HR team fired after manager uses own CV to prove their system is auto-rejecting candidates; Internet reacts

In a dramatic twist, an entire Human Resources (HR) team found themselves out of jobs after a manager's simple test revealed a crippling flaw in the company’s Applicant Tracking System (ATS). The error, which had gone unnoticed for months, caused all job candidates, including the manager’s altered CV, to be automatically rejected.

Shweta Kumari

First Published Sep 29, 2024, 1:41 PM IST | Last Updated Sep 29, 2024, 1:41 PM IST

The ATS, a widely used tool designed to streamline recruitment, has long faced criticism for its rigid filters, often disqualifying candidates before human eyes ever see their resumes. But the extent of the problem was fully exposed when a frustrated manager decided to take matters into his own hands. After three months without finding a single suitable candidate for an open position, he crafted a fake email and submitted a modified version of his own CV—only to be immediately rejected by the system.

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"I got auto-rejected. HR didn’t even look at my CV," the manager shared in a now-viral Reddit post. Alarmed, he reported the issue to upper management, which led to swift action. Several members of the HR team were promptly terminated.

The root cause of the debacle? A seemingly minor yet devastating mistake in the ATS configuration. The system had been set to filter for candidates with expertise in AngularJS, an outdated web framework, instead of the much-needed skill of Angular. "They were looking for an AngularJS developer, while we were looking for an Angular one," the manager explained.

This small oversight resulted in the automatic rejection of all candidates who didn’t have the obsolete AngularJS experience, even though they were fully qualified for the job. What was perhaps more infuriating was the HR team's persistent claims that they were reviewing applications, despite the system’s total failure to present any valid candidates.

"The truly infuriating part was that I consistently talked to them asking for progress, and they always told me that they had some candidates that didn’t pass the first screening processes, which was false," the manager added, shedding light on a deeper level of mismanagement.

The Reddit post has since ignited a firestorm of debate across social media platforms, with users expressing shock and disdain toward the HR team's conduct. One commenter minced no words: "HR is a cancer in the employment world." Another echoed the sentiment with a blunt, "Lazy and Mediocre."

However, others pointed out that the issue was as much about technology as it was human error. "I think it’s fine if they use AI, but they should require a human to manually review the decision by the AI. The decision logic reasoning should be made available to the candidate, and there should be legal recourse for incorrect rejection," one user suggested.

This incident has sparked a wider conversation on the pitfalls of over-relying on automated systems in recruitment processes. While ATS tools are intended to optimize efficiency, this case is a stark reminder that human oversight remains crucial to avoid costly errors—and, as this HR team found out, job-ending consequences.

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