Google reinstates Russian job offers
The move comes just weeks after Google made policy changes.
Why You Should Care
Google announced a series of sanctions against Russia at the start of April.
Learn why measures related to hiring are being reconsidered.
At the start of April, Google withdrew its job offers to successful candidates with Russian addresses. This move came alongside other commercial sanctions in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to Insider, a Google spokesperson said that the tech giant had to make “very difficult decisions in unprecedented circumstances, based on security considerations and legal sanctions requirements.”
The spokesperson added: “We hope to provide opportunities to interns where and when these issues are resolved.”
Naturally, this decision caused a backlash from candidates who had secured a position only to find they no longer had one.
Khaled Mohamed, an Egyptian national who was based in Russia, had been offered a position as an intern at Google’s office in Zurich, Switzerland, but this fell through because of Google’s policy.
Mohamed posted on LinkedIn that “I never saw this coming, especially not from Google…We did nothing wrong.”
Others candidates were also surprised by the lack of support from Google.
But, just a few weeks later, Google has now reassessed its position.
Google’s new Russia hiring policy
Google has now begun to accept those who are based in Russia and have successfully applied for a role.
Mohamed has witnessed the change in policy first-hand. He told Insider: “They informed me that they will reinstate my offer. I received the news through a call, it does seem however that I am back in the internship program.”
Mahmood Darwish, who also had his offer revoked, also gave an update on his situation through LinkedIn: “We were contacted by Google and they told us that they will continue our offers.
“We’re still waiting on written confirmation which is supposed to be given this week. But it seems that the situation is resolved for our cases. I don’t know about other people in Russia.”
Aleksandr Chuklin, research engineer at Google Zürich, reached out to Mohamed on LinkedIn when his job offer was taken away and said: “I’m sorry that this has happened to you. Many of us inside the company are trying to get at least an official position, but these things are often hard to in a large corporation…”
For Russian citizens, the situation remains unclear, and many will hope that Google clarifies its position on Russian candidates.
UNLEASH has reached out to Google for comment but has yet to receive a response.
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Senior Journalist
Dan combines his first-hand experience alongside the latest news and opinions in the HR Technology space.
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