When someone applies for a job, they generally want to know what they are getting into before making a huge commitment to a company. Phone or in-person interviews take a lot of time and preparation and it’s totally normal for there to be an honest forum for questions related to the job you hope to land. Sometimes, though, this communication can break down and become contentious. This is exactly the situation Taylor Byrnes from Manitoba, Canada had to deal with when interviewing for an online food delivery company she hoped to work for… Leave a COMMENT on Facebook letting us know what you think of this company’s response to Taylor.
Meet Taylor Byrnes from Manitoba.
Taylor has made the news after a bizarre set of interactions she had with a company she wanted to work for.
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Taylor became interested in the company SkipTheDishes, a startup that does online food delivery, and decided to send in an application.
Taylor was then contacted by talent acquisition coordinator Victoria Karras with an offer to set up a phone interview.
So far, her interaction with SkipTheDishes was going pretty well.
What happened next has thousands of people responding to Taylor’s story online.
She simply wanted to ask a question that many people ask when considering a new job…
Taylor sent this polite email to Karras asking about pay and the potential benefits that the job may offer.
She asked, “If I do end up filling this position, how much do you think I’ll be getting paid an hour? Benefits will also be included, right?”
Nothing out of the ordinary, I would say.
To be clear, Taylor had one phone interview before this email interaction that went well. This is an important point to consider as she was already involved in serious talks for the job.
Karras replied saying that the planned interview would no longer take place because Taylor’s priorities “are not in sync with those of SkipTheDishes.”
This definitely doesn’t seem like a normal response to a reasonable question.
Karras felt the need to clarify her point and sent Taylor another email.
Because that kind of response definitely needs an explanation…
Karras clarified her point but seems to have made things worse, to be honest.
She went on to admit that Taylor’s questions were legitimate but explained why she wouldn’t be a good fit.
As the email continues, Karras explains what she thinks it means to want to work for a startup company.
“As a startup company, we seek out those who go out of their way to seek out challenges and new opportunities. We believe in hard work and perseverance in pursuit of company goals as opposed to focusing on compensation,” wrote Karras. After this, she wraps up her email…
For these reasons, Karras believed that “questions about compensation and benefits at such an early stage is a concern related to organizational fit.”
There you have it, she was no longer in the running for a job at SkipTheDishes.
Wrong, just wrong…
After taking a screenshot of the emails and posting them to Twitter, people started reacting, to say the least.
Here are two comments that represent the general sentiment of the response. Some users think it was slightly abusive to act that way to Taylor while others plan to fully boycott the company.
A good amount of the conversation that ensued related to appropriate time to ask a potential employer about compensation.
As you can see in this comment, some believe that you should ask about pay as early as possible.
The company’s co-founder, Joshua Simair, released an email statement concerning the interaction Taylor had and recognized that this was not normal.
“We are very disappointed in how it was handled. We do share a compensation package prior to hiring. As soon as we became aware of it on Monday, we reached out to Taylor to apologize for the email and reschedule her interview,” he said .
That definitely helps, I would say.
Not only did Simair express disappointment, he assured everyone that training measures will be taken.
“We’ve also addressed the email internally and will be providing additional training. We are very committed to our community, employees and continuing to grow and create employment opportunities…”
What do you think about how Taylor handled the situation?
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