I have just gone through a three stage selection process for the position of territory sales manager (Europe, Caribbean and LATAM) and have withdrawn my candidacy. I was first interviewed by a man named Martin who was acting as a consultant for Jolly’s aspirations for expansion. It was a positive experience and a pleasure to meet him. I was then contacted by the company’s director of sales and marketing, Androula, who would have been my manager. The meeting was positive with Androula being able to answer my questions and give me a general idea of the role. As it’s a newly created development position with unclear targets, I was not surprised that a more detailed or focused scope was not available. I was then asked to go to a meeting with Androula and Christopher Jolly, the company’s founder and MD. Christopher was initially unable to connect to the meeting and therefore we started 25 minutes late, resulting in me having to cancel a later appointment Unfortunately Christopher did not give a good impression of his company. His questions were generally less-focused repeats of what I’d been asked in the first and second interviews, posed in an aggressive and irritable manner. Despite the fact that Androula was present, I got the sense that she was completely un-empowered, at least in the presence of Christopher. She was largely silent. The whole vibe was uncomfortable. For some reason, early on in the call, Christopher made the statement (in regard to my residency in Spain) “I assume you a married and perhaps have children there.” I was shocked by this, as it’s not something I considered relevant to the role. In regard to my residency in Spain, it seemed as if the interviewing parties were not communicating with one another, as despite stating my country of residence in my covering letter, I was asked about where I lived (and whether I planned to stay there) in each stage. Clearly my situation was not going to have changed from one week to the next. As the company is UK based, a concern I had was how they would be able to contract and pay me, how it would work in terms of social security as well as whether my salary would fluctuate in regard to changes in the exchange rate GBP-EUR. In the first interview I was told that the company had a Valencia-based arm, so assumed that they would be able to contract via that company. In the second interview I was told that that it was a different company and that they didn’t know how they would pay me. I tried to broach the subject in the third interview and was dismissively told by Christopher Jolly that “we would pay you every month into your bank account”. I assume this simplistic answer was intentional and intended to show a lack of interest on his part. He also said that he didn’t “think” they would be responsible for my taxes. Although not an expert, I am aware that contracting someone is difficult/impossible if they are not a resident in the country of the company’s operations. The whole issue gave me the impression that the company is disorganized and that there was perhaps a lack of agreement within the interviewing parties, as to whether the candidate must be a UK resident or not. After having trouble connecting at the beginning of the meeting, Christopher apparently lost connection around 20 minutes into the call. He then called Androula. I was able to hear him talking (I guess on speaker). Although I couldn’t tell exactly what he was saying, his way of addressing her seemed unpleasant, and I felt uncomfortable to witness the interaction. After reconnecting and asking if I had any questions, Christopher then stated that “Androula has to go now and frankly so do I.” My sense was that he had seen enough and didn’t want to continue with the call. Of course, I can understand this sentiment if he felt I was unsuitable for the position. However, his way of behaving was highly unprofessional, or to quote the only review of the company available on Glassdoor, “obnoxious”. It’s worth reiterating that this was a third stage interview, where two other team members, including the person I would have reported to, clearly felt that I was a viable candidate. I therefore find it odd that Christopher might have decided within such a short interview time that I was unsuitable. My suspicion is that the various interviewing parties were not on the same page in regard to candidate profile, etc., and that for some reason I remained in the process regardless. Again, the message this sent me in regard to the company was one of chaos. It’s a shame to withdraw from the process, especially when the first two interviews were pleasant. However, the behavior and manner of Christopher Jolly left me certain that this company would be toxic to work for. It’s unfortunate, because as Christopher is of an advanced age, it’s unlikely that he will be involved with the company for many more years, and I suspect his current manner will be an impediment to the company’s growth.