The criterion based on which a company rejects a resume is one of the central aspects of screening and is called the REJECTION CRITERIA.

Accordingly it is most imperative that the Job Posting aims to cover these aspects in the appropriate way possible.

Some of the common forms of rejection criterion are:

1. Candidate should not be more than “35years old” or candidate should have a “minimum” of 15 years of experience.
2. Knowledge of the local language (Tamil) is a must.
3. Candidate should be open to travel and job relocation.

In fact, I firmly believe Rejection criteria should not be hidden away in reams of language but should be there for all to see.

After all it saves the time and energy of all and sundry concerned
not to mention the accompanying disappointment that candidates who apply have to face – unable to fathom why they were rejected.

Its funny but I am sure many of you have noticed that the rejection criteria is normally tucked away right at the bottom of a job profile almost with the intention that the candidate should not see it. I mean is it not a lot better if the candidate gets to see that right away so that he doesn’t spend more time on your profile or inadvertently apply – only to be rejected.

Of course a word of caution – it is important to be politically correct about the rejection criteria – writing “only men candidates need apply” might be far too strong a statement ….though you might be only sincerely trying to portray the reality …do soften it by saying that “males are preferred or state the reason for the statement if possible such as “The job will be in night shift, Males preferred”.

Don’t utter statements which clearly reflect unethical employment practices – such as “south Indians need not apply”, Maharastrians preferred etc.
So, good luck on a great job posting. Next week, I am going to review some of the job postings that I have come across and look at what were the wow(!) and ugh(!) factors.