Delhi candidates send romantic messages to HR on WhatsApp instead of CV, leave recruiter stunned

Indian Express

26-05-2025

In an unusual incident, a female talent acquisition specialist from Delhi was left baffled after a hopeful applicant decided to skip the resume and instead sent her a romantic shayari over WhatsApp. The poetic message shared by the HR on LinkedIn turned what should have been a professional interaction into an awkward and inappropriate exchange.
Ritika Agnihotri, a recruiter at Depex Technologies, shared her experience, posting screenshots of several messages she had received from male candidates during the hiring process. What she exposed wasn't just unprofessional, it veered into outright flirtation.
'One candidate sent me shayari, while another commented on my looks and even gave me missed calls in the middle of the night,' she wrote.
One message she received read, 'Muskan ban jaata hai koi, dil ki dhadkan ban jaata hai koi, Kaise jiye ek pal bhi unke bin, Jab zindagi jeene ki wajah ban jaata hai koi…'
Another texted her saying, 'Aap sundar itni ho main aapko dekhne ke baad ab tak nahi bhool paya ma'am. But jo sach tha woh bola, gussa mat hona. You are the most beautiful girl in the world.'
Frustrated, Agnihotri questioned how recruiters are expected to deal with such behaviour. 'How are we supposed to respond to applicants who not only lack professionalism but also basic communication sense?' she asked.
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Her post quickly gained traction on LinkedIn, with many users expressing similar concerns and calling out the lack of boundaries some job seekers exhibit during the hiring process. 'We should disclose their identity to teach them a lesson and prevent them from targeting others. Blocking alone won't stop such behavior. Some may argue that this could ruin their career, but if we don't take action, they will continue to harass others,' a user wrote. 'I usually just let them know, I will be sending screenshots to current and future HRs of their companies, it works like magic. Trust the word,' another user commented.
'The best way to handle this is to expose them not hide them,' a third user reacted.