A recruiter reached out to me about a role listed as “100% remote – US” with no location restrictions. I shared my resume, which clearly included my city and state. After that, I went through a multi-stage interview process: a system design interview with a tech lead, a live pair coding session, and a behavioral/technical discussion with the CTO. I received positive feedback at every stage. They then asked me to complete an employment application and submit references, all of which came back positive. I was told they were extending an offer, which I verbally accepted. Just as they were preparing the contract, the recruiter and HR lead abruptly informed me they “didn’t realize” I was located in a state where they supposedly couldn’t hire, despite this information being listed on my resume, LinkedIn, and the application they reviewed. Initially, they claimed they mistook my location for a completely different state. Then they said they only hire from five specific states, despite never disclosing this anywhere in the job description or prior conversations. HR later admitted they had one employee in my state but considered them a legacy case, and hiring in my state was “too difficult.” They rescinded the offer without taking responsibility for their oversight. The entire experience was a waste of time and showed a complete lack of professionalism. If this is how they treat candidates, I can’t imagine how they treat employees. Proceed with caution.