'I send you my FYP can?' How a job applicant got rejected in Malaysia

You'd think job applicants would put their best foot forward when conversing with an interviewer. However, a recruiter at a marketing agency in Kuala Lumpur said this isn't always the case.

Last Saturday (June 26), a Facebook user who identified herself to be the recruiter's sister shared screenshots of a text conversation between her brother and a job applicant, writing: "This is too epic not to share."

The post has since gone viral with 7,800 likes and 15,000 shares and even prompted a Reddit discussion. 

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/hara1110/posts/10222760280009322[/embed]

In an interview with Malay Mail, the recruiter, Samson Knight, noted that the jobseeker did not start the conversation on a good note. 

Without even introducing themselves, the applicant wrote: “Hi, I’m interested in the senior content creator role. How much is the salary and can I work flexible hours?”

When Knight asked to see their CV and resume, the latter said they didn't have those as they were a fresh graduate and asked,  "I send you my FYP (final year project) can?"

He asked what an "FYP" meant and the applicant asked him "Did you go to university?"

The applicant also reiterated his query, “Can answer my first question please, I want to see if this job meets my expectation or not”.

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Knight then revealed himself to be the co-founder of the company and gave the jobseeker some sound advice: “You’ll need to go through intensive character development before you can even be accepted in the industry.”

After this incident, he told the Malay Mail: "I actually didn't know to be angry, or to laugh because there wasn't any proper introduction, which already reflects on what kind of person the applicant is". 

While he initially considered giving the applicant an interview opportunity, Knight decided to forego it as he could see no real effort from the latter.

He also noted that it was not the first time he encountered this.

"I like to think this is actually an individual problem instead of a generational problem... most of our staff are Gen Z's. I can see that the Gen Z are actually very talented, driven and also very passionate," he said. 

Netizens mostly expressed disappointment or poked fun at the applicant. One wrote: "Good reply. Apparently, qualification does not reflect good manners."

alexanderkt@asiaone.com