I was contacted by a recruiter via LinkedIn and scheduled an introductory call/screening the next day. Over the course of roughly three weeks, I went on to have four more interviews (via Zoom) with the Global SDR Manager, VP Enterprise Sales, VP of Marketing and Growth, and finally, the HR Talent and Acquisition Manager. Bear in mind, I stated that I currently reside in Atlanta, GA three times during the interview process (with recruiter, VP Enterprise Sales, and VP of Marketing and growth) and this was never made an issue. After my final interview with HR, I was asked to provide a job reference. They had not received an email back from my reference, so I provided two new references just to be safe. After several days of no response from HR, I reached out to confirm if she had received the new references. That same day, the recruiter informed me that they received my new references but did not reach out to either of them because they decided to progress with another candidate. She stated that they would “prefer someone who will be closer to their office in Ashburn, VA, and will be able to commute to the office at least a few times a week”. This is understandable, but please be honest with your candidates from the start instead of wasting weeks of time. It felt as though they were looking for an excuse to not provide an offer, as I was very well-prepared and breezed through each interview.