US businesswoman apologises after the 'rude' rejection she sent a young jobseeker on LinkedIn goes viral
Kelly Blazek said Diana Mekota's request to connect was 'inappropriate' and 'tacky'
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Your support makes all the difference.An American businesswoman has issued an apology after her harsh response to a LinkedIn request from a young jobseeker was posted across social networking sites.
Diana Mekota, a graduate of John Carroll University, in Ohio, circulated the scathing email she received from Kelly Blazek, who manages the Cleveland Job Bank newsletter.
In the message Ms Blazek blasted Ms Mekota for her “inappropriate” and “tacky” request and said that she would “enjoy” rejecting it.
Ms Blazek has since apologised for her “rude, unwelcoming, unprofessional and wrong” response.
In the email, which Ms Mekota posted to Reddit, Imgur and Facebook, Ms Blazek wrote: “We have never met. We have never worked together. You are quite young and green on how business connections work with senior professionals.
“Apparently you have heard that I produce a Job bank, and decided it would be stunningly helpful for your career prospects if I shared my 960+ LinkedIn connections with you – a total stranger who has nothing to offer me.”
“Your invite to connect is inappropriate, beneficial only to you, and tacky.
“Wow, I cannot wait to let every 26-year-old jobseeker mine my top-tier marketing connections to help them land a job."
She said that Ms Mekota’s invitation epitomised the “sense of entitlement” of her generation.
“And therefore I enjoy denying your invitation,” Ms Blazek continued.
“I suggest you join the other Job Bank in town. Oh wait – there isn’t one.
“Don’t ever write me again.”
In a subsequent stament issued to Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer, Ms Blazek said: “I am very sorry to the people I have hurt.
“The note I sent to Diana was rude, unwelcoming, unprofessional and wrong. I am reaching out to her to apologize. Diana and her generation are the future of this city. I wish her all the best in landing a job in this great town.”
Ms Blazek was named 2013 Communicator of the Year by the Cleveland Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators.
But people have called for the award to be revoked following the publicisation of her message to Ms Mekota.
Within hours of the fallout, Blazek had deleted her Twitter account, removed all but the recommendations from her LinkedIn account and deleted the contents of her blog.
Ms Mekota told The Plain Dealer: "This was never a personal attack simply because I was turned down. More than anything, it was about the fact that this senior professional was treating young professionals like this, in a time when it's already difficult to find a job."
She added that she had accepted Ms Blazek’s apology.
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