‘This is so bad’: CEO’s job applicant video absolutely roasted
A CEO has been absolutely roasted over video he made that exposes the company’s “red flags” – even doubling down after major backlash.
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The CEO of a US company has been savagely roasted online after a video intended for job applicants was shared online, quickly going viral.
One job seeker was stunned after she was directed to watch the clip while applying for a job with digital marketing agency, Rocket Clicks.
The woman was so flabbergasted by the video that she decided to share it on TikTok, begging others to watch it.
“I am applying to jobs right now because I got laid off and one of the applications is requiring that you watch this video from the CEO and that you give them your feedback. Please watch this, this is so bad,” she said.
The clip begins in a pretty stock standard manner, with the Rocket Clicks CEO, Tyler Dolph, speaking into the camera and talking about why a potential job applicant would be excited to join the team.
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He then goes on to say the company is looking for people who are “jacked” about this opportunity – a slightly weird phrase but in line with the stock-standard jargon we often see CEOs using.
Mr Dolph promises any successful job applicant would have help with achieving their goals, noting that, in return, this person would then “work like hell” to help the company achieve its own aspirations.
Then things quickly take a turn, with the CEO making it very clear that anyone interested in having a life outside of work need not apply.
“I will tell you our employees work between 40 and 45 hours a week here and they work on themselves between 5 and 15 hours above and beyond that because they want to become great,” he says.
“If you are used to just punching in and punching out, not having to worry about work or trying to live the whole work-life balance thing I can guarantee you, you will not like it here.
“Please stop applying and find something more cushy.”
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Mr Dolph stated that Rocket Clicks was trying to do “something great” and believes the only way to do that is to have the “opposite of balance” when it comes to work.
“You have to be all in. You have to be obsessed with levelling up, with achieving results and continuing to improve yourself,” he said.
In sharing the video, the job seeker said she had cancelled her application, later also claiming the “pay was a joke”.
The TikTok quickly went viral, racking up more than 730,000 views and gaining more than 8300 comments – and people did not hold back in their responses.
“Peak tech bro red flags there,” one person said.
Another said the video was “really embarrassing” for the company and someone else simply said: “Girl, run”.
“Quick question: is this a job application for hell?” one asked, with another questioning: “And do you have to cut off all your family members as well?”
Others claimed at least they were saving people time by not having to go through the whole application process only to be blindsided by the culture.
“It’s great to see a upfront CEO telling you to your face that you’ll be overwhelmed, overworked, & underpaid,” one person said.
The TikTok went so viral that it prompted the CEO to respond to the backlash.
Making another video, Mr Dolph claimed he had been branded the “Walmart Elon Musk”, noting that he didn’t know whether that was a bad thing.
“Lots of job seekers are shouting for my head because I said if you want work life balance you won’t like it here,” he said.
“All is true by the way, we put together a video during the hiring process where I do my best to describe what the culture is like.”
Mr Dolph noted that the goal of Rocket Clicks is to do the best job possible for its clients because they “pay our bills”.
“I am getting a lot of hate for it and I don’t know how to feel about it other than to say I think that means it’s working,” he said.
“If you don’t like our approach to the work we are doing at Rocket Clicks, please don’t apply. If what I said excites you, those are the individuals we would like to have on our team, that we want to build this amazing business with.
“I didn’t know that that was a hot take. Sorry I’m not sorry.”
Mr Dolph also doubled down in a LinkedIn post, stating he “stands by” his assertion that employees are expected “to work overtime dedicated to self improvement”.
“You have to wave your red flags right away so you don’t waste time chasing unqualified leads,” he said, claiming this separates high performing businesses from others.
A quick look on Glassdoor, a website where past and current employees can rate a company, makes it clear that there are staff that aren’t too impressed with Rocket Clicks’ work ethos.
The company has a 2.8/5 rating from 58 reviews.
Many claim the company has undergone a significant culture change from being supportive and pro work-life balance, to the complete opposite.
Prior to 2024, the majority of the reviews gave the company five stars and praised the culture, specifically noting the emphasis on mental wellbeing, the welcoming atmosphere and promoting the idea that “life comes before work”.
After this, there is a clear shift in feelings towards the company.
“I have never seen a more dramatic culture change than the one I witnessed here. Things went from good to bad pretty quickly and then became worse than ever,” one former employee wrote.
“Now, leadership has adopted a terrible attitude. They are more inclined to fire people rather than help them improve. So, there is poor job security here. Please stay away if you don’t want to live with the fear of being replaced.”
Another person stated that the company “used to be incredible” but the culture has since “declined rapidly”.
Someone else who claimed to work at Rocket Clicks before the culture shift stated the difference was “night and day”.
“The company used to value its people, but now it treats employees like cogs in a machine. The focus has shifted from a supportive, people-first environment to a profit-first mindset,” they wrote.
One said: “The company I joined and the company I left were not the same. Over time, a profound cultural shift took place driven by toxic leadership behaviours, unchecked egos, and a growing obsession with performance optics over actual human development.”
Originally published as ‘This is so bad’: CEO’s job applicant video absolutely roasted
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