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The employer in Singapore, who revealed he rescinded an internship offer to a young woman after she requested to meet virtually online instead of in person in the office, has come out to explain why he did it and the circumstances that led to what happened.
In a follow-up Facebook post on Sep. 18, the employer provided more context about what happened after his first post revealing what he did was met with derision and support.
The employer said in his follow-up post that he has been running his own design agency for the past 21 years, revealing he has had his fair share of interactions with younger hires.
Young woman had reached out initially
The young woman had reached out to him initially to ask for an internship opportunity.
This was after the employer had a prior correspondence with her in late June, when she shared about her internship plans that was to begin on Sep. 12.
But she did not follow up with the correspondence after the employer replied her.
Thinking she had found something else, the employer moved on without thinking too much about it.
Received email some three months later
The employer said he then received an email from the woman on Sep. 15, some three months after they initially made contact, and called her in the evening.
He explained what happened next: "She said the internship company is having some legal issues and she finds the culture toxic and is not for her. I was like huh, after one day? Nonetheless, asked if she wanted to come in on Friday for a chat."
After putting forth her out-of-the-blue request, she promptly said yes to the employer's offer and was given the office address.
However, 19 minutes later she asked for a virtual interview.
This other out-of-the-blue request frustrated the employer.
He wrote: "I admit I got angry and frustrated that no reason was given whatsoever and decided that I shouldn’t bother anymore."
Although not hashed out specifically, what the employer wrote implied that the young woman made a request that was accepted without much question, and followed up by making another request as if taking the employer's unassuming nature for granted.
In his post, the employer did write that he only wants to help interns learn: "I certainly wasn’t expecting the uproar over this, and being infamous is not on my to-do list. I’ll apologise for wasting everyone’s time if this thing has been taken out of context. Life is short. There are many other more important things to worry about."
"Like how to make sure the other interns coming in learn what is right."
Claims Singaporean students lack drive
The employer doubled down in his follow-up post by providing anecdotal evidence explaining why he favours foreigners to locals after his experience with both camps.
He had said the same thing to the same effect in his previous post.
He said he takes in interns from local institutions, and in 2022, he has had two Singaporean interns.
And he found their attitude wanting.
He claimed they do not have relevant design skills and cannot use the requisite software after three years in their course of study.
He added: "These interns go for 1.5-hour lunches, oversleep when they work from home and don’t give a damn about deadlines."
The lack of drive is in stark contrast to foreign students he has come across while teaching part-time previously.
The employer said: "It’s maddening and frustrating when you see the lack of hunger vs the can-do attitude of the foreign students I came across when I was teaching part-time."
Backlash
Even though responses to the employer's actions have been mixed, his business has been hit by a slew of one-star Google reviews in retaliation.
Top photo via Google Map & Unsplash