The Candidate, HR and the Monkey Story
Once there was a cap seller walking through a forest carrying a bundle of caps. He became tired, put his bundle down and fell asleep under a tree.
While he was sleeping, some monkeys came down from the trees, took the caps and climbed back up.
When the cap seller woke up, he was shocked to see the monkeys wearing his caps.
He shouted at them. The monkeys copied him.
He waved his hands. They copied him.
He jumped around. They copied him.
Then he remembered that monkeys imitate people.
So he took off his own cap and threw it onto the ground.
The monkeys immediately copied him and threw their caps down too.
The cap seller quickly collected all the caps and continued his journey.
Many years later, another cap seller was walking through the same forest. He also encountered the monkeys wearing his caps.
But this time he remembered the old story.
He smiled and thought:
“I know what to do. I’ll throw my cap down, and the monkeys will copy me.”
He took off his cap and threw it onto the ground.
But one old monkey climbed down, picked up the cap, looked at him and said:
“Do you really think your grandfather told that story only to you? Our grandfather told us the same story too!” 😂
The lesson for today’s job market
Sometimes candidates think:
“I know how the system works. I’ll use GPT to optimize my CV, copy keywords from the JD, make my cover letter perfect and beat the ATS.”
But HR and recruiters are learning too.
They have ATS systems, AI-assisted recruitment tools, keyword matching, screening questionnaires, assessments and other technologies to evaluate candidates.
So the candidate thinks:
“I know the trick.”
And HR is thinking:
“Do you really think you’re the only one who knows the trick?” 😄
In today’s job market, AI can help you present your experience, but it cannot replace genuine experience.
The CV may get you through the door.
The interview is where you have to prove that the person behind the CV is real.