Founder at Lead Team IT recruitment agency Anastasia Voitenko shared a story about a candidate who honestly expressed his position on the language of communication in the team. And this requirement is atypical and outrageous for many in this day and age.
Founder at Lead Team IT recruitment agency Anastasia Voitenko shared a story about a candidate who honestly expressed his position on the language of communication in the team. And this requirement is atypical and outrageous for many in this day and age.
«The country has been at war for more than 10 years. A screenshot of communication with a candidate who is applying for an official job in a Ukrainian company in the field of marketing and communications. And for some, Ukrainian is still «not suitable» for work. The company is developing its business despite the war, is looking for a specialist. And receives the answer: «If the team communicates in Ukrainian, it is not suitable for me,» said the outraged specialist.
In her opinion, in 2025, when Ukrainian is not just a language, but part of the struggle for independence and life, that is the moment when you really want to transcend professional and ethical principles and speak out in full response. «For a minute, a person sits in a city that is being destroyed daily with missiles and shaheeds and the future is being killed (the employer offers a remote work format, so the location is not important to us),» added Anastasia.
«So what are you not already doing where you are 'comfortable communicating'? Ukrainian companies have the right to make a conscious choice — to build a culture where the state language is spoken not only in documents, but also in everyday communication. This is not discussed. If this is a 'barrier' for someone — perhaps they are simply not on the right path with Ukrainian business,» she noted.
Anastasia’s post received over 130 comments. The opinions of AIT members regarding the candidate’s demand were divided.
«But honestly, at the start, the only pluses. Let him work in his own company, it’s a pity that such answers still exist,» says HRM Victoria Mirkevych .
«It’s interesting, somewhere in France they refuse to work if ‘all chats and communication are in French,’» asks recruiter Veronika Klymenkova .
Full Stack Developer Vitaliy Andrusyak notes: «Rejoice, a person has shown himself to be an anthem before you and your company could have anything to do with him. Unfortunately, there will still be a portion of people who do not want change and do not want a free and strong Ukraine,» he wrote.
Senior C++ Programmer Alexey Tatarenko writes: «I have Russian citizenship. I spent most of my life in a Russian-speaking environment and, of course, I would be more comfortable communicating in Russian. But it would never occur to me to make such demands. But the company’s lack of business ties with Russia — yes, this is an important requirement.»
Meanwhile, there are alternative opinions regarding the language issue.
Developer Igor Shaula intentionally commented in Russian (translate his position below): «I will specifically answer in Russian. From the message it is clear that the money is clearly not sugar, and it is also noticeable that the person has probably already been taken, forcing them to switch to the Ukrainian language. Note that she wrote Ukr with a capital letter, probably out of respect. There is no insult here in the text. Anastasia, please understand that people are different — and they are not obliged to meet your standards. and you should not be so triggered by the language — a person does NOT choose their native language — the one their mother spoke, that’s how it will be, that’s normal. And the fact that you were refused, and quite culturally, is also OK. We have all been refused by someone at some point, this happens. If Ukrainian business does not understand this and plays the role of a princess or a mistress — well, that’s its problem. So, this business can afford this,» he noted.
The candidate is also supported by Embedded QA Enginee Alla Zakharenko: «You would be unpleasant to hear Russian in circles, and for him „why not state?“ and pressure from others. It seems to me that the candidate is good in that he doesn’t mess around and tells it like it is, or would you like him to:
1) Lied
2) Bending over to strangers
3) He got involved and quickly left, causing problems for everyone,» she wrote.
