‘I messed up’: In rough job market, tech founder offered tattoos for interviews

Zeitz wrote that he hosted the party to meet “exceptional people” and find out if they were “just as crazy as we are.”

“You know what would be reeeally crazy, dude? What if you got an ad for my company permanently etched on your skin? So quirky and fun, just like someone I might hire ! Just saying.”

There are no words:

It’s a particularly dismal time for a job hunt, especially in the layoff-ridden tech industry, and one San Francisco startup is getting flak online for a controversial hiring stunt meant to find committed talent.

LemonLime, a Y Combinator-backed artificial intelligence startup for small businesses, offered company tattoos in exchange for an “instant interview” at a YC Startup School afterparty on Saturday, according to a now-deleted LinkedIn post from its co-founder Jordan Zietz. The post showed a woman sitting in front of a tattoo artist, appearing to prep for getting inked on her right forearm.

Thankfully, the common person’s voice is heard:

The post garnered plenty of attention on LinkedIn, with some people quick to criticize LemonLime’s antics.

“Give people dignity and let them interview on the spot,” the most-like comment on the post read. “We are not your dance monkey who have to prove anything to you to be worth your time.”

Others cited it as an example of how bad California’s job market is, and called the company’s move an exploitation of people’s desperation to get their foot in the door.

“Influencing someone who is trying to find work to get your company’s logo tattooed is so evil spirited,” another comment said. “This isn’t edgy or innovative, it’s a disturbing abuse of power.”

This is incredibly disturbing.

What a dickhead

How is this legal?