War throws new tech hires into limbo
Employees who already signed contracts are discovering their jobs may be postponed, or moved online.
“I was supposed to start working at a new job on March 4 at a large company through an external recruitment firm. Today I was told that I wouldn’t be able to start because there’s no one at the company to receive me,” wrote an anonymous user in a Facebook group for high-tech employees.
At a time when finding a job in tech is already more difficult than ever, some employees who had successfully completed recruitment processes and were scheduled to begin work in early March suddenly found themselves in limbo when the war began. While some employers moved forward with remote onboarding, others informed new hires that their start dates would be postponed because the companies were unable to absorb them under current conditions. In other cases, employees who were about to begin new jobs were called up for reserve duty.
For job seekers, the situation is even more complex. While some companies continue to recruit and hire, others have frozen recruitment entirely or are continuing only for senior roles or candidates already in advanced stages of the process. In most companies, recruitment has not stopped altogether, but the pace has slowed significantly. As a result, the job market, already challenging before the war, has become even more difficult.
“A survey we conducted among dozens of recruiters across organizations indicates a clear trend: despite the war, recruitment has not stopped, but it is being conducted at a slower and more cautious pace. Most organizations continue to recruit, but recruitment managers report more precise and selective processes, strict examination of every open position and targeted hiring for critical roles,” says Viki Groner, lecturer and partner at HRD, a company specializing in AI, recruitment, and human resources.
According to her, “Organizations are not stopping recruitment, but they are doing it ‘with tweezers.’ These findings also reflect the fact that the war erupted during a period when parts of the tech sector were already undergoing layoffs and cutbacks, which has made companies even more cautious.”
From a broader perspective, this pattern is typical during times of crisis: organizations attempt to reduce uncertainty by slowing hiring and tightening screening processes, but avoid a complete hiring freeze so as not to damage their ability to maintain business momentum. One of the lessons learned from the coronavirus period is that an overly aggressive hiring freeze can create talent shortages later when growth returns.
Overall, the findings show a convergence toward essential hiring, prioritization of roles that directly affect operational continuity, and decisions made under stricter risk management. Organizations clearly understand that recruitment remains critical, but they are now approaching it far more cautiously.
For example, cybersecurity company Noma Security signed four new employees last week, three of whom even began working remotely.
“Immediately after the war began, we switched to a work-from-home model and established a candidate task force with all managers and the recruitment team,” says Noa Kremer, VP People at the company. “Noma is currently recruiting for dozens of positions in Israel, and we had dozens of candidates at different stages of the process. As we did with our employees, we examined each candidate’s personal situation and preferences regarding continuing the process, with full flexibility on our side. Those who wanted to move forward continued quickly via Zoom, and those who preferred to wait paused the process. Already in the first week of the war, four employees signed contracts and three began working remotely.”
According to Tomer Aharoni, co-founder and CEO of Nagish, which employs about 30 people in Israel and the U.S., the company has decided to continue recruiting despite the situation.
“Although the circumstances are far from ideal, we decided not to freeze recruitment processes. At the same time, we are very sensitive to candidates’ situations. We fully understand last-minute cancellations and try to show maximum consideration, even if that means recruitment processes currently take longer than usual. Precisely during periods of uncertainty, it’s important for us to provide candidates with a sense of stability.”
In senior executive roles, however, the situation is quite different, and the war has had little impact on recruitment.
“Executive search processes are inherently long. They include discreet screening, multiple interview rounds, and sometimes extended notice periods. Even a small delay in the process can quickly become a significant delay in the candidate’s start date,” says Little Yaron, CEO of iLeadX, an executive search firm.
According to her, precisely because these processes are long and planned far in advance, organizations often cannot simply freeze them. “By this stage, companies usually already have approved work plans and clear strategic goals, so a hiring freeze is unrealistic.”
Instead, organizations are adjusting the way they conduct recruitment processes: consolidating interviews into one day with multiple decision-makers rather than spreading them over weeks, shortening coordination through Zoom meetings, using digital signatures, and implementing hybrid or fully remote recruitment processes.
“An organization that delays onboarding or postpones critical hires quickly discovers that the talent it wants is no longer available,” Yaron says. “In a competitive market, the window of opportunity is short.”
For global companies, continuing recruitment and onboarding also sends a message of business continuity.
At Applied Materials, whose Israeli development center is the company’s largest outside the United States, recruitment is continuing actively for more than 150 open positions.
“Our ability to function at high intensity today is based on a significant learning curve over the past three years,” says Mia Bonstein, VP of Human Resources at Applied Materials Israel. “During periods when a very large percentage of our employees served in the reserves and others were evacuated from their homes, we gained insights that helped us refine our recruitment and onboarding processes.”
“All interviews are conducted on Teams, and we demonstrate full understanding of candidates’ availability challenges, along with complete flexibility regarding start dates for candidates serving in the reserves or stranded abroad.”
Technology giant Akamai, which employs about 700 people in its Israeli development center, is also continuing to recruit for development, product, and sales positions.
“We reorganized very quickly to absorb new employees with flexibility and adaptability,” says Sigal Abulafia, Senior Talent Acquisition Manager at the company. “Employees who were supposed to start in the office this week will instead go through a fully remote onboarding and training process next week.”
“It was very important for us not to postpone the original start dates so as not to affect employees’ salaries or job security. Maintaining stability for them, even if onboarding is digital, is extremely important right now.”
At the same time, some candidates themselves prefer not to begin new jobs remotely.
“There were candidates who chose to postpone their start date because it was important for them to begin their first days in the office,” says Kremer from Noma Security. “Everyone experiences the situation differently. For some people, continuing to work and move forward helps them cope, while others need a slower pace.”
What Happens to Contracts Signed Before the War?
The anonymous user who signed a contract but was told not to start working may find some reassurance in the legal perspective.
According to Attorney Einat Carmi Barak, partner and head of the labor law department at Amit, Pollak, Matalon & Co., employers should avoid canceling signed employment contracts due to the war.
“Such a cancellation could be considered a unilateral termination carried out in bad faith and may have legal consequences,” she says. “This could include compensation claims, demands to enforce the agreement, and an obligation to hold a formal hearing.”
However, she explains that employers generally have two possible options:
Hire the employee according to the original start date, but postpone salary payments until the employee can actually begin working.
Postpone the start date by mutual agreement, either to a specific future date or through a suspended agreement stating that employment will begin once normal conditions return.
If a new employee was called up for reserve duty before starting work, the contract still cannot be canceled.
“If both parties signed the employment agreement, the contract is valid,” says Attorney Kalia Klein, head of the labor law group at Pearl Cohen. “However, it may enter a ‘waiting’ state because the start date cannot be fulfilled.”
In such cases, there are two possible interpretations: one argues that employment officially began on the contractual start date, meaning the employer must pay wages and receive reimbursement from the National Insurance Institute; the other interpretation holds that the contract is effectively postponed due to circumstances beyond the parties’ control.
“In any case,” Klein says, “an employer cannot cancel an employment contract because a new employee has been called up for reserve duty.”
The situation is different for candidates who are still in the recruitment process.
“Job candidates do not receive special rights during wartime,” she explains. “They have the same rights they normally have, essentially one: the right to receive an update regarding the outcome of the recruitment process.”
