"Fired Our Designer, Need Someone...": Pak-American CEO's Recruitment Post Criticised Online

A US-based founder has sparked a discussion on social media with his recruitment post which was shared shortly after he fired his designer. Arib Khan, a Pakistani-American creator of Musicfy - a startup that develops artificial intelligence tools for musicians, posted a job opening on Wednesday, right after firing his designer. "Just fired our designer. Need someone that wants to design products for millions," Mr Khan wrote on the social media platform X. "DM me your portfolio today. Hiring someone tonight," he added.

just fired our designer

need someone that wants to design products for millions

software + hardware

dm me your portfolio today

hiring someone tonight

— Arib 🇺🇸🇵🇰 (@aribk24) June 25, 2024

Mr Khan's tweet quickly gained traction online, with many users criticising him for "bragging" in public about terminating an employee. However, instead of apologising, Mr Khan doubled down on his stance. In the following post, he wrote, "My goal isn't to be nice. If ur designs are shit i will say they are shit. if you can't handle what i will say then don't work for us." he later also shared an update saying he had filled the vacancy. 

found someone :)

— Arib 🇺🇸🇵🇰 (@aribk24) June 26, 2024

However, social media did not take kindly to Mr Khan's post. "Love the hustle and intent to hire quickly, but would show some compassion to the person you let go and revise this tweet," wrote one user. "This tweet tells me everything I need to know about you," commented another. 

"This kind of attitude might make you feel 'I'm top of the world' because you made some money as a 20 yr old. But it will bite your back soon enough," said a third X user. 

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One user also proceeded to highlight every one of the "red flags" in the post. "Multiple red flags here, sounds like a nightmare client. 1. Publicly bragging about firing a designer 2. Work for "millions" with no context. Millions of users or millions of dollars? (We know which one). 3. Has a poor experience with last designer, but willing to hire someone same day to jump right in for an apparently ultra important project.. Delusions of grandeur and a heavy dose of arrogance," commented the user. 

"I think you want engagement, not a designer. Because this is a weird way to advertise a job," added another commenter. "There are many ways to do this, but this is certainly not the way. It's one thing to fill a seat, quite another to find a partner who will elevate everything, including yourself. Creating a society of fear is not how you're going to inspire innovation," wrote one user.