Discrimination Is Alive & Well..… Isn't It?

[KarenCee 3]

I have master's degree and tons of experience but I couldn't find a job even being a secretary when we lived back in Kansas City. It was so discouraging. I even applied to work as an ESL aide at school district (they pay nothing and the shortage is people is huge. I speak 3 foreign languages and taught college back home). I actually went there and applied in person, passed all their tests with stellar results and never heard back.

My husband got so angry that he called them and actually asked what was going on. You know, after his call I got interview next day and the job the same evening. They called me for an interview because my husband is an American and he vouched for me. They wouldn't call me otherwise and they were desperate for people.

I think this situation is true in smaller cities, when we moved to St. Louis I didn't have hard time finding a good job. St. Louis is bigger and more cosmopolitan so being a foreigner isn't a bad thing here.

I am sure people don't have much trouble finding jobs in DC or New-York.

I've wanted to do this SO many times. There have been countless jobs that my husband has applied for and WAS qualified in EVERY area....but no response, nothing. He's working now, but it's not in his field (he has a degree in Network Admin. and Computer Technology) but at least it's work, yanno?. It's so frustrating for me, watching him apply for job after job after job with no response. I just wanna call these people up and ask them what their problem is. *sigh* It just ain't right.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Karen,

It really bothers me when I hear about IT people who are unemployed or underemployed. No good IT person should be! In every company I have worked for recently, not getting enough resumes when they post jobs has been an ongoing issue. I know there are tons of open positions in the Atlanta area, esp around Alpharetta. Is that where you guys are?

As for the bias thing, I don't know. I'd jump at hiring a foreigner who spoke English as native language over one who didn't assuming all else was same (degrees, years of experience, etc.). So I don't really get that either.

[L_n_O 3]

glad to see you're adjusting though =)

[anamari 0]

I have no problems with my co-workers -well at least they stoped complaining about my spelling errors-, but in my case the irony is that I have to work -on the phone - with my American born clients and their credit issues...

I had some issues - some people really gave me a hard time because of my English.

I had the surprise to have some clients like me better because of my accent - they did belong to a minority...

I also had the surpise to have some people acknowledge that , in spite of doubting my skills at the begining because of my accent, they had to admit I did a great job ...

People are prejudiced, and unfortunately there are areas in US were they had no/ or little contact with immigrants - so they just base evrything on whatever the main trend might be- and right now with all the negative press related to the illegal immigration -the main trend is immigrants are not that good.

PS: I do have a co-worker that gets irritated every time when one of our clients assumes I am from some part of the world I have no relation with - like India.

[Cassie 8]

I am convinced that because I am not "from here" I won't be considered for a job in my career field. I applied for a couple of jobs that I was completely and perfectly qualified for, and didn't hear squat. Apparently no one is convinced I can learn Oklahoma's history in a speedy and competent manner, even though I have proven to be able to do that in various museums time and time again. It makes me sad, because I loved what I do and I was GREAT at it, and no one will give me a chance. So I spend part of my week in a cross-stitch and knitting specialty shop instead. Like the job, but wish every day I was doing what I love.

[Loke 0]

Having read through all he responses in this thread i think the only thing I feel qualified to say is...

#######....#######....GIRLS!

Edited July 29, 2007 by Loke

[homesick_american 1]

Don't assume that because you don't get a response from a job application it has something to do with your immigration status. I didn't get a response from 60% of the applications I sent out but still got a job no problem.

[KarenCee 3]

Karen,

It really bothers me when I hear about IT people who are unemployed or underemployed. No good IT person should be! In every company I have worked for recently, not getting enough resumes when they post jobs has been an ongoing issue. I know there are tons of open positions in the Atlanta area, esp around Alpharetta. Is that where you guys are?

As for the bias thing, I don't know. I'd jump at hiring a foreigner who spoke English as native language over one who didn't assuming all else was same (degrees, years of experience, etc.). So I don't really get that either.

We're near Atlanta, maybe an hour from Alpharetta. It would be a big commute, and we've discussed it from every angle. I believe he'd be willing to commute...but the salary would have to be enough to compensate for it. Then we've also discussed moving closer...just hate leaving the relative peace of the mountains. I can't say for sure that Joel is being passed over because of his nationality, but it does make one wonder after months and months of sending apps. He's bilingual, but in French not Spanish so that's been a drawback for both of us. *sigh* IT is where he wants to be...it's what he's always wanted and what he went to college for. I'm trying to stay upbeat though...his time will come.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Does he have experience in addition to the degree? If he doesn't, or just very little experience, that could be a big reason why. I honestly don't think that it's because he's Canadian... IT is a very racially/ethnically diverse field, even in Atlanta. Has he worked with a headhunter in the Atlanta area? A good headhunter will work wonders, especially if the candidate is light on experience. Another avenue to try are technical staffing agencies like Ajilon. The gigs he'd get out of those will likely involve short contracts without benefits and maybe long commutes, air travel, etc. But they're good ways to get some experience under ones belt before applying to a big corporation.

[aidan80 9]

I'm shocked that this thread is still alive! Good luck to all out there still hunting for a job or hunting for a better job. I been in my current (not IT) job for about 9 months now and from sitting tight this long and armed with some qualifications US employers recognize I (hope at lest) shouldn't have much trouble finding something more in my field soon.

I'm not complaining in no means, I got very lucky here I ended up working for the government here and as an immigrant with no prior experience working in the US I'm shocked I got this job. Although I'm still annoyed to find one of the IT people that beat me to that job is still there... making mistakes, doing stupid things and others have been promoted. I'm annoyed for a lot of reasons.

Some of the reasons I'm annoyed is.. Well I found the volume license for XP sitting in a config file on my workstation after I returned from vacation (I asked for a format, reinstall while I was gone). I've also found I also been given domain access (via the technician that setup my account and didn't restrict me again) to quite a number of servers (that are mapped to my machine..how handy!). These servers are of course fully loaded with valuable, very valuable software and keys are not far away. I don't even want to mention that they have left so much stupid information behind on my machine (proxy settings in particular) that a 15 year old could take their "secure" network down in about 30 seconds.

I could say something about the lack of network security, but I doubt anyone would care or notice all that much and I don't need a a "technician" to give me a pat on the back to be told (like am an idiot) good man?

[Flames9_RN 358]

my ex worked at an umemplyment agency in Canada, was federally sponsored, so they has alot of immigrants there trying to find work! And many did complain that they were not hired because they were not Cnadian. Ans yes that can be a factor, BUT many had very poor interview skills!! They were just not prepared for the Canadian style of interview I guess. And I'm sure job interview styles differ throughout the world. Best of luck to everyone

[KarenCee 3]

Does he have experience in addition to the degree? If he doesn't, or just very little experience, that could be a big reason why. I honestly don't think that it's because he's Canadian... IT is a very racially/ethnically diverse field, even in Atlanta. Has he worked with a headhunter in the Atlanta area? A good headhunter will work wonders, especially if the candidate is light on experience. Another avenue to try are technical staffing agencies like Ajilon. The gigs he'd get out of those will likely involve short contracts without benefits and maybe long commutes, air travel, etc. But they're good ways to get some experience under ones belt before applying to a big corporation.

He has experience, albeit not years. No, I don't think it's because he's Canadian, I'm just wondering if it's because he's not American. Probably just my protective side coming out... It's looking more and more like we need to move closer to the Atlanta area. I know there's probably tons of jobs out there, and it could be that they don't think he'd really want to commute a long distance. I know a few here where we live who commute to the Atlanta area daily. Ah well, something will come open. I'll talk to him about the staffing agencies. He's registered with CareerBuilder and Monster, HotJobs, etc. Could it also be that his IT work experience is all Canadian? If he could just get ONE job here...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

If he's not even getting interviews, then the problem could be 1. lack of experience, 2. employers assuming he won't commute (I've seen that at my employer), 3. bad resume (instant turnoff). Nothing one can do about point 1 but points 2 and 3 can be addressed.

The fact that his IT experience is Canadian is probably not material. Of course, in a small-town IT shop, who knows. It wouldn't be material where I am, nor would it be in Atlanta.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

And I'm sure job interview styles differ throughout the world.

Just curious - how is Canadian interviewing different from American interviewing?

Although now that I just typed that out, I wonder - what about all the variation across region and industries within the US? Interviewing for an IT job with a top brokerage in Manhattan is very different from interviewing for a small programming shop run by by Geeks Brothers out of CMU.

[Nancy2015 2]

Does he have experience in addition to the degree? If he doesn't, or just very little experience, that could be a big reason why.

Yep. When I wasn't hearing back from 99% of jobs I applied for, I believed that was the reason. I had a lot of education and almost no work experience, so very few people were interested in me