Employment Discrimination in the US

[thetreble 19]

Also the job market is just sucky right now.

It is going to get worse.

Yea.. this isn't even rock bottom yet.

State Jobs, suckas. I ain't ever gettin' fired. B)

[LDora 7]

I can't say I'm the most qualified person in the world. I've done a lot of restaurant work, bakeries and the like. It seems as though as long as you're reasonably qualified, someone is always looking for help in that department -- high turnover rate.

I can't work here yet, but case in point, I was at a bakery a few weeks ago and ended up chatting with the woman who ran it. I was asking about the model of her oven, sanitary procedures, how they proofed dough, basically just curious about how their procedures might be different. As soon as she found out I'd been the supervisor for a year for my bakery, she seemed to get . . . well, excited! She asked me about it, I told her what shift I'd worked, how I handled all the paperwork, hiring, ordering and payroll. She reached across the counter, took my hand, and said, "Look, wherever you're at right now, please let me lure you away!" I laughed, but she was serious! She started detailing what my pay would be. When I told her my situation, she was disappointed and made me take one of her cards and promise to call her as soon as I was able to work.

I've had similar (less extreme) reactions from other bakers and cooks I've talked to, so I've got tentative hopes I'll be able to find a decent little job without too much trouble. It might not be something everyone would want, but I'd be happy just being back behind a stove again, or rolling dough. I like interacting with people. Or yelling at the obnoxious customers. That's fun too. After I've built up US experience making sauces in some little restaurant somewhere, then maybe I'll try for something bigger.

No matter where you go, people are always looking for other people to make things for them, I guess. Admittedly the whole process does seem to confuse employers -- heck, I know it confused me back in Canada when we had a little old Indian lady show up with all sorts of documents to apply to work for me -- but I guess I'll just keep tossing the applications out there and see who catches one. Same as back home.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Also the job market is just sucky right now.

It is going to get worse.

Yea.. this isn't even rock bottom yet.

State Jobs, suckas. I ain't ever gettin' fired. B)

I hear yah!!! :dance:

[hheaven67 2]

Believe me, I'm applying for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING I can! I've applied for the most medial jobs and not even a phone call. I have TONS of computer software knowledge...that is my specialty...I have lots of different employment experience so I can fit into almost any job...

The discrimination thing: I have emails from the gal that was doing the initial interviewing documenting that the only question her manager had was about my legal status...they were ready to set up testing for me then NOTHING! I'm deflated and disappointed in the US...I spoke to a lawyer the other day, he referred me to a guy that specializes in this stuff, I have yet to call him as I'm just plain disgusted...

I have had lots of interviews for different positions, I am not a salesperson by any means, I am who I am and I am very good at many things, just waiting for the right employer to realize that I can wear many hats at any company (cost effectiveness)...this point may pay off as I had a good initial interview as a Receptionist at a law firm...can't believe after all these years I'd be applying for a Receptionist position! ugh! been there and done that over 20 years ago! she liked the fact that I'm huge into Excel and have experienced the immigration process as well as can fix computers (hardware or software)...we'll see what happens as I've now applied for over 200 jobs!

Thanks everyone for your input! Good luck to everyone!

jen

Good luck Jen, I hope you get your foot in the door somewhere soon.

Question for you - have you had anyone look at your resume to modify it for the U.S. market?

Hi Trail...yes, Jim has a client that was in HR for 30 yrs with Verizon (was GTE) and he REALLY helped me...told me to stick with just the "meat" of each job, shorten it as much as possible...I do know (from a previous resume class) that HR depts like short resumes and really catchy Summary of Qualifications right off the bat...I wish I would've talked to him sooner! Lots of apps out there so I'm hoping something develops soon!! losing my mind here! I've been working since I was 12 and almost 30 yrs later, just not used to this! For the last year I worked 6 days/week so I'm used to being super busy...ugh! I hairdressed too professionally for 13 yrs full time then last year just Saturdays...not even any of those jobs around...honestly, I'd even work for minimum wage but this SoCal market sucks! They won't pass the budget here so State jobs are getting cut like crazy! My neighbor does the hiring for Justice Services here and she needs to hire 5 people but her hands are tied...nasty!

[Sprailenes 47]

Perhaps you should volunteer to gain some references locally?

[Sprailenes 47]

Perhaps you should volunteer to gain some references locally?

[DeadPoolX 9]

I haven't found that employers discriminate against me being American. In fact, unless I specify where I'm originally from, they usually can't tell.

I've found the best thing to do --regardless of where you are -- is to learn everything you can about wherever it is you're applying to work. In the interview process, they tend to like the fact you've put some effort into learning about their business.

[Reba 2]

Difficult however to do if they don't even call you in for an interview because your resume is foreign.

[jhunjhun 7]

Difficult however to do if they don't even call you in for an interview because your resume is foreign.

Yeah right! There was a job that hiring a chemical technician working in the environmental laboratory. I haven't got a call from that company because I believe my resume was foreign. That job really fit to my field/experiences.....despite the fact that I don't have any references here in the US ...all Canadians...who the heck wants to spend 5 cents per/min to call my references in Canada as they often don't bother?...! I have no idea....

Is Canadian education standard is far less compared to USA and other countries? ...I'm certain that this is not true for me!

Edited January 26, 2009 by jhunjhun

[Flames9_RN 358]

Believe in most cases it just comes down to that it is a less hassle to hire a USA citizen. No worries about checking if that person is legal to work.

[trailmix 77]

Difficult however to do if they don't even call you in for an interview because your resume is foreign.

Yeah right! There was a job that hiring a chemical technician working in the environmental laboratory. I haven't got a call from that company because I believe my resume was foreign. That job really fit to my field/experiences.....despite the fact that I don't have any references here in the US ...all Canadians...who the heck wants to spend 5 cents per/min to call my references in Canada as they often don't bother?...! I have no idea....

Is Canadian education standard is far less compared to USA and other countries? ...I'm certain that this is not true for me!

No, the Canadian education standard is not less than the US standard, or other countries standards.

[Sprailenes 47]

Its not less, but in job interviews they have a hard time grasping the fact that I went to college and didn't get a degree, I have a diploma in advertising and a diploma in early child education... not a degree. In the interview for the job I have now, we got into a huge discussion about the differences between colleges and universities in Canada and how they do differ from colleges and universities in the USA.

I don't think it caused them to think less of me though because they hired me... I just explain it to them.

[DeadPoolX 9]

I see two problems...

1. Americans do prefer to hire other U.S. citizens. While this is sometimes due to patriotism, I think it's more about "what they know." In other words, an American employer understands U.S. education and experience better. Everyone in the U.S. knows of MIT, Harvard, CalTech, UT, UC Berkeley and so on. Very few Americans know of McGill, UBC or other universities. To make matters even more confusing is that the term "college" and "university" mean essentially the same thing in the U.S., whereas they're two completely different institutions in Canada.

2. This may be an unfortunate stereotype, but many in the U.S. think Canada is a backwards nation, full of ice and snow and populated by Eskimos. Not everyone thinks this way, but enough do. To be fair, there are tons of stereotypes about different states and cities within the U.S. that many believe, as well.

The point is that some U.S. employers may feel that a Canadian education simply isn't as good as an American one. Whether or not that's true might depend on the individual and where they went to school. However, that may be one of the issues facing Canadians seeking work in the United States.

[Reba 2]

I see two problems...

1. Americans do prefer to hire other U.S. citizens.

The company where I work now, they hire people who know people already at the company. Myself included, I suspect I was given an interview only because I already knew one of ladies in IT, just barely really, but she said I'm not a horrible person.

Anyone else that I've noticed to be hired since I have, they all know somebody already within the company.

[thetreble 19]

I see two problems...

1. Americans do prefer to hire other U.S. citizens. While this is sometimes due to patriotism, I think it's more about "what they know." In other words, an American employer understands U.S. education and experience better. Everyone in the U.S. knows of MIT, Harvard, CalTech, UT, UC Berkeley and so on. Very few Americans know of McGill, UBC or other universities. To make matters even more confusing is that the term "college" and "university" mean essentially the same thing in the U.S., whereas they're two completely different institutions in Canada.

2. This may be an unfortunate stereotype, but many in the U.S. think Canada is a backwards nation, full of ice and snow and populated by Eskimos. Not everyone thinks this way, but enough do. To be fair, there are tons of stereotypes about different states and cities within the U.S. that many believe, as well.

Both 1 and 2 are completely unfortunate. The first being so silly that while in most parts of the world we have heard of ivy league schools, most people in the States have no clue about Oxford, Cambridge, The University of Waterloo, The University of Toronto, McGill or even the London School of Economics. These are all TOP notch schools. I didn't go to the best school in Canada but there are only three journalism schools in Canada and they are all pretty well known and recommended inside our country. I went to Carleton in Ottawa.

My husband went to a state school here in New Jersey and New Jersey has one of the most bragged about education systems in the United States. In his fourth year of university he was still partying while I was stuck inside my apartment singing for my dinner, if we may... I basically had no life BUT school for almost 4 years. I started to see that the standards of education between him and I were pretty vast and there were a lot of things that he never really had to do to complete his degree which I found completely unthinkable in the world of academia.

For the second point, it's a shame that people think we are a nation that is not modern. As part of the G8, and a completely independent, industrialized nation, it amazes me how people are so uneducated to the point where they don't even realize that if not for Canada, the US would not get a lot of what it needs to sustain life on. Again, that is just ignorance though.