u/xellsankai

Hey guys, I really need some advice.

I’m honestly feeling depressed right now because my job offer has been on hold for more than a month.

Here’s what happened:

Last month, I had three job offers. I decided to commit to this one company because it’s been my dream company since last year. I got a call saying I passed the interview and that the position would be given to me, and I should expect a job offer within the week.

I even double-checked with HR if it was already certain, because I didn’t want to risk my other offers. They reassured me, so I withdrew my applications and turned down the other job offers.

After that, things started going downhill.

I kept following up every week, but the recruiter wasn’t responsive. I only got a reply after I reached out to the hiring manager. Then HR told me that hiring is now on hold due to a global crisis, but I’ll be prioritized once things resume.

What really hit me was when they said: “If you can’t wait, you can explore other opportunities.” but in a polite way.
Like… I already turned down everything because I trusted their timeline.

Now I’m trying to apply again, but most options I’m seeing feel like a downgrade — either the company, the role, or the location isn’t as good as what I had before. It makes me feel worse knowing I had better options just a month ago.

I don’t know what to do now:

Should I still stay hopeful and wait since this is my dream company?
Or should I accept reality and move on, even if it feels like I’m settling for less?

I feel stuck between holding on and letting go. Any advice or similar experiences would really help.

Last February and March, I applied to my top 3 dream companies. I passed the interviews for my 2nd and 3rd choices and even received job offers, but I put them on hold because I was waiting for the result from my top 1 company.

After a week, I also passed the interview for my top choice. Since it was my dream company, I asked the HR if the job offer was certain because they only discussed it through a call. I wanted to make sure before withdrawing my applications from the other two companies and fully committing to them. She said yes and told me the job offer would be sent within the week.

However, after a month of following up, she informed me that the position was put on hold due to the global crisis happening worldwide, and they could not provide a timeline for when hiring would continue. She said it was okay if I wanted to explore other opportunities because they could not guarantee when hiring would resume, but if I decided to wait, I would be prioritized once hiring continues again.

Now, looking for other opportunities seems like the most practical thing to do, but it hurts knowing I withdrew from my other dream companies just to commit to an opportunity that turned out to be uncertain. Honestly, I can still wait for the offer, since for sure the positions I applied for in those other companies are already filled. Worst case scenario, I might even be blacklisted because I wasted their time. Since there are only a few companies offering this role, I feel lost about whether I should wait or humble myself and start over after passing 3 big dream companies.

Red Flags 🚩

1. The HR took a month to call me after our last job offer discussion. They only contacted me after I messaged the manager asking for an update.
2. There are still other positions being posted on LinkedIn. However, the HR mentioned that these are for advance hiring once the hiring freeze/onboarding hold is lifted.
3. The position I applied for is for an additional employee, not a replacement. Since budget is one of their considerations, there’s a possibility that they may abandon or postpone the position for a while.

Green Flags 🟩

1. They reassured me that I would be prioritized once management gives the go signal to resume hiring.
2. The position has been needed since last year and is considered critical because the company is expanding.
3. I already cleared the HR process and everything else; they are just waiting for management approval to continue hiring.

Hi to all recruiters out there. May I know what the current update is regarding hiring due to the crisis? I passed an interview last month and already received an offer, but they said they can’t extend the contract or proceed with the offer yet because of the current situation. Do you think things will improve in the coming weeks? What is the possible trajectory of hiring right now?