I resided in Toronto, and I once interviewed for a position in Ottawa.
One of the skills they required in the job ads was SAS. Since I had several
years of experience with SAS, I was hoping to get this position.
This company called me and asked me to go there for a face-to-face
interview. There was no phone screening. This should have raised some flag for me.
But I was in a very desperate situation at the time, and would be happy to grasp any straw coming my way.
They did not provide any help to my trip to Ottawa.
I had to get up early and drive for 5 hours to get there, which
was probably what they wanted me to do anyway, since the
interview was scheduled at 1pm, right after the lunch time.
These Canadians really knew how to save a buck or two.
I got to Ottawa at about 12am. I had my lunch in a Chinese restaurant, and went to the
rest room to brush my teeth before leaving the restaurant. Putting on my interview suit, I went
to that company. It was a very small company. The front desk lady was very cold to me. Good start.
There were three white guys in the interview room when I walked in. One guy with a huge
beer belly handed me a glass of water. I thanked him.
Just a few minutes into the interview, this beer belly guy casually mentioned that they didn't have SAS.
"SAS is too expensive," he remarked, "we cannot afford that. Is that software a must for you?"
This guy asked me if I must have SAS. For the sake of getting
a shot at the job, I said no. He smiled and said that was the right
answer. What a cheap ass!!!!! Why do you put SAS in the job ads when you
do not even have it? It is just about 10k dollars a year to get
SAS license and you cannot afford that?
Now the second white guy started grilling me, and his technique was to repeatedly calling my honesty into question.
"Tell me about the softwares you use."
I said I have plenty of experience with SAS and oracle. He looked at me in a tough
way and said you had SPSS in your resume. As if it is
really something to be able to use SPSS, which is just a spreadsheet. What a dickhead.
This guy kept poking me with this way of questioning, with a stony hostility on his face.
The third guy, who was very young, was showing a weird jeer on his face.
I would love to give both of them a slap on the face. If you want me to recite everything in the resume, just
f---ing read it.
In about half an hour, the interview was over. And the third guy, who was clearly
a subordinate of the second guy, and who had clearly caught all the overtones of those questions, said, "we will be in touch." His expression
was--forget about it. After I left the company I stopped at a gas station to get a pack of cigarettes.
I felt extremely angry, but did not know what to do.
Now I had to drive another five hours to go home.
This is a big lesson I learned. Avoid white trash. In the interviews I had since had in the states, I had totally different experience. These American companies pay everything for the interview. They pay for flight, hotel, and limos. And the interviewers treat you professionally, with respect.
Now if you come to think about it, Canada is really a country of losers.
Look at Finland, look at northern Europe. They have long and gloomy winters,
just like Canada. And how technologically advanced they are!
Canadians, on the other hand, occupying a huge land, are very good at selling trees, selling fish, killing seals and selling furs. So many immigrants with advanced degree come to
Canada, only to take on some hourly muscle job, because Canada does not have a big technology sector in the job market to utilize their brain. I think Canada should stop taking in highly educated immigrants, and go get some cheap labors from Mexico, since that's what this strongest, freest, and richest country on Earth really need.