Applied for a position in another country and completed the first round of interviews.

7 Comments

1. AnonymousJuly 13,2022 at 7:10PM UTC

   This is one where your best information will come from inside. I would just ask them. It's not unusual for people to have multiple applications going at the same time for similar positions within the company. There's no guarantee you'll get picked for any specific position. Call their HR department and ask if there's any conflict. The only time I've heard from HR that there's a problem was when I asked why I saw more applicants in one column than resumes I'd received. "One doesn't meet minimum qualifications and the other one applies to every job that gets posted."

2. AnonymousJuly 15,2022 at 1:53AM UTC

   Thank you, Anonymous. That's my concern as I'm only in the early stages with the other location. Although it's a higher salary, to avoid the moving costs and the perks of having family in my current city is worth apply for the other role. That being said, I don't want to compromise the other option.

3. JenniferJuly 13,2022 at 7:16PM UTC

   I do think it would be perceived negatively if you apply to the US role while you are still actively in the interview process for the international one. If either hiring team discovered this (without you volunteering the information), it could come across as though you are uncertain about what you want, and it demonstrates a lack of honesty and transparency on your part.

   That said, what DO you want? Where do you want to live? Would you have preferred a US role all along? It’s not clear if you’re currently living in the US and (for example) applied to a job in France, or if you’re living in Japan and both US/France roles represent an international move. I suspect you are in the US since you just referenced the US and “international.”

   Assuming that you are in the US, I think expressing interest in the US position sends the message that you’ve changed your mind and no longer want to work abroad. This would understandably be concerning to the international hiring team. Being an expat is an exciting and valuable experience, but it can also be quite difficult for some people to settle comfortably and thrive in a place with different cultural norms/languages/etc and deal with homesickness.

   If we were talking about similar roles in the same country, I think you could potentially pursue both, but this feels like you need to make a decision about where you want to live, and then figure out how to proceed.

   Good luck! And if you do already know what you want, we can offer advice on that,

4. AnonymousJuly 15,2022 at 1:51AM UTC

   Thank you and I appreciate your advice, Jennifer. I've worked overseas previously and loved my time abroad. That being said, since the pandemic, I bought a house in my current city and the job that popped up is for not only in the US but my location. My city isn't known for those type of jobs so while I'm still committed to that other opportunity, it's still early in a five-step process. I'd hate to pass up a role here that's the exact title and would allow me to keep my house in a more affordable area.

5. JenniferJuly 15,2022 at 4:33AM UTC

   Given those circumstances, I'd not only be applying to the US role, I'd be launching a full-scale campaign to tenaciously pursue it from every possible angle. Can I identify the recruiter or hiring manager? Can I find people that might work in that department and location? If there are very few roles in your area like this, then there are probably very few people with the skillset as well. Even when considering candidates elsewhere in the US, you do not need to be relocated, which saves the company money.

   I can't speak to whether my approach would be effective or appropriate at the company you're interviewing with. My field of expertise/specialization does not really have roles where I'm physically located either, so I started working remotely pre-COVID. Even though remote work has always been my preference, just hearing that a geographically-rare job matching your geographically-rare skills had been posted gave me a rush of that pedal-to-the-metal energy.

   However you approach things, just be transparent as early as possible. Good luck!

6. AnonymousJuly 15,2022 at 3:44PM UTC

   Thank you, Jennifer. I didn't want to lose out in the other opportunity but it's rare to have that type of role available in my current city. It's not known for that type of industry. I ended up here during the pandemic and it's hard to find anything in my field. Since you're working remotely, do you have any suggestions on what sites or the best way to find remote jobs? I'm limited to a handful a job postings from this area.

7. JenniferJuly 15,2022 at 8:46PM UTC

   LinkedIn all the way. They've made massive changes over the last couple of years to improve the ease of posting and searching for remote positions. My experience as a mid-career professional with 15 years in my industry is that the quality of job postings and ease of search is lightyears ahead of other job boards. On LinkedIn, companies/external recruiters have to pay to post positions, whereas most other job boards are just aggregators that scrape information from elsewhere. It's like searching for a product on Amazon, but the results always include out of stock items, and the only way to verify if the item is actually available is to go to a completely different website and check each one. The aggregators also tend to have to have low effort, one click application functionality that results in people just mass applying to any role, regardless of qualifications. This means that recruiters have to sift through a mountain of trash in the hopes that there might be a qualified candidate. Like walking into a mall and trying to find a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon. You have to ask everyone, and you don't even know if there's one there!

   LinkedIn also makes it easy to research companies. On many job postings the recruiter/hiring manager will choose to share their information, and their LinkedIn profile is displayed prominently at the top of the posting. Being able to reach out to and interact with the real human who is trying to fill a role is an incredibly valuable opportunity to set yourself apart from the sea of candidates.

   I have lots more, but this is long. Feel free to connect with me if you'd like to talk more!