Denied job, possibly since I am outside the country

Question

I am a software developer looking to change current jobs. I went through a round of many interviews (all online) with a company that is stateside, plus received positive feedback on all of the interviews. In my the last interview (the final round), I mentioned I was not currently stateside and outside the country due to the quaratine as the border was closed.

So it did not seem to cause an issue with anyone since they said the office is closed until next year, everyone was remote, (also the job is remote as well until then) and they asked if I will be back before the office opens up, and I said yes it will be no issue I will be back way before than (which is true as I should be back next month).

So after, talking to everyone had a sense everything went well, until this morning. Granted I did not receive the generic "sorry we are moving on with other candidates" email. I did instead receive something that could be taken in the same way from HR, the reply I received from the HR receptionist, (the one handling all my interviews and so on, I thanked her for all the help she has given me). Her reply was "Great that you have a interest in "COMPANY NAME" the team enjoyed speaking to you as well, please keep in touch with your current situation and when you expect to return to the states." That was all.

• So I wanted to ask what response (if any) should I respond with to this email?
• What was the red flag that I set off, by saying I was not stateside currently?
• Would you feel that the rejection email is on the way as well, or am I reading to much into this?
• Any tips to avoid this again?

Just wanted some general feedback as well, as it was a hit in my confidence, since I really wanted this job, as the company seemed great, definitely was a first choice type of place.

Answer 1

First of all, you should be honest about your physical location, your citizenship/immigration status, because there are legal and tax implications. A company may or may not be able to hire you depending on where you are and your legal status in the country where their offices are based at. However, I would advise that you only communicate these information with HR. They are the right people to make decisions with these information. You can tell other interviewers about it, but they might have unconscious bias towards you, which could go either way.

So I wanted to ask what response (if any) should I respond with to this email?

When responding to this email, you should also be honest and open. Ask them all your questions with respect. Tell them you would like to know more about the situation, whether your physical location is a problem, how the company and you could work it out, or any other questions you might have. Also tell them how you feel about the company, the interviewers, and the job. If you show a strong interest and a positive attitude towards the job, the company and you might be able to work out a solution.

What was the red flag that I set off, by saying I was not stateside currently?

As I mentioned earlier, there might be legal implications. Please note that people also have unconscious bias towards people live in different countries. But I don't feel it's fair to say red flag or something you set off. HR at each company should give you the best answer to these situations when it comes a specific job.

Would you feel that the rejection email is on the way as well, or am I reading to much into this?

None of us knows the full context, so our speculation would be inaccurate. Why don't you ask the HR person openly? If they don't want you, you get a rejection that you will eventually get. You lose nothing.

Any tips to avoid this again?

I'm not sure what you want to avoid. But from my standpoint, you would want to communicate to HR about your physical location and your citizenship status when you first talk to them about a job. If a company absolutely cannot hire you because of your situation, you will know before taking the interview. It would save you and the company some time.

But really, HR can be your friend before the compensation conversation or even during the compensation conversation. Their job is to find the company a suitable future employee as soon as possible, and HR can be desperate in some job market. Openly communicating to them who you are and what you need, you will likely save some time.