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July - 2006 - issue > Ten Silly Reason
Ten silly reasons techies give for 'No Shows'
Sanjeev Jain
Monday, July 3, 2006
‘Astrological Forecast’
“My astrologer says I should stay with the present company.”

Ramdas Menon, Head HR, Harita Infoserve Limited, Bangalore

“We recently hired a techie for a senior post who sought some time to report.
He called us after several days to say he could not join us as his astrologer advised him to stay with his present company for the next 5-years. His logic was that there is bad omen if he joins a new company.”

Remedy: Over-belief in astrologers can be fatal for the career.


‘Uncle’s pet’
“Your company does not meet my uncle’s expectations.”

Gokul Janga, GM, Aventail India, Bangalore.

“One candidate accepted the offer. But when contacted to confirm his reporting date, he rejected it reasoning that his uncle didn’t approve our company. It so annoyed us that we wanted to explore the possibility of a public website that blacklists such candidates.”

Remedy: When uncles begin deciding, leave everything to them. They’ll be of immense help to you.


‘Probationary mindset’
“Your probationary period is 6-months, whereas my previous company had only 3 months.”

Vijay Nagasubramaniam, Siri Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore.

“There was this guy whom we short-listed. After the first day at office, I asked him to acknowledge a copy of the appointment letter. He requested for some time. After two days he said, ‘your probationary period is 6-months, whereas my previous company had only 3-months. I don’t want to join your organization.”’

Remedy: When probation is less, employee morale increases. Have shorter probationary periods but get more work done!

‘Marital Bond’
“My fiancé and in-laws want me to work in Hyderabad.”

Animesh Gupta, HR Manager, Cibersites India Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore

“Few weeks back I offered a job to a candidate who wanted to join after his engagement. His experience was crucial to the company. Few days later he called from Hyderabad saying he’s in a fix: his fiancé and in-laws were pestering him to seek a job there. Later we heard that his present company gave him a 50 percent hike and he continued with them.”

Remedy: Pestering in-laws and a great job in a different place: between devil and deep-sea.


‘Just one office? Won’t work’

“You just have one office in Bangalore? Then I won’t work here!”

Aparna S. Mehra, Director-Human Resources ACS of India Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore
“This candidate was not from Bangalore and he reasoned the offer-decline on the pretext of we having just one office, with no other facility in Bangalore. We tried to make him understand that in the current premise we staff some 2000+ resources. Maybe he discerned large organizations meant having several offices in one location.”

Remedy: Have more than one office. If possible start one closer to employees’ homes.

“Buy 1, Get 1 Free”
“I will join you only if you hire my husband.”

Sujith Kumar, Associate Manager - Resourcing, Solix Technologies, Hyderabad.

“A lady with good experience in the area got selected. She was very polite from day one of our interactions. Just before joining, she gave us a surprise in the form of ‘Buy 1, get 1 free.’ She refused to join until her husband was offered a job in the same company.”

Remedy: Advertise for vacant posts as: “We do not give freebies.”


“Cell Phone not reachable- didn’t know”

“I don’t know when you called me. My cell phone was not reachable.”

Bhupendra Joshi, HR Manager, Scandant Group, Bangalore.

“I came across a ‘smart’ engineer some weeks back. We found his resume to our expectations and called him over. He accepted the job and took the offer letter. He was supposed to join us soon. But when he did not report, we tried calling him and mailing him. His mobile was not reachable and there was no reply for the mails. We realized later that he had the habit of taking job-offers by giving one mobile number and dumping that number.”

Remedy: Publish his name and address in a newspaper – “Lost and needs to be found”.


“Banking services. Not at all”
“Oh sorry! I’m a retailing service professional.”

HR manager name withheld on request.

“A guy applied to our company unaware of the fact that we are into banking software. Even during the interview he didn’t specify his interest but took his offer letter. On the day he was supposed to join, he called up and said he wouldn’t join us as he was specialized in retail.”

Remedy: Do your homework properly. Never leave yourself or the new recruiter in lurch.


“New Software Tool. New Company”

“I’ve developed a new software tool. Will start my own company.”

Deepali Prabhu, Ninestar Technologies, Bangalore.

“We interviewed a guy who seemed very talented and well-versed in his work. When he didn’t report to work after the usual one-month period, we called him. He said he would not join us but would rather start his own company. He also claimed to have developed a new software tool and preferred working on that technology, which he hadn’t mentioned in the resume or during the interview.”

Remedy: When you have developed new software, don’t approach companies for jobs. Approach people who can fund you.


Money Factor

“My father-in-law does not like late night parties and pub culture.”

Philip Mammen, Group Head - HR, Mindteck
“We had offered a job for a software engineer from Hyderabad. He wanted to move to Bangalore and promptly accepted the offer, agreeing to join in 30-days. As the date approached, he started avoiding our calls. We finally got in touch with him and he said that in the present circumstances he would not be able to join.

His prospective father-in-law was not keen on sending his daughter to Bangalore as he had heard of the late-night parties and the pub-culture.

Remedy: A very concerned father-in-law. But too much concern isn’t good.
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