Homecoming shows lack of aspiration? Man returning to India stunned by Mumbai startup's bias—‘weirdest interview’

A man who returned to India to explore job opportunities in his home country came across a surprising question during an interview with a Mumbai based startup founder. In a Reddit post, he showed concern over workplace bias after his ‘weirdest interview’ in Worli.

Questioning the entrepreneur's belief who linked homecoming with lack of aspiration, he wrote, “Had an interview today at a bootstrapped startup in Worli. It was okay-ish, but the founder ended it with a question that totally threw me off.”

What did the interviewer say?

Interviewer: "Since you moved back to India from abroad, don't you have any aspirations anymore?"

On hearing this, the candidate was surprised and said, "I was stunned. It felt like he was implying that moving back home means I've "given up" or I'm just here to coast." He clarified that he moved back for personal reasons and to join the Indian ecosystem. He did not wish to retire but to be a part of the workforce.

He sought response online, believing it to be a red flag about the company's culture. Concluding the post, he wrote, “Is this a thing now? Do founders really think coming back from abroad equals a lack of drive? Or is this just a massive red flag regarding the company culture?”

Social media reaction

A user wrote, “Nothing new. Many companies just assumed i returned back since there has to be visa issue or layoff etc. No one wants to believe i can come back willingly. Even though i was still working for same company.” Agreeing with him, the Redditor said, “Spot on. It’s like they’ve hardwired themselves to believe that the only reason to return is a 'failure'.”

Another user remarked, “Tell him that it’s not his business what your personal aspirations are. You could aspire to be the president of the country. Not his business.”

A third user sympathised with the Redditor and stated, “I had UK PR but still came back after staying for 8 years to be close to parents . I did not have loads of savings as such. I was asked the similar question - “Why did you come back to India from UK?”. I replied him saying that you should have asked me why you stayed in UK for such a long time? Lol, anyway these type of low-life Desi’s wont understand the family, your roots etc. I am sure they don’t even bother about their own parents and siblings with no values whatsoever.”

A fourth comment read, “To be fair, read through the posts here. A very large % of people go back to coast and fire,” Adding “Aspirations change when people become wealthier. When you move from the US to India you become wealthier overnight (purchasing power). Agree with you that the hirer should not have said this.”