I wanted to rate this positively. I really did. The hiring manager handled my application professionally, and despite some lapses in communication, she did what she could to update me during the pandemic. But it all went downhill when Exiger entrusted my background check to the most incompetent investigators known to man, HireRight. (And you can read their reviews online--I am far from the only one who feels this way.) Here's how the timeline played out for me: Feb 20: Applied for Research Associate Position with Exiger’s Diligence branch in Silver Spring; invited for a phone interview Feb 24: Phone interview Feb 28: Completed writing and research test Mar 6: Passed to next stage in the process Mar 12: Video interview Mar 16: Turkish language test (which I “definitely passed” according to the hiring manager) Mar 20: Recruitment process paused due to COVID-19. This I don’t fault Exiger for. It was a frustrating situation and the hiring manager attempted to handle the situation as professionally as possible. She encouraged me to keep in touch and promised to do the same. Apr 20: I noticed Exiger had some job activity on Glassdoor and inquired as to whether hiring had resumed. Apr 21: Hiring manager responds, confirms still shut down May 28: Reached out again regarding new activity, asked if there were tests I could take that would certify me in other languages before coming on board, as well as how the pandemic had affected the company vis-a-vis working from home. Jun 1: Four days later, responds to a phone call made around this time, says they’re still on pause, does not answer above questions in e-mail Jun 17: I reach out again after seeing the position I applied to is now remote, wanting to know if I need to resubmit my application. Weeks pass. Multiple phone calls result in no response. Jul 8: Hiring manager reaches out regarding next steps, says job will now be remote Jul 9: I sign an employment offer with Exiger, start date July 20. This is where things start to go south. They hire a background investigator, HireRight, to verify all my details. In contrast to every other investigator that ever worked my case, they couldn't verify two of my positions and reached out asking for a W-2 or a 1099. In one case I probably could have gotten it--it was a summer job from 2014. In the other case, they wanted W-2s for an unpaid internship, which of course I didn't have because the internship was taken for credit through my university, which provided the only documentation, which HireRight didn't accept. But in either case, why couldn't they have found that information? No other investigator has had trouble with it so far. Jul 16: I reach out to inquire about background check documents and ask if there is any kind of orientation I should be completing, as it is four days before my intended start date. The next day I get this as my only response: “I regret to inform you that we are unable to proceed with the offer you received from Exiger for the position of Research Associate. This communication is to notify you that your acceptance of the offer does not constitute a binding contract and that Exiger is under no obligation to provide you with employment or compensation of any kind.” After 5 months of correspondence--nothing but a generic form letter rescinding the offer, with that second paragraph thrown in because I guess they think I'm too stupid to know how at-will employment works. So I reach out to their Chief People Officer, who gives me more generic filler nonsense about "certain information during the process" that rendered them unable to proceed. At this point I go and check HireRight's FAQs page for any clues, and I find out that any experience outside of the United States (such as my internship in Jordan or my numerous fellowships abroad) becomes more difficult for them to process. Considering that even routine employment in the United States was difficult for them to process, I can only imagine. What I don't understand is why Exiger trusted this company to investigate foreign language professionals, who are rather notorious for having done things outside of the United States. I didn't mind Exiger stringing me along for five months. It's a global pandemic. I understand. But for them to rescind my job offer 4 days before I'm supposed to start and then be cryptic and dismissive after the fact is completely unprofessional and inexcusable. Frankly, I get the sense I dodged a bullet by not coming on board, and if I've burned a bridge by posting this, it should be clear who provided the matchbook.