Woman’s 'abusive' interview at UK tech company sparks outrage

Interviewee says she was subjected to 'brutal' two-hour grilling with company chief executive who she said 'wanted to belittle me' – and turned down job when it was offered

A woman’s account of an “abusive” job interview at a UK tech firm has prompted outrage after she shared details of it online.

Olivia Bland, a 22-year-old who attended the interview with Web Applications UK in Oldham, Greater Manchester, on Monday, said the process nearly reduced her to tears.

She said she was subjected to a “brutal” two-hour grilling with the company chief executive, which she compared to being forced to sit in a room with a vindictive ex-partner.

Ms Bland shared the email she penned to the company after the interview in a tweet which has been shared over 28,000 times.

“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 in the email. “And who continues to push even when he can see that he’s making somebody uncomfortable to the point of tears.”

“He wanted to belittle me and wanted to show his authority and his power,” she told the Press Association.

Ms Bland claimed the interview started in an “utterly bizarre” fashion in which chief executive Craig Dean, who conducted the interview, picked on her music tastes before revealing he was scrolling through her Spotify account while they were engaging in conversation.

He then asked “a lot of personal questions”, she said, before “tearing apart, line by line” everything she had submitted in the written part of the application process.

“Later in the interview he asked me: ‘How do you think it went?’” she said.

“He said: ‘I’ll tell you how it went,’ and listed off everything bad he thought I did in the interview. He told me everything I did was wrong, everything I said, the way I sat, my body language, everything that he could do to attack me.”

Ms Bland was offered the role despite her difficult experience of the interview but she chose not to take it.

“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 are the nice guy. This job is supposed to be the present. I don’t want it.”

Ms Bland’s tweet was shared by SNP MP Peter Grant, who argued it was “appalling that company bosses still think they can treat people like this in the 21st century”.

Mr Dean did not respond to requests for comment but wrote on Twitter that he was “very sorry if anyone has been hurt”.

In a message 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.”

But Ms 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.

Historic reviews for Web Applications UK on the employment website Glassdoor have often commented negatively on “the CEO” and, more widely, workplace bullying has been a hot topic in recent months.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

The board of directors at Web Applications UK has released a statement saying they have carried out an internal investigation, independent from Mr Dean, which involved interviewing all employees who were directly involved in the recruitment process.

“The board is satisfied that no bullying or intimidation occurred,” they said. “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.”

They said they strongly condemn any form of bullying or intimidation and would reflect carefully on their recruitment process and HR policies.

“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,” they said.

“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.”