first place.

Meanwhile, other companies, other countries, and other industries are moving at light speed, adapting to the changing workforce and gasp hiring for potential, for enthusiasm, for creativity, and for the ability to develop on the job. But in India, we’re too busy looking at resumes with more keywords than a social media influencer’s bio.

The Real Problem: Better Judgment, Not Better Filters

The true issue isn’t that the system is too slow or too complicated; it’s that companies in India don’t know how to judge talent. They don’t need better filters, they need better judgment. Instead of focusing on finding someone who matches every requirement on a job description, companies should be looking for candidates with the right mindset, adaptability, and drive to succeed.

Hiring should be less about finding someone who checks every box and more about finding someone who has the desire to grow into the role and bring new ideas to the table. It’s about understanding that a resume doesn’t capture a person’s full potential. Some of the best candidates may not have a perfect track record or a flawless CV, but they have the hunger, the passion, and the creativity that will make them invaluable assets to any team.

But in India, we’ve been conditioned to think that finding the perfect candidate is the answer. This narrow approach, combined with an outdated, one-size-fits-all hiring process, is holding us back. It’s no wonder companies are struggling to fill roles while the talent pool remains vast and underutilized.

The Future of Hiring in India: A Change Is Long Overdue

It’s high time that India’s hiring process undergoes a radical transformation. If companies continue with their current methods, where experience trumps potential, and keywords trump actual ability, we’re heading for an HR disaster.

India is brimming with potential. The problem is that we’re too busy looking at resumes through a microscope instead of focusing on the broader picture. We need to move beyond the surface-level criteria and start valuing what really matters: passion, growth potential, and the ability to evolve.

If we don’t change our hiring practices soon, India will not only miss out on the best talent, but we’ll also be stuck in a never-ending loop of unfilled positions, dissatisfied candidates, and frustrated companies. It’s time for Indian companies to get with the times and focus on what really matters. Because if we continue down this path, we might just end up with a country full of underutilized talent, and a job market stuck in the past.

And hey, if that sounds like a great future, then keep doing what you’re doing. Otherwise, maybe it’s time for a serious rethink.