A company has apologised to a graduate jobseeker for branding her a “home educated oddball” and “left-wing loon tree hugger” in comments accidentally attached to an email.
Anna Jacobs, from Horsmonden, Kent, had applied for a position at Tonbridge-based Tecomak Environmental Services.
The young jobseeker was left upset and angry when an employer called her a “one biscuit short of a packet” and said she was only worth interviewing “for a laugh”.
She had applied for a job as an office administrator at the ventilation firm before receiving the “absolutely awful summary”, which was accidentally attached to the message.
In an email to Ms Jacobs, Ross Black of Tecomak said he understood it “must have been upsetting” and apologised. He said:
“We are sorry for any distress this may have caused and have apologised to the candidate and reiterated our stance that they would be welcome for an interview.
“We have also reviewed our internal procedures for assessing candidates to ensure a mistake like this could not happen again.”
Jacobs told the BBC she would not be attending an interview with Tecomak but had others she needed to focus on.
The former university student told BBC South East Today:
“This awful summary is attached and I thought how dare somebody say that about my CV and myself.
“That is basically like saying it is going to be a huge waste of time but let’s do it for a laugh and make up the numbers.
“I don’t want to be a number. I believe I have got a lot to offer and if that is all I am to an employer then please don’t invite me to an interview because it is just wasting everyone’s time.”
The company has since suspended its Twitter page in the wake of the backlash of comments received when the news broke over the weekend. The situation is likely to have a negative impact on the companies future talent attraction and recruitment processes, as well as its employee brand.
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
