Tech firm denies bullying claims by job seeker, 22, after interview that was 'like being sat in a room with my abusive ex'

[Ant22]

I came across this interesting case on Twitter and snooped around to check out some details. I was tempted to put this article on the 'Psychopaths' section but I'm not sure if the main antagonist is really a psychopath or just a really horrible person.

A young girl was interviewed for a job in a manner that she said was abusive, comparing the process to how her abusive ex acted. She got an offer but declined in and posted her decline email on social media. I'll start with sharing the original post on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1090281095805980672

The CEO declined that he did something wrong and said that if he had, it wasn't his intention:

Tech firm denies bullying claims by job seeker, 22, after 'brutal' interview

Olivia Bland claims her experience with CEO of Oldham-based Web Applications UK was "brutal"

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

A company has denied claims by a job seeker that she was bullied during a 'brutal' interview with its CEO.

Olivia Bland was bidding for the role of communications assistant at Oldham-based software company Web Applications UK.

But the 22-year-old claims her two-hour interview with CEO Craig Dean went from 'utterly bizarre' to 'brutal' and felt "like being sat in a room with my abusive ex".

Despite the tone of the interview, Miss Bland was offered the job but turned down.

She shared the email she sent to the company on Twitter, writing: "There is something very off to me about a man who tries his best to intimidate and assert power over a young woman and who continues to push even when he can see that he's making somebody uncomfortable to the point of tears."

Her tweet was shared tens of thousands of times, including by SNP MP Peter Grant, who said it was "appalling that company bosses still think they can treat people like this in the 21st century".


Mr Dean responded on Twitter saying that he was "very sorry if anyone has been hurt".

Web Applications UK said an internal investigation had found no evidence of 'bullying or intimidation' but pledged to 'reflect carefully on our recruitment process and HR policies'.

Miss Bland, who lives in north Manchester, said she applied for the job because she thought that "the job sounded just right for me, it listed a lot of perks and sounded right up my street".

After getting through the first round she went back for a second interview on Monday in front of Craig Dean.

"I was really excited to meet the CO, I'd watched all his talks online, but from the moment I walked in he was disinterested," she said. "He didn't stand up to greet me, he was just on his phone."

Miss Bland said the interview started in "utterly bizarre" fashion in which Mr Dean picked on her music tastes before revealing he was scrolling through her Spotify account while they talked.

"He started asking personal questions, about my childhood and if my parents were still together," she claimed. "I thought it as really bizarre for an interview."

Miss Bland claims Mr Dean then began "tearing apart, line by line" everything she had submitted in the written part of the application process.

"He completely ruined my self confidence, he made me feel worthless, like I had no talent," she said. "I was very close to tears at several points in the interview.

"He called me an under achiever, told me I knew nothing, then asked me how I thought the interview had gone.

"I said I didn't know, and then he told me I didn't know anything, and everything that I did wrong - my body language, how I spoke,

"I felt he was attacking my character. He told me he could tell I was upset and yet he continued to push."

"I've been in this position before," she wrote in response to the job offer. "They tear you down, abuse you, take you to breaking point and then they take you out to dinner or buy you a present to apologise and make it seem like they're the nice guy.

"This job is supposed to be the present. I don't want it."

In a message on Twitter he described as 'sleep deprived and anxiety-driven', Mr Dean wrote: "I have no desire to see anyone hurt; and can only apologise if anything I've done has had that effect."

Miss Bland dismissed it as a "non-apology" that "makes it all about him".

"Sometimes you have to take responsibility for your actions and I think it's about time he and other people in similar positions did," she said.

Olivia added: "If someone can read something that has come from me to identify that they are in an abusive situation and use that to come out of it then that's all I could ask for.

"You can say no. You can walk away from these situations. I acknowledge I've been privileged in being able to turn it down and others won't be able to, but you can say no and walk away from people that hurt you in your personal life or at work."

A statement from the Board of Directors at Web Applications UK said: "The Board of Directors at Web Applications UK is deeply concerned by the serious allegations made on social media following a recent job interview led by Chief Executive, Craig Dean.

"The Board strongly condemns any form of bullying or intimidation. In response to the allegations, the Directors have carried out an internal investigation, independent from Craig Dean, including interviewing all employees who were directly involved in the recruitment process.

"As always, Web Applications UK conducted a robust, multi-stage interview, which included simulating challenging, work-based scenarios, designed to help identify the best candidate for the role.

"This particular candidate excelled during the interview and responded positively to the feedback. We were delighted to offer her the position of Communications Assistant, by telephone, later that day.

"Following her initial acceptance, we were very much looking forward to working together. Regrettably, she subsequently changed her mind and declined our offer.

"In response to the allegations made, and following completion of our investigation, the Board is satisfied that no bullying or intimidation occurred. Nonetheless, the Directors are extremely saddened by this incident and the impact that this has had on the individual concerned, particularly as we are a company that takes great pride in nurturing the aspirations of young people. We will take this opportunity to reflect carefully on our recruitment process and HR policies.

"Web Applications UK remains committed to employee development and having a positive impact in our community, both of which are core elements of our company ethos."

This case caught my attention due to the profession I'm in, so I did some additional 'research' and visited the company's GlassDoor profile. The bully CEO has an approval rating of 25% and as the interviewee pointed out, many people shared similar opinion and experience of him. Most predate the Twitter case: Web Applications UK Reviews

What really caught my attention was Craig's condescending response to some reviews where he blamed the poster for the quality of their experience and even expressed doubt that the person ever worked for the company!

Reviewer:

"Pros

Microsoft gold partner.
Training is of high standard.
Personal development time - to enable you to further develop your skills on any subject that you are interested in (provided it's relevant to the job).
Nice building.
Plenty of social events.

Cons
Confirming the general theme of other reviewers here.. given that the feedback was supposed to be taken on board, I feel that the leadership is still the same as previously described.

The CEO uses a controlling method of management, it seems as though most of the time he is trying to prove that he is better than you - this comes across strongly in the interview, training sessions and general … Show More

Advice to Management
CEO should step down before the company's status is damaged any more.
The other senior managers are brilliant and would do the company great justice if they were not being controlled themselves."

Craig's response:

"Are you sure you worked here? With the exception of SQL, all the technologies we use here are less than 20 years old. The board and senior management of the company do a great job, and to claim I use a controlling method of management is a huge disservice to how we work as a company. I have addressed this at length in an earlier reply. As CEO, I do not assign tasks to individuals, and haven’t done in very many years. Work is assigned by the DGM, and is done so based on a desire to ensure employees get the widest range of opportunities. I care about every single member of staff’s progress, and there has never been a mythical ‘select few’. It’s very rare employees give up their social time to work, and it’s never demanded. Instead we encourage staff to maintain a positive work life balance; to that end, I would happily stack up our work time statistics against anyone in this industry. I just don’t believe that working longer than 40 hours in a week is ever productive, and we reiterate that constantly. Not a single person in this company has ever been punished or judged for not working in their social time. That said, employees who work in a silo and do not socialise tend to fare poorly as they don’t learn as readily from one another. Had you been braver in offering this feedback whilst you were here, and whilst you had the opportunity to do so (and were encouraged to do so), you may have broadened your understanding of what was actually being asked of you, and you may have gained much greater benefit from your time here. I hope you are faring much better in your current role."

I'm glad Olivia recognised the pattern she experienced in her abusive relationship and decided to decline the job offer.

Funny how different his above reply reads comparing to the sleazy apology on Twitter after his behaviour was brought to the attention of wider public. As for his twitter apology to Olivia, I got nauseous when reading the ridiculous and self-pity inducing part: "I humbly submit this sleep deprived and anxiety driven message."

He has now closed down his Twitter account.

 

[luc]

That's really horrible. Years ago, we had a prospective client who baited us with money, then went on to write psycho-emails criticizing us, but then said he would still work with us. No thanks! If a boss or client is hostile to you and insults you, AND still wants to hire you, that's a huge red flag. Likely a psycho playing games.

 

[Beau]

His response to her complaints is essentially gaslighting. For me I see a white collar psychopath, especially when the history is included through looking at the Glassdoor comments.