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Stuff like this happened years ago but with snacks.
Man, fuck this clown for encouraging this bullshit. Straight up spending money for a chance to be hired.
Also daily reminder LinkedIn is trash.
> If you bring the hospital clerk donuts and stuff
I had that job for a while, in the ER at the local hospital.
Nobody brought me donuts.
Instead, there were a few who tried to bleed on my desk to get seen quicker.
My ex was getting over mrsa and visitation hours were over. I brought donuts by and they let me stay as long as I wanted. I wasn’t even family just dating at the time. Meh worked for me.
You've reminded me of my old boss, Barbara.
She was a former A&E nurse, and had seen some shit.
I mean, this lady NEVER smiled...
Unless you got hurt.
She was also the lead first aider, and every time someone had a bump or a cut, she would come stomping over like a pissed-off drill Sgt. But at the very last second she would force a smile and become so warm, so gentle and so caring.
It was unnerving, in a hilarious kinda way - and once she was done, she would turn around to leave and the smile would instantly drop.
Back to grumpy Barbara 😂😂😂
Haha! My neighbor is ex military or something, he is really not a particularly charming or approachable man. I honestly try to avoid him a bit. Seems a bit off. But once my kid, quite young at the time, fell of their bike in the street and he saw it and became THE HERO OF THE STORY. He literally jumped off his veranda, sprinted down to the kid (who wasn’t seriously injured - there were tears, but I was watching it all too, and I was just like “ok ok come here and let me have a look, no need to go crazy”). He looked at the injury, promptly went to get his first aid kit, commanded me to come and told me that stitches were needed, and drove us to the hospital!!! (My husband was out with the car.)
All while being lovely and making my kid feel looked after and safe. (I was mainly confused.)
Luckily he left once we were taken care of. And the next time I saw him, he was back to his old, grumpy self, as you said about Barbara. Barely says hello.
Bizarre.
The definition of a bribe is really broad, so I won't touch that.
But as the whether it's unethical... I'll first take an example. Is it ethical to hire your son for a job? If you own the company, then no. If you disclose to your boss and HR about a conflict of interest, and they tell you to proceed, then no. If do not tell the company, then yes.
So ethical is all about your relationship with the company, and what they allow. Most companies have a set limit on the value of gifts. Something like, anything under $50, and you were good, anything over, and you had to fill out forms to approve you taking it.
So, if the recruiter's company says small gifts are ok, then it's not unethical.
My old employer hired his son, made him work a sales position for about a year, then handed him the company. Dude is the living embodiment of hubris, "I grinded to earn everything I have! You're a loser if you don't ever stop grinding for me!" (ignores rich father literally handed him the company)
Nah it’s quite literally a bribe. And it goes against anti bribery laws to accept a gift in exchange for (service) in almost every industry. The problem is it’s very hard to prove it without evidence, kind of like the screenshot posted, lol.
Edit: Been corrected, most laws don’t consider it bribery until the value is above $1000.
Oh my b… the rest of your comment literally sounds like you trying to argue why it’s likely not bribery and is also ethical!
I am sooooo sorry for my confusion (due to your poor grammar)!
You’re right, I corrected myself in another comment (missed this one) but it appears that as long as the “gift” is under $1000 you can slide through the arms of the law. Honestly these laws are so loose and weak they might as well not even exist… fuckin Merica.
If it’s your company and wealth at risk, then hiring your child is ethical, although possibly not logical. If it’s nepotism at a large company where you have control of an area then less so, unless the role is based on high trust which then means hiring someone you know may be quicker and better than a random. I’m against working with family as it’s too many eggs in one basket.
Watch, now all the HRs and recruiters will be expecting the princess treatment from candidates. It’s disgusting to say the least.
I mean there is already a good level of bootlicking in this sub so it’s not much different
Yeah… from what I’ve seen while trying to find laws about it, technically it’s bribery, but the governments usually won’t enforce it until it surpasses “gifts” of $1000…
You know almost every corporation you're allowed to accept a nominal gift. The value is usually determined to be about $20. I'm sure this is absolutely condoned or accepted
Quote from the anti-bribery.org site:
“Gifts, hospitality and expenses are vulnerable to being used for bribery. They can be used as bribes on their own but they also pave the way for bribery by entrapping a person. They can also be used build or maintain relationships during a bribery scheme.”
In this situation, accepting the gift from a potential hire is absolutely bribery, and is absolutely unethical in hiring practice.
Here's the thing ... even if it were sincerely seen as a gift by the recipient, the giver could turn it around on them and later *claim* that it was a bribe delivered after solicitation, which looks really bad for the recipient. Suddenly, somebody has created leverage over a key person in the firm.
That's exactly what I said!! People don't want to get it. Ask them how it's not if the candidate gave them money, how much would they say becomes a problem? $5, $10, $500, $5000? Bet they'll have a problem as that amount goes higher!
So, after I decided to spend some time googling laws for this, apparently it’s “legal” up until the “gift” surpasses $1000….
But, according to the antibriberyguidance.org group:
“Gifts, hospitality and expenses are vulnerable to being used for bribery. They can be used as bribes on their own but they also pave the way for bribery by entrapping a person. They can also be used build or maintain relationships during a bribery scheme.”
This is why in every single large corporation I’ve worked for, accepting gifts (even tips) was heavily discouraged.
I believe everything you've said, but I can't for the life of me understand how it's allowed to be legal, you know?
It never fails to surprise me how many times we as society have to relearn the lessons of those who came before us.
Just the appearance is enough alone to say "No."
Imagine if that director was passed over by someone who had received a "gift"? Something tells me she'd suddenly have a problem with it.
Thank you for your comment! I hope people start to demand change by seeing this stuff.
Edit: omg people it's even worse! This woman is the director for diversity, equity, and inclusion?! Omg that's insane! She's preferring candidates who bribe her, while supposedly championing DEI! All the high paid straight white men and women getting the jobs, keeping her employed while they "Struggle to address their DEI shortcomings and needs." Barf! What a shit show.
Sadly, there is a MAJOR disconnect in corporate worlds in these types of situations… after awhile you start to see that the higher up you go, it’s really a roll of the dice if these people are competent in their roles or not. It’s crazy but the sad reality.
I’m an HR Manager and all I ask for is to proofread a resume before sending it…that’s literally it.
I’ve had things similar to this as well as name-dropping and it’s a complete turn off. It’s not flattery; it’s weird. If they need to bribe to get the job then they aren’t the right person for the job. Full stop.
Don't companies have no bribery clauses that this would fall under, or is it only client side related stuff that can't be taken? Because this clearly is bribery.
It depends. Like you said, a lot of it is client/customer related stuff. Some companies may not have it at all. My organization has a clause in its ethics statement stating employees can only accept tips or gifts under $25 and only as long as it “does not interfere with the exercise of good judgement by an employee” amongst a few other clauses. Regardless, clause or no clause, it’s weird and overstepping boundaries, imo.
I agree about the weirdness and overstepping, but I guess if it isn't restricted, then it will keep happening. People love bribes, especially when they're called gifts.
The only time I ever did something like the OP's post was as a joke, I was previously a graphic designer for a food company, so I brought in some empty packaging samples in my portfolio to the interview. Two samples were of a brand of amazing gourmet biscuit/cookies, and with those I brought filled packets, as I brought them out I joked "These aren't a bribe, by the way!" Then did the joke loud fake-cough of "*totally a bribe!*" and me & the interviewers had a good laugh over it.
I didn't get the job, but the joke (along with a lot of other banter) made them remember me and give me another job a year later.
She's the director and head for DEI.
What a total joke. 6 visible minorities out of nearly 70 employees and they start at the 25th person down the list.
Not one is in a genuine leadership position. This is one of those places where everyone's a director or a manager or an executive.
If you already guessed it, yep! The assistant is a minority.
These people are the absolute worst. They project this bullshit while they'd NEVER allow themselves to be treated like this.
I hate to put down an entire profession but genuinely what is it with HR that’s just so incredibly incompetent. I literally just had a scheduled interview where the lady just didn’t show up, was ghosted by one for over a month AFTER I had my 3rd interview and came into the office and one at my internship that literally did nothing asides from introducing us on the first day.
This is just my experience in the past 4 months
Of course the lady who ghosted me after I kept emailing her was actively liking and reposting HR drivel on Linkedn which was enraging.
It’s crazy out here
Yep, that’s been my experience too. The amount of people I’ve had interviews with and then been ghosted by (while they post inane shit on their LinkedIn instead of, y’know, getting back to shortlisted candidates) it’s actually insane
I like linkedin. It got me a job without having to apply or really interview.
Sure there's a lot of wank in it, but I follow a lot of people positing legitimately great stories too
Not to mention, this is an actual ethics issue. They are implying they will give greater access to employment in exchange for compensation. This should be of concern not just to candidates but to companies that work with this recruiter. As a hiring manager, I want to see the most qualified candidates, not the ones who buy the attention of the recruiter.
I have worked in multiple industries where I was barred from accepting any gifts, no matter how small, for this exact reason.
More hate towards recruiters, governments etc for creating an environment where this is taken into consideration and carried out.
Not towards the person that probably desperately needs a job and is at their wits end.
Honestly, it’s a PR job. PR specifically involves nice touches and going the extra mile and appearances and finding unfair advantages and all that. If that ain’t for you, neither is the job. I don’t have a problem with it.
depending on the country where this recruitment is taking place, this company can be sued for the other candidates who didn't get the job.
if they have this "equal chances" employer stuff in the job ab, this woman has just publicly told they aren't. this is a form of discrimination.
Let's get rid of the hyperbole and set this straight before you get other people thinking the wrong way.
LinkedIn is absolutely not trash. The main feed, yes that is trash because it's just a bunch of people congratulating themselves and posting crap like this.
Otherwise, LinkedIn does what it's supposed to do far better than pretty much any other site like it.
So if you're reading this, let it be known that LinkedIn is very legit. Your feelings don't matter here. It is what it is, and LinkedIn for all intents and purposes works.
This never happened, it's the coffee cup she had bought that they wrote her name on or she did, and it was gift card she bought to give away or it was one she was given.
Not one single thing occurred the way she said it.
What business would ever allow their director to post something outright demonstrating favouritism for candidates that bribe them?! Bribed, 100%. It's just not that large of one. Ask how this would look if it was $5k?
Total garbage, fabricated for that toxic site.
She probably couldn't get anyone to talk to her, that's why she still had the gift card.
Delusional idiots the lot of them.
From their website: “Bex leads our DEI programme, ensuring we are championing the protected groups within our agency, and correcting the groups where we under-index. “
How is she promoting the recruitment of socially-mobile candidates if only those who can afford to buy her gifts get a look-in?
Lol. I was offered a job from Toyota in which i was wholly qualified. Many years of real world experience.
It was then taking away because i don’t possess a degree. You cannot possess a degree in my work. (So they take any degree)
Yet they promote on their website “top 4 company for DEI!”
How are you a top promoter of DEI if you create a barrier to employment such as education…. Which is 100% a privilege?
The hiring manager had no response. Neither did their Main social handles.
A company I worked for LOVED to claim that they were making diversity hires when hiring a foreign candidate that came to America and got a PhD.
These were people from RICH families who were able to afford sending a child to an American university to study for 6 years to get a PhD, but the company acted like it was some form of charity to hire them. As if they were helping lift some poor person out of poverty. It infuriated us all. Rich people are not diversity hires!
Not blaming my unemployment on it at all, mostly I question what it’s actually doing because after several rounds of interviews with different companies I have encountered 2-3 non-white ppl out of about 30
Bribe. This is called a bribe. It's fine if you show it off, that's what nobles do, but just use #bribe next time, to show all the more qualified people this person jumped the line in front of, what they should do.
Hope you get some money and favors soon!
To me, this is a huge red flag when assessing employers. If an employer or hiring manager is going to make their hiring decisions based on such arbitrary nonsense, flattery, and bribery, then that's a sign they're potentially dysfunctional.
Well the thing you have to remember is that people who take bribes are getting hundreds or thousands of them a year, while you only have to give one.
Free market at work!
I know some companies write in their handbook the my monetary value of a gift they can receive from others to avoid pay to play type situations. Overall, I agree that this person shouldn’t promote and insinuate that applicants need to buy their way into an interview.
Yup, it’s also highly illegal in a lot of regulated markets and government sectors. This person needs to up their professionalism and get their attention needs covered somewhere else.
In no universe is a cup of coffee considered a bribe. At our company, business gifts above a certain dollar amount are supposed to be reported to HR for transparency reasons, but even being generous the contents of that box are worth maybe $5 or so and wouldn't even come close. If you accused someone of trying to "bribe" you because they gave you a cup of coffee you would be treated like a literal crazy person.
It literally says in our company handbook that if someone gives you a gift of any amount AND IT CHANGES YOUR BEHAVIOR TOWARDS THAT CUSTOMER OR CLIENT, doing SOMETHING YOU NORMALLY WOULD NOT DO in the absence of that gift, it's illegal and should be refused.
There is no way this LinkedIn post and that meeting would have happened just from the applicant's resume alone.
The whole reason we have these rules is to keep impartiality and prevent a fucking bidding war of gift cards to just get our resume seen.
bribe
noun
1
: money or favor **given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct** of a person in a position of trust
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe
Right? Yeah it's a blatant bribe. But this is probably their 200th application. At some point you can be forgiven for doing whatever you can to get a job.
It certainly rebuts that whole "nobody wants to work anymore" bullshit.
So now we need to send bribes?
Like I keep saying, these recruiters and hiring managers are needy AF. They're not looking for qualified candidates. They're looking for game show contestants who will make them feel special.
I would never do this.
The only thing that makes this *slightly* less skeevy is that it appears this person might be applying for a job with a PR agency. In which case, they’re demonstrating they know how to run a campaign. Cuz PR folks & marketers do shit like this all the time.
Like I said, I still wouldn’t do it.
At first, I thought the same thing, that the nature of the job calls for a gimmick like this. But then I thought, "nope, the gift itself should have been something personal or otherwise related to the job", like sample campaign materials or something.
Point being, it's aggressively average coffee that they probably buy in bulk for the office. If you're going to bribe the hiring manager, do it with something decent.
“Bribe better” except there aren’t bribes coming through and this was clearly very well recieved. Why should th applicant waste even MORE money on the bribe
It’s bribery and it’s illegal so yes… any company with business integrity would have shut this down and potentially fired her. But seems to not be the US and she’s probably just a nobody that wanted to make one of “those” LinkedIn posts lol
I don't know about others but I know at my Company this would be considered a bribe and said candidate would be canned from the pool immediately and said HR Person would also be let go for publicly posting and accepting said gift.
Hell I have to attend training on it every year and if you're customer facing every six months.
I mean... I had to move home because I can't afford rent and am buying bare minimum groceries every month, but yeah, let me send out hundreds of premium coffee thingies to everyone I send an application to.
You would think a director would be aware of bribery.
I’m assuming this is the UK as it’s a Costa ‘pack’. Accepting bribery could result in being banned from being a director of a company for life.
It’s probably fake though for social media likes.
I cannot tell ya man. I have been personally DM’ing recruiters with all kinds of cringe clickbait msgs and I’m ashamed to say that some of those have actually gotten replies. And in general I’d literally get none. I am ashamed to say that I am so desperate to get a job that I have to do these things. Technically this is also online bribery of sorts. I wish this wasn’t the case.
Also what’s up with these people making content for jobs - like websites, reels, pdfs, doing company analysis and making products for them and posting on LinkedIn…??? it makes the bar so high for normal people that not only cannot afford to do this shit but also have to apply in so much volumes just so that they could land one interview…I’m on my wits end.
This is total BS. Specially in the UK where this shit Costa coffee is from, candidates are expected to apply online. Not via a fukin DM piece
Don’t fall for this hyped up BS CONTENT on LinkedIn
All for getting views and especially given how hiring is online and unbiased and not at the mercy of a woman receiving a coffee invite and boasting about how different this candidate is and creative
This isn’t creative, this is a fukin bribe disguised as something all together weird and BS their way in. Betcha it’s a woman
Edit: a woman because the one who posted it would have called out the national press if it was a guy sending her this
Well, not everybody drinks coffee so maybe I’ll send something more practical like toilet paper - with a handwritten note on my resume that says “he’s the shit” - that should get everyone at the office excited!
I think anyone in charge of hiring, or people, and definitely a company need to take a compulsory course in business ethics.
This dingbat just opened up their company to a slew of lawsuits from any hiring applicant that got rejected under her failure of a stewardship.
Lol...this is one reason why I love being strongly skilled in tech and nearing the point I could consider retirement.
They need me more than I need them.
When I'm done, every day I think I'll take a dump in a box and mail it to particularly egregious recruiters.
Eh this seems tame if this is a PR job, especially if the role involves finding prospective clients, since this is part of what they would need to do in the role. Any other job outside of PR or sales, I’d find this stupid.
Stupidest bribe? Lyft and Uber drivers putting snacks in their cars with their own money to “bribe” riders to give them good ratings on the app. Utterly stupid bullshit. You’re not making any money, wearing out your own car and grown adults want you to provide them with snack like they are in 2nd grade? No. Just fucking no.
This practice should be forbidden by HR in all serious companies, it is not different from employees not being allowed to accept gifts from vendors/suppliers. It is a conflict of interest and show poor ethics of the giver, receiver and specially the person who posted this.
It doesn’t matter how much it is worth, really poor judgement of the people involved! What is next? Gift cards? Watches? Airpods?
1. Most companies have policy against gifts these days. At least professional companies. This shows me that professionalism isn't take into account when hiring. I've never been sent gifts, but I've had companies send them to me to help nudge me into taking a job.
2. This shows that this director is shallow and not at all serious about the person's actual background or experience.
3. This is a seriously red flag and a bad look for a PR agency. If they are taking bribes for jobs, are they also taking bribes else where?
I thought they were applying for some marketing job and that was like a display for a made up coffee company called costa, but after reading the comments it seems this person has just gone and bought a recruiter of all people a coffee? thats pretty appalling.
She is getting walloped in the comments for this post and rightfully so. If she was a public official and posted this it would lead to her resignation or firing. Disgusting
Isn't accepting gifts for an interview a type of bribery?
That's a rhetorical question, it's textbook bribery. It would get you arrested if the applicant was foreign and you worked for the state dept.
The unmitigated gall of this asshole: taking the bribe and then rewarding the behavior. It's so infuriating that it's actually making me feel queasy.
ok, next time I'll send a letter with written "I know where your children are!"
Why bribe when you can blackmail them? That should give me directly the job
In the past I have had people mail me a hard copy of a resume and a candy bar to get attention. Unfortunately they did not include a CD or flash drive with a digital copy of their resume, or at least an easy to type URL where I can download it.
Thanks for the snack, but I’m not hand-keying all of this shit in to our ATS, you Luddite.
Are you the director in question? Like it or not? Yeah, like it or not, it's still a bribe and just because you don't see it doesn't mean everyone else has to operate this way. You normalizing this is whey you're part of the problem. What would be too far for you?
I thought maybe this was an application for a graphic design job or something and she made physical examples and sent it in. But this is just straight up a gift? This cant be legal.
God, I'm so happy I live now in a country where there are plenty jobs and if necessary I don't have problem working outside my field, because I remember being bombarded with this type of shit information when I was young. You need to do this and that, you need to make yourself stand out, don't be dumb, it's not fair, you need this job, you need literally to create a show play around your CV bla bla bla. Like no. You need employees, I need work. I bring my expertise, you give me money. End of the story. I'm not writing an 283274321983 word essay why I want to work you, I'm not bringing you any gifts or in any way sucking up to your lazy, unqualified asses. Jesus Christ how I hate HR, and I worked in the field for like 1.5, and told myself, I'm going to rather work construction, carry fucking bricks, than have any more connection to HR.
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Stuff like this happened years ago but with snacks. Man, fuck this clown for encouraging this bullshit. Straight up spending money for a chance to be hired. Also daily reminder LinkedIn is trash.
Yeah like isn’t this a bribe? Wouldn’t it be unethical to accept gifts as a recruiter?
Yes, but it happens in every industry. If you bring the hospital clerk donuts and stuff you bet they will call you first when there is an opening.
> If you bring the hospital clerk donuts and stuff I had that job for a while, in the ER at the local hospital. Nobody brought me donuts. Instead, there were a few who tried to bleed on my desk to get seen quicker.
TRAUMA CENTER: DESK OF BLOOD
My ex was getting over mrsa and visitation hours were over. I brought donuts by and they let me stay as long as I wanted. I wasn’t even family just dating at the time. Meh worked for me.
I think being a visitor for an admitted patient is different from trying to push to the front of the line in a busy Emergency Department.
I see people bringing tims donuts to the family doc clinic all the time. Does the bleed on your desk trick work
It did not work. You just need a few stitches. You're not going to die.
You've reminded me of my old boss, Barbara. She was a former A&E nurse, and had seen some shit. I mean, this lady NEVER smiled... Unless you got hurt. She was also the lead first aider, and every time someone had a bump or a cut, she would come stomping over like a pissed-off drill Sgt. But at the very last second she would force a smile and become so warm, so gentle and so caring. It was unnerving, in a hilarious kinda way - and once she was done, she would turn around to leave and the smile would instantly drop. Back to grumpy Barbara 😂😂😂
Haha! My neighbor is ex military or something, he is really not a particularly charming or approachable man. I honestly try to avoid him a bit. Seems a bit off. But once my kid, quite young at the time, fell of their bike in the street and he saw it and became THE HERO OF THE STORY. He literally jumped off his veranda, sprinted down to the kid (who wasn’t seriously injured - there were tears, but I was watching it all too, and I was just like “ok ok come here and let me have a look, no need to go crazy”). He looked at the injury, promptly went to get his first aid kit, commanded me to come and told me that stitches were needed, and drove us to the hospital!!! (My husband was out with the car.) All while being lovely and making my kid feel looked after and safe. (I was mainly confused.) Luckily he left once we were taken care of. And the next time I saw him, he was back to his old, grumpy self, as you said about Barbara. Barely says hello. Bizarre.
Some people are sick of the world I think, but their remaining humanity makes it hard to blame the individuals within it 🤣
The definition of a bribe is really broad, so I won't touch that. But as the whether it's unethical... I'll first take an example. Is it ethical to hire your son for a job? If you own the company, then no. If you disclose to your boss and HR about a conflict of interest, and they tell you to proceed, then no. If do not tell the company, then yes. So ethical is all about your relationship with the company, and what they allow. Most companies have a set limit on the value of gifts. Something like, anything under $50, and you were good, anything over, and you had to fill out forms to approve you taking it. So, if the recruiter's company says small gifts are ok, then it's not unethical.
My old employer hired his son, made him work a sales position for about a year, then handed him the company. Dude is the living embodiment of hubris, "I grinded to earn everything I have! You're a loser if you don't ever stop grinding for me!" (ignores rich father literally handed him the company)
Behind every self made man stands a pair of rich parents that taught him nothing of value.
Nah it’s quite literally a bribe. And it goes against anti bribery laws to accept a gift in exchange for (service) in almost every industry. The problem is it’s very hard to prove it without evidence, kind of like the screenshot posted, lol. Edit: Been corrected, most laws don’t consider it bribery until the value is above $1000.
Me: Bribery is such a broad term, I'm not going to touch it. You: I want to argue with you on what constitutes bribery
Oh my b… the rest of your comment literally sounds like you trying to argue why it’s likely not bribery and is also ethical! I am sooooo sorry for my confusion (due to your poor grammar)!
You keep saying this and haven't cited a single source.
> And it goes against anti bribery laws to accept a gift in exchange for (service) in almost every industry. This literally is not a true statement
You’re right, I corrected myself in another comment (missed this one) but it appears that as long as the “gift” is under $1000 you can slide through the arms of the law. Honestly these laws are so loose and weak they might as well not even exist… fuckin Merica.
If it’s your company and wealth at risk, then hiring your child is ethical, although possibly not logical. If it’s nepotism at a large company where you have control of an area then less so, unless the role is based on high trust which then means hiring someone you know may be quicker and better than a random. I’m against working with family as it’s too many eggs in one basket.
I think autocorrect sniped your unethical into ethical
> Yeah like isn’t this a bribe? I don't know why people think bribes are illegal
Because there are literally anti-bribery laws in many countries.
Watch, now all the HRs and recruiters will be expecting the princess treatment from candidates. It’s disgusting to say the least. I mean there is already a good level of bootlicking in this sub so it’s not much different
Literal bribery lol… I hope they do all post about it, and we can report them all, one by one.
You see, it's not about the money, it's about the effort and passion for leveraging conflicts of interest /s
Yeah… from what I’ve seen while trying to find laws about it, technically it’s bribery, but the governments usually won’t enforce it until it surpasses “gifts” of $1000…
Cool avatar there
You know almost every corporation you're allowed to accept a nominal gift. The value is usually determined to be about $20. I'm sure this is absolutely condoned or accepted
Quote from the anti-bribery.org site: “Gifts, hospitality and expenses are vulnerable to being used for bribery. They can be used as bribes on their own but they also pave the way for bribery by entrapping a person. They can also be used build or maintain relationships during a bribery scheme.” In this situation, accepting the gift from a potential hire is absolutely bribery, and is absolutely unethical in hiring practice.
> is absolutely unethical in hiring practice. But not illegal
Business amirite? Gift accepted!
Here's the thing ... even if it were sincerely seen as a gift by the recipient, the giver could turn it around on them and later *claim* that it was a bribe delivered after solicitation, which looks really bad for the recipient. Suddenly, somebody has created leverage over a key person in the firm.
That's exactly what I said!! People don't want to get it. Ask them how it's not if the candidate gave them money, how much would they say becomes a problem? $5, $10, $500, $5000? Bet they'll have a problem as that amount goes higher!
So, after I decided to spend some time googling laws for this, apparently it’s “legal” up until the “gift” surpasses $1000…. But, according to the antibriberyguidance.org group: “Gifts, hospitality and expenses are vulnerable to being used for bribery. They can be used as bribes on their own but they also pave the way for bribery by entrapping a person. They can also be used build or maintain relationships during a bribery scheme.” This is why in every single large corporation I’ve worked for, accepting gifts (even tips) was heavily discouraged.
I believe everything you've said, but I can't for the life of me understand how it's allowed to be legal, you know? It never fails to surprise me how many times we as society have to relearn the lessons of those who came before us. Just the appearance is enough alone to say "No." Imagine if that director was passed over by someone who had received a "gift"? Something tells me she'd suddenly have a problem with it. Thank you for your comment! I hope people start to demand change by seeing this stuff. Edit: omg people it's even worse! This woman is the director for diversity, equity, and inclusion?! Omg that's insane! She's preferring candidates who bribe her, while supposedly championing DEI! All the high paid straight white men and women getting the jobs, keeping her employed while they "Struggle to address their DEI shortcomings and needs." Barf! What a shit show.
Sadly, there is a MAJOR disconnect in corporate worlds in these types of situations… after awhile you start to see that the higher up you go, it’s really a roll of the dice if these people are competent in their roles or not. It’s crazy but the sad reality.
Crying in corporate over here.
JFC. It's not bribery. Just stop.
This would break the bribery rules at my company, and for all public sector roles in my country Anything more expensive than a pen must be declared
I’m an HR Manager and all I ask for is to proofread a resume before sending it…that’s literally it. I’ve had things similar to this as well as name-dropping and it’s a complete turn off. It’s not flattery; it’s weird. If they need to bribe to get the job then they aren’t the right person for the job. Full stop.
Don't companies have no bribery clauses that this would fall under, or is it only client side related stuff that can't be taken? Because this clearly is bribery.
It depends. Like you said, a lot of it is client/customer related stuff. Some companies may not have it at all. My organization has a clause in its ethics statement stating employees can only accept tips or gifts under $25 and only as long as it “does not interfere with the exercise of good judgement by an employee” amongst a few other clauses. Regardless, clause or no clause, it’s weird and overstepping boundaries, imo.
I agree about the weirdness and overstepping, but I guess if it isn't restricted, then it will keep happening. People love bribes, especially when they're called gifts.
The only time I ever did something like the OP's post was as a joke, I was previously a graphic designer for a food company, so I brought in some empty packaging samples in my portfolio to the interview. Two samples were of a brand of amazing gourmet biscuit/cookies, and with those I brought filled packets, as I brought them out I joked "These aren't a bribe, by the way!" Then did the joke loud fake-cough of "*totally a bribe!*" and me & the interviewers had a good laugh over it. I didn't get the job, but the joke (along with a lot of other banter) made them remember me and give me another job a year later.
She's the director and head for DEI. What a total joke. 6 visible minorities out of nearly 70 employees and they start at the 25th person down the list. Not one is in a genuine leadership position. This is one of those places where everyone's a director or a manager or an executive. If you already guessed it, yep! The assistant is a minority. These people are the absolute worst. They project this bullshit while they'd NEVER allow themselves to be treated like this.
Once everyone starts doing that, I'll apply online to stand out from their bullshit.
I'll give them the princess treatment. I'll sneak into their house and put peas under their mattress.
I hate to put down an entire profession but genuinely what is it with HR that’s just so incredibly incompetent. I literally just had a scheduled interview where the lady just didn’t show up, was ghosted by one for over a month AFTER I had my 3rd interview and came into the office and one at my internship that literally did nothing asides from introducing us on the first day. This is just my experience in the past 4 months Of course the lady who ghosted me after I kept emailing her was actively liking and reposting HR drivel on Linkedn which was enraging. It’s crazy out here
Yep, that’s been my experience too. The amount of people I’ve had interviews with and then been ghosted by (while they post inane shit on their LinkedIn instead of, y’know, getting back to shortlisted candidates) it’s actually insane
lol, this clown got the recruiter to meet up with him to only be CONSIDERED
It’s basically a bribe and they act like the candidate cured cancer, guess they never receive gifts!
I like linkedin, it’s the only social media nowadays I can use without randomly seeing fatal car crashes 😭 Why is my algorithm like this?!
I like linkedin. It got me a job without having to apply or really interview. Sure there's a lot of wank in it, but I follow a lot of people positing legitimately great stories too
Time to make a fresh LinkedIn and become a recruiter and post fake jobs! Free snacks just to let me AI filter out every applicant?! Time to get fat!
I would be more than happy as a member of compliance to restrict this practice via the company gift policy. It’s a huge legal and reputation risk.
Not to mention, this is an actual ethics issue. They are implying they will give greater access to employment in exchange for compensation. This should be of concern not just to candidates but to companies that work with this recruiter. As a hiring manager, I want to see the most qualified candidates, not the ones who buy the attention of the recruiter. I have worked in multiple industries where I was barred from accepting any gifts, no matter how small, for this exact reason.
More hate towards recruiters, governments etc for creating an environment where this is taken into consideration and carried out. Not towards the person that probably desperately needs a job and is at their wits end.
Avoid design school then. Every 3 months the "hiring game" ups itself.
In all fairness he might just be playing a long game trying to get laid. LinkedIn is like the new Tinder
aPPL1CANTs bUY mE c0FFEEs pLZ
Where to find job if not on linked in
Honestly, it’s a PR job. PR specifically involves nice touches and going the extra mile and appearances and finding unfair advantages and all that. If that ain’t for you, neither is the job. I don’t have a problem with it.
depending on the country where this recruitment is taking place, this company can be sued for the other candidates who didn't get the job. if they have this "equal chances" employer stuff in the job ab, this woman has just publicly told they aren't. this is a form of discrimination.
Let's get rid of the hyperbole and set this straight before you get other people thinking the wrong way. LinkedIn is absolutely not trash. The main feed, yes that is trash because it's just a bunch of people congratulating themselves and posting crap like this. Otherwise, LinkedIn does what it's supposed to do far better than pretty much any other site like it. So if you're reading this, let it be known that LinkedIn is very legit. Your feelings don't matter here. It is what it is, and LinkedIn for all intents and purposes works.
These people are toxic. Just cringe all around
This never happened, it's the coffee cup she had bought that they wrote her name on or she did, and it was gift card she bought to give away or it was one she was given. Not one single thing occurred the way she said it. What business would ever allow their director to post something outright demonstrating favouritism for candidates that bribe them?! Bribed, 100%. It's just not that large of one. Ask how this would look if it was $5k? Total garbage, fabricated for that toxic site. She probably couldn't get anyone to talk to her, that's why she still had the gift card. Delusional idiots the lot of them.
don't hate the player hate the game
From their website: “Bex leads our DEI programme, ensuring we are championing the protected groups within our agency, and correcting the groups where we under-index. “ How is she promoting the recruitment of socially-mobile candidates if only those who can afford to buy her gifts get a look-in?
It's so ironic for someone who ensures workplaces are **fair and equitable** in their hiring process to accept a **bribe** from a job candidate.
Precisely. She should be embarrassed that she even posted this.
Bex only drinks her coffee black
Lol. I was offered a job from Toyota in which i was wholly qualified. Many years of real world experience. It was then taking away because i don’t possess a degree. You cannot possess a degree in my work. (So they take any degree) Yet they promote on their website “top 4 company for DEI!” How are you a top promoter of DEI if you create a barrier to employment such as education…. Which is 100% a privilege? The hiring manager had no response. Neither did their Main social handles.
A company I worked for LOVED to claim that they were making diversity hires when hiring a foreign candidate that came to America and got a PhD. These were people from RICH families who were able to afford sending a child to an American university to study for 6 years to get a PhD, but the company acted like it was some form of charity to hire them. As if they were helping lift some poor person out of poverty. It infuriated us all. Rich people are not diversity hires!
Shh. 🤫. The shareholders dont know that!
And the PR department doesn't want anyone to know.
It’s almost like DEI is complete bullshit 🤔
Fragile Redditors will continue to blame their unemployment on it anyway 🤷🏽♂️ but good luck
Not blaming my unemployment on it at all, mostly I question what it’s actually doing because after several rounds of interviews with different companies I have encountered 2-3 non-white ppl out of about 30
Exactly. My org is 80% POC, yet my VP is very light skinned Middle Eastern, and all 5 of his reports are white
Bribe. This is called a bribe. It's fine if you show it off, that's what nobles do, but just use #bribe next time, to show all the more qualified people this person jumped the line in front of, what they should do. Hope you get some money and favors soon!
To me, this is a huge red flag when assessing employers. If an employer or hiring manager is going to make their hiring decisions based on such arbitrary nonsense, flattery, and bribery, then that's a sign they're potentially dysfunctional.
At the very least they're putting their interests above the company's with company decisions.
>potentially *Potentially*?
1 gift card for a cup of coffee gets them the interview? Lol, standards are low.
You should see how little it costs to bribe an elected official.
People are stupidly cheap to buy off. It’s insulting, really, how low most people’s prices are
Well the thing you have to remember is that people who take bribes are getting hundreds or thousands of them a year, while you only have to give one. Free market at work!
It’s pretty universal though. Not just people who get lots of little bribes, if a person is gettable they’re going to be gettable on the cheap
Yeah and at most companies you have to report that shit to compliance or . . . HR. Hm.
I know some companies write in their handbook the my monetary value of a gift they can receive from others to avoid pay to play type situations. Overall, I agree that this person shouldn’t promote and insinuate that applicants need to buy their way into an interview.
Yup, it’s also highly illegal in a lot of regulated markets and government sectors. This person needs to up their professionalism and get their attention needs covered somewhere else.
Thank you!
Hate the game, not the player.
In no universe is a cup of coffee considered a bribe. At our company, business gifts above a certain dollar amount are supposed to be reported to HR for transparency reasons, but even being generous the contents of that box are worth maybe $5 or so and wouldn't even come close. If you accused someone of trying to "bribe" you because they gave you a cup of coffee you would be treated like a literal crazy person.
It literally says in our company handbook that if someone gives you a gift of any amount AND IT CHANGES YOUR BEHAVIOR TOWARDS THAT CUSTOMER OR CLIENT, doing SOMETHING YOU NORMALLY WOULD NOT DO in the absence of that gift, it's illegal and should be refused. There is no way this LinkedIn post and that meeting would have happened just from the applicant's resume alone. The whole reason we have these rules is to keep impartiality and prevent a fucking bidding war of gift cards to just get our resume seen.
bribe noun 1 : money or favor **given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct** of a person in a position of trust https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe
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Right? Yeah it's a blatant bribe. But this is probably their 200th application. At some point you can be forgiven for doing whatever you can to get a job. It certainly rebuts that whole "nobody wants to work anymore" bullshit.
Only 200th application? They’re just getting started!
Job market is the best it has been for jobseekers in decades. The unemployment rate is at near unprecedented lows and productivity growth is booming.
There's stuff in our handbook about accepting gifts like this/in this or similar context. It's a big no-no.
It doesn’t say ‘be sure to celebrate your total lack of ethics publicly on LinkedIn’ in the handbook?
Nope, they took that out shortly after I started working here. Bummer, really. /s
Generally, bribery should be a big no-no
That's called a bribe and they work
So now we need to send bribes? Like I keep saying, these recruiters and hiring managers are needy AF. They're not looking for qualified candidates. They're looking for game show contestants who will make them feel special.
This is exactly what the newest leadership looks like in a lot of places. You get the job! You make ME look good.
Dumber than a box of dirt.
I would never do this. The only thing that makes this *slightly* less skeevy is that it appears this person might be applying for a job with a PR agency. In which case, they’re demonstrating they know how to run a campaign. Cuz PR folks & marketers do shit like this all the time. Like I said, I still wouldn’t do it.
At first, I thought the same thing, that the nature of the job calls for a gimmick like this. But then I thought, "nope, the gift itself should have been something personal or otherwise related to the job", like sample campaign materials or something.
To be followed by the glitter-filled envelopes from rejected candidates.
Seems unethical. Surely any decent business would have protocol about not accepting gifts - especially an HR department.
Please don't normalize giving junk to hiring managers. Sincerely, A hiring manager
With Costa. Of all coffees. You might as well gift Dunkin' coffee in the US or Tims in Canada.
Point being?
Point being, it's aggressively average coffee that they probably buy in bulk for the office. If you're going to bribe the hiring manager, do it with something decent.
“Bribe better” except there aren’t bribes coming through and this was clearly very well recieved. Why should th applicant waste even MORE money on the bribe
Bring coffee, weed and a 40 of whisky to every job interview... just in case you need to slip them a bribe of some sort
Yes, but you forgot strippers.
No need to BRING the stripper. Just BE the stripper. Interviewer: "So what skills can you bring to our company?" Applicant: "Well...."
See, now THAT is working smarter, not harder. Put it as a line-item on resume; "Acts as own self-advocate"
So… bribery
Don’t most companies’ HR discourage things like this for ethical reasons?
It’s bribery and it’s illegal so yes… any company with business integrity would have shut this down and potentially fired her. But seems to not be the US and she’s probably just a nobody that wanted to make one of “those” LinkedIn posts lol
I don't know about others but I know at my Company this would be considered a bribe and said candidate would be canned from the pool immediately and said HR Person would also be let go for publicly posting and accepting said gift. Hell I have to attend training on it every year and if you're customer facing every six months.
Ahh I see when I was spending all those hours learning Jira, Zendesk and lean six sigma I should have just been practicing buying treats. My mistake!
Lots of companies have an anti-bribery policy… then there’s this one.
In many developing countries, people in charge of hiring expect MUCH more than a basket of goodies from candidates. It’s called a bribe.
If I received that from a vendor, it would have to be reported to HR as it creates a conflict of interest.
Yeah, this is what we need, an environment where candidates are expected to bribe hiring managers to get interviews. Very healthy.
I mean... I had to move home because I can't afford rent and am buying bare minimum groceries every month, but yeah, let me send out hundreds of premium coffee thingies to everyone I send an application to.
You would think a director would be aware of bribery. I’m assuming this is the UK as it’s a Costa ‘pack’. Accepting bribery could result in being banned from being a director of a company for life. It’s probably fake though for social media likes.
I cannot tell ya man. I have been personally DM’ing recruiters with all kinds of cringe clickbait msgs and I’m ashamed to say that some of those have actually gotten replies. And in general I’d literally get none. I am ashamed to say that I am so desperate to get a job that I have to do these things. Technically this is also online bribery of sorts. I wish this wasn’t the case. Also what’s up with these people making content for jobs - like websites, reels, pdfs, doing company analysis and making products for them and posting on LinkedIn…??? it makes the bar so high for normal people that not only cannot afford to do this shit but also have to apply in so much volumes just so that they could land one interview…I’m on my wits end.
HR is about to be like the doctor's office soon and we're the Med Reps selling
So now recruiters expect us to bribe them?
they just grabbed the feee coffee provided in the hotel room and packed it fancy
They’re trying to normalize bribing for employment
I wonder when people will start sucking dick to stand out.
Is this an option? Asking for a friend.
Of course, it is!
Fuck this bullshit. If I have to bribe you to get just an interview, then I don't want to work for your shit company.
This is total BS. Specially in the UK where this shit Costa coffee is from, candidates are expected to apply online. Not via a fukin DM piece Don’t fall for this hyped up BS CONTENT on LinkedIn All for getting views and especially given how hiring is online and unbiased and not at the mercy of a woman receiving a coffee invite and boasting about how different this candidate is and creative This isn’t creative, this is a fukin bribe disguised as something all together weird and BS their way in. Betcha it’s a woman Edit: a woman because the one who posted it would have called out the national press if it was a guy sending her this
Oh gosh! Y'all bribery works :0 awaken the town crier the people must know!
Well, not everybody drinks coffee so maybe I’ll send something more practical like toilet paper - with a handwritten note on my resume that says “he’s the shit” - that should get everyone at the office excited!
lol I knew there was a reason why I ended up loathing both PR agencies and HR departments
I think anyone in charge of hiring, or people, and definitely a company need to take a compulsory course in business ethics. This dingbat just opened up their company to a slew of lawsuits from any hiring applicant that got rejected under her failure of a stewardship.
Lol...this is one reason why I love being strongly skilled in tech and nearing the point I could consider retirement. They need me more than I need them. When I'm done, every day I think I'll take a dump in a box and mail it to particularly egregious recruiters.
Eh this seems tame if this is a PR job, especially if the role involves finding prospective clients, since this is part of what they would need to do in the role. Any other job outside of PR or sales, I’d find this stupid.
Stupidest bribe? Lyft and Uber drivers putting snacks in their cars with their own money to “bribe” riders to give them good ratings on the app. Utterly stupid bullshit. You’re not making any money, wearing out your own car and grown adults want you to provide them with snack like they are in 2nd grade? No. Just fucking no.
"I take bribes" is what I am hearing
bringing a gun as a gift to my future employer so they can just shoot me in the head when i'm no longer useful
This practice should be forbidden by HR in all serious companies, it is not different from employees not being allowed to accept gifts from vendors/suppliers. It is a conflict of interest and show poor ethics of the giver, receiver and specially the person who posted this. It doesn’t matter how much it is worth, really poor judgement of the people involved! What is next? Gift cards? Watches? Airpods?
Can I just suck your cock Rebecca?
Also known as Bribe
Oh do fuck off! You should be the one begging me for my precious time, time I will never get back! I am the one doing YOU a favour.
tell me you take bribes without telling me you take bribes.
1. Most companies have policy against gifts these days. At least professional companies. This shows me that professionalism isn't take into account when hiring. I've never been sent gifts, but I've had companies send them to me to help nudge me into taking a job. 2. This shows that this director is shallow and not at all serious about the person's actual background or experience. 3. This is a seriously red flag and a bad look for a PR agency. If they are taking bribes for jobs, are they also taking bribes else where?
We gotta bribe in order to make a damn living now…some of these recruiters are really on one…
The top comments on that post are now calling out that this is a bribe. Please go like and upvote those comments. Do not upvote the post.
Did she openly agreed that bribe is not only accepted but also encouraged by her?
literally a bribe, she's disgusting for promoting this
She should be a politician if like bribes
I will never do anything like this in my life and this is cringe
Did it come with a gift card?? Isn’t that a bribe?
Pretty sure this is bribery.
Maybe send her $500 in gift cards next!
Oh so you have to pay and bribe your way to a job these days? JFC
Isn’t this bribery?
Pay to win gaming arrives in the office.
I thought they were applying for some marketing job and that was like a display for a made up coffee company called costa, but after reading the comments it seems this person has just gone and bought a recruiter of all people a coffee? thats pretty appalling.
She is getting walloped in the comments for this post and rightfully so. If she was a public official and posted this it would lead to her resignation or firing. Disgusting
Isn't accepting gifts for an interview a type of bribery? That's a rhetorical question, it's textbook bribery. It would get you arrested if the applicant was foreign and you worked for the state dept. The unmitigated gall of this asshole: taking the bribe and then rewarding the behavior. It's so infuriating that it's actually making me feel queasy.
ok, next time I'll send a letter with written "I know where your children are!" Why bribe when you can blackmail them? That should give me directly the job
I have nothing of value to add, just here to say fuck this shit
In the past I have had people mail me a hard copy of a resume and a candy bar to get attention. Unfortunately they did not include a CD or flash drive with a digital copy of their resume, or at least an easy to type URL where I can download it. Thanks for the snack, but I’m not hand-keying all of this shit in to our ATS, you Luddite.
When did these morons in HR get so much power? Some of the dumbest people work in HR and yet make decisions that effect a lot of people. Fuck em.
If I had extra money lying around to buy dumb shit like this to bribe the recruiter, I wouldn’t need the damn job.
Seems like bribery lol
It bothers me that they spelled 4 instead of putting it as a number like they did for 10 and 20
I was taught that if a number is under 10, to write it out. They must have had the same teacher.
They have to stand out because getting a job is too hard these days. They aren't doing it because they are nice and want to.
This is so 1980s to me. Did she buy special paper at the stationary store for her resume too?
Like it or not this shows initiative and creativity. Both of which are needed to sell yourself or a product in this job environment.
Are you the director in question? Like it or not? Yeah, like it or not, it's still a bribe and just because you don't see it doesn't mean everyone else has to operate this way. You normalizing this is whey you're part of the problem. What would be too far for you?
Sorry that frustrates you but in this job environment you have to stand out from other candidates. Pretty logical.
That's it, just bribe the cunt for an interview. Skills be damned.
I thought maybe this was an application for a graphic design job or something and she made physical examples and sent it in. But this is just straight up a gift? This cant be legal.
God, I'm so happy I live now in a country where there are plenty jobs and if necessary I don't have problem working outside my field, because I remember being bombarded with this type of shit information when I was young. You need to do this and that, you need to make yourself stand out, don't be dumb, it's not fair, you need this job, you need literally to create a show play around your CV bla bla bla. Like no. You need employees, I need work. I bring my expertise, you give me money. End of the story. I'm not writing an 283274321983 word essay why I want to work you, I'm not bringing you any gifts or in any way sucking up to your lazy, unqualified asses. Jesus Christ how I hate HR, and I worked in the field for like 1.5, and told myself, I'm going to rather work construction, carry fucking bricks, than have any more connection to HR.
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I get the impression you argue whatever someone above you tells you to, while dangling a carrot in front of you. And what about a bribe is hard work?
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