The coveted prize at the end of a job interview is a job offer, but for a UK woman, that felt more like a booby prize. Per Cosmo, Olivia Bland, 22, met earlier this week with the CEO of travel software firm Web Applications UK to chat about an assistant position, and she got the job—but she ended up turning it down after she described on Twitter a "brutal" two-hour experience in which "CEO Craig Dean tore both me and my writing to shreds (and called me an underachiever)." Bland tells the BBC that during her "utterly bizarre" interaction with Dean, he made fun of her music choices on Spotify, asked "a lot of personal questions," and ripped apart everything from what she wrote on her job application to her body language. Bland posted her rejection to the company rep who extended the job offer, noting the interview was so "uncomfortable" for her she ended up crying at the bus stop afterward.
"There is something very off to me about a man who tries his best to intimidate and assert power over a young woman," she wrote, adding being with Dean reminded her of being with her abusive ex. Her post has since gone viral, with more than 35,000 retweets, and it caught the eye of the company's board of directors, which issued a statement noting that it had conducted an internal investigation and found "no bullying or intimidation occurred." Bland's response to the company: "This isn't good enough." She adds that she's been getting "death threats and hateful messages" since her tweet started making the rounds. The Manchester Evening News reports that Dean himself took to Twitter to offer his thoughts. "I am so sorry that anyone has been hurt, it is never my intent," he wrote, citing his "sleep-deprived and anxiety-ridden" state over the hubbub. "This is a hurt, and lesson, that will stay with me." Bland doesn't seem impressed by his apology. (More job interviews stories.)
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