Наталя ХандусенкоWork
20 August 2026, 14:22
2026-08-20
“Most of our team is in Ukraine, and we want to minimize risks.” IT specialst was again rejected due to his residence in Ukraine, which sparked a new discussion on LinkedIn
IT specialists are increasingly facing rejections from employers due to “location risks.” Design Lead and Senior Graphic Designer Oleksandr Tolochko told about one such case. In the comments, IT specialists began to share their own stories and suggest the real reasons for rejections, which employers sometimes disguise as “blackouts” — for example, “suddenly they will kill you.”
IT specialists are increasingly facing rejections from employers due to “location risks.” Design Lead and Senior Graphic Designer Oleksandr Tolochko told about one such case. In the comments, IT specialists began to share their own stories and suggest the real reasons for rejections, which employers sometimes disguise as “blackouts” — for example, “suddenly they will kill you.”
Oleksandr Tolochko said on LinkedIn that the other day, in response to a vacancy, he received a rejection due to the suspension of hiring within Ukraine.
The first thing they asked the IT worker was his location, but the answer "in the Kyiv region" apparently didn't satisfy the recruiter.
A company representative explained that due to the presence of most of the team in Ukraine, the management decided to minimize risks and look for candidates abroad, since during total blackouts they had already lost contact with the entire team for several days.
You can see what the answer looked like verbatim in the screenshot that Oleksandr added to his post.
In the post, the author noted that he fully understands the logic of business in conditions of war, risks, blackouts, and the approach of winter, because every company strives to ensure the continuity of processes and the constant availability of the team.
At the same time, he raises the question of where exactly the line is drawn between competent risk management and the usual ignoring of candidates simply because of their stay in Ukraine.
“A person who still works from Ukraine may well have an EcoFlow, a generator, several independent internet providers, and a bunch of other things, and be much more stable than a person somewhere in Europe without any backup,” the designer adds.
Oleksandr sees a particular irony in the situation where the majority of the company's current team continues to live and work in Ukraine. From this, he concludes that the employer's strange logic is that working from Ukraine is acceptable for existing employees, but hiring new specialists in the same location is considered too risky, and asks the community what they think of this approach.
In the comments under the post, experts suggested that the real reason for the refusal may not be related to the power outages at all, because most Ukrainian IT workers have long since set up autonomous workplaces. The main risk for companies is the so-called "busification" - mobilization processes that employers cannot predict.
Recruiter Yevgenia Correia noted that blackouts have long ceased to be the main reason for employers: "Unfortunately, this is not the only reason. I have a foreign client who hires Ukrainians, but not in Ukraine. Because of the already well-known busification. That a person will simply disappear at a moment's notice and no one will know where they are and when they will return to the project. No one can be scared by a blackout anymore."
Senior Product Manager Hryhoriy Khropot agreed with this opinion, emphasizing the difference between the expected technical difficulties and force majeure: "That's right, foreign companies already know from experience that Ukrainians know how to solve the issues of blackouts and broken windows without disturbing employers. But busification is a big and uncontrolled risk that they are not ready to take on. And they can be understood."
In response to this, Oleksandr noted: "And I understand that. It seems that here you can simply interview the candidate, and if there are no problems here, then move on. But of course it is easier not to hire those who are in Ukraine."
Other IT professionals began to share their own bitter experiences of communicating with companies that are looking for Ukrainian talents but make contradictory demands on them.
PHP developer Petro Dyavolyuk recalled a similar situation with the positioning of companies: "It was: 'we are a super international company. But we only work with group 3 sole proprietors, which are preferably located in Europe'."
And specialist Hanna Truba, who lives in Odessa, shared an even more absurd explanation for the refusal, which she had to face personally: "Unfortunately, I had the same thing happen to me. They said, what if they kill you..."
“We only move forward with candidates who live in Europe.” The developer wasn’t hired because he doesn’t live in Europe. He says he accepts the company’s position. Other IT workers aren’t so sure.
