MUMBAI: A job application in India went spectacularly off the rails this week after a candidate responded to a recruiter’s standard screening questions with a volley of abuse, setting off a fierce debate online about professionalism, hiring culture and the frustrations of a brutal job market.
Vikas Agarwal, co-founder of startup Revivo, posted screenshots of the LinkedIn exchange on X, where it rapidly went viral. The conversation had begun ordinarily enough. Agarwal messaged candidate Kaustav Ghosh asking for a few routine details before proceeding with the hiring process: last in-hand salary, notice period and earliest joining date. The message ended with a polite “Thanks” and his name and company details.
Ghosh initially replied saying he was interested and available for immediate joining. Then Agarwal wrote back: “Need all details, otherwise I have to reject the profile.” What followed shocked even seasoned observers of India’s often-combative professional internet. Instead of complying, Ghosh fired back with personal insults and an expletive-laden broadside. “Don’t try to act smart. What is this behaviour you moron. Reject,” he wrote.
Agarwal posted the exchange with dry wit, saying the candidate had replied with an “unemployment + anger issues package together.” The post spread rapidly across X and LinkedIn.
ATTACH: https://x.com/vikas_revivo/status/2060008901555453987?s=20
Online opinion split sharply. Many condemned Ghosh’s response as inexcusable regardless of provocation. “Must be a non-serious person. How can one even think about replying in such a rude manner for a job opportunity,” wrote one user. Another said: “Confidence is one thing but arrogance is something unacceptable and inappropriate.” Agarwal, for his part, defended his message, noting that “all politeness was mentioned in my first message.”
But a vocal minority took aim at the recruiter. Software engineer Shravan Venkataraman re-shared the post and argued that asking for a candidate’s last salary before even screening the profile was itself problematic, adding that in the United States such a practice is legally restricted in several states. “The candidate was very rude, but Indian recruiters need to stop asking last salary, it has no meaning and should never be disclosed,” read another widely liked comment.
The incident has pulled into sharp focus a tension that simmers beneath every Indian job search: candidates who feel squeezed and demeaned by a system that demands personal financial disclosures before a single interview, and recruiters who say such details are basic logistical necessities. Both grievances are real. Neither justifies the other.
What the viral post makes plain is that India’s job market is fraying at the edges, and the cracks are showing up in places as mundane as a LinkedIn chat window.