Tag Archives: Job interview

Nightmare for Job Seekers in the USA

15 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in United States, Working Life

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Job Fair in Los Angeles 2012 – California – USA

Source: dodgersphotog.mlblogs.com

When I emigrated with my sons to the USA in 2003, my experience in international trade and fluency in Portuguese were not enough to secure a position with an import-export company. My older son, with a Brazilian associate degree in computer programming, did not fair well either.

We joined thousands of job seekers at job fairs in Los Angeles. Flash interviews with company representatives at the various booths brought no success.

Some months later, learning about vacancies at a retail store opening in West Hollywood, we joined a line with over 2,000 people in Plummer Park. Over two hours elapsed before our turn came to enter the Community Center building where the job interviews were held. We first had to complete application forms, followed by an interview, and then a written test about integrity and work attitudes. A short film presentation about the corporation ended the day’s events.

I got a position but my son did not.

Since 2008, the global financial crisis has opened the eyes of Americans to a new reality. Looking for a job has become a nightmare. In March 2012, 12.7 million people were out of work. Over five million of them were unemployed for four months and more. Consider their plight of finding a job when there were only 3.5 million job openings in February. Discouraged, 865,000 people have stopped looking for work. (Figures published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2012.)

Lz, my Brazilian-American friend, did not give up. During a recent phone conversation, she told me: “Rose, we do what we gotta do.”

Lz is a fashion consultant. We met about two years ago when she opened a boutique in my neighborhood. I loved her taste in clothing and accessories. Her boutique was a joy to explore. But business was slow. Efforts to boost sales did not yield results. It saddened me when she had to close her business.

About six months after closing her boutique, Lz called me with good news. After failing to find work, she was in training to become a tourist guide. She was ecstatic about going on her first trial tour in Los Angeles with a group of Brazilian tourists.

Lz has re-invented herself. Accepting the new challenge entailed moving to Palm Desert in Riverside County, a two-hour drive from Los Angeles, where her employer is located. She and her husband left their home of thirty years. Their son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters remain in Los Angeles.

In a tough economy, competition for jobs is fierce. First-time job seekers compete with older and experienced candidates. Workers without the required qualifications and skills will be left behind. Job seekers must be prepared to learn new skills or re-locate.  (A young neighbor, unemployed for almost a year, finally got a job in the US Virgin Islands. His girlfriend left her job to join him.)

Today, I am pursuing a new career as a writer and novelist. Every profession has its challenges. As Lz reminded me: We do what we gotta do.

Job Interview: Seeking a Position in Guyana’s Civil Service

01 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in Guyana, Working Life

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Source: Job Interview Mistakes (www.askmen.com)

To prepare for our entrance into the workplace and lead productive lives as adults, we spend years in elementary and secondary schools and, for those who can afford it, college or university. Then, when the time comes to enter the workplace, we discover that our academic achievements are not enough to get a job. We have to face a selection process. It helps when we have a relative or friend in the company, organization or government agency to help us to gain entry. But this is no guarantee to obtaining the desired position.

The unwritten rules of the selection process did not work in my favor when I applied for a position with a newly established government planning commission in my native land, Guyana. The then Head of the Geography Department of the University of Guyana recommended me for a position and arranged a job interview.

Judging from the response from my four male interviewers, the job interview was proceeding well. Then one of the interviewers asked me what I thought about our education system. I applauded the government’s bold step to make education free from nursery to university – achieved two years prior to my job interview.

Based on my experience as an Acting Headmistress at a high school in a remote interior region, I added: “But with the short supply of text books and teaching materials, I think the government needs better allocation of funds for our less privileged interior schools.”

The atmosphere changed in the room. My job interview came to an abrupt end. I knew then that I had blown the opportunity of getting the position.

When the Head of the Geography Department met with me two weeks later, he did not greet me with his usual dimpled smile. “Your criticisms didn’t go down well with the government people,” he told me.

“Yeah, I noticed.”

I believed that the position called for a person with integrity. And integrity must begin with the job interview.

“You should’ve left your criticisms for later…after you got the job,” my best friend told me.

Had I told my future employers what they wanted to hear, would I have to sacrifice my principles at a future time in order to keep my position? These are choices we have to make and must live with the consequences.

After failing at that job interview, I learned that my future did not lie in the civil service unless I was prepared to remain silent. My dream of serving my country as a civil servant was shattered. In Guyana’s ethnic-racial civil service, academic qualifications, experience, and skills are of secondary consideration. Allegiance to the ruling party continues to be paramount for obtaining top positions.

The job interview is a two-way process. For the job applicant, it provides insight into the behavior of the organization’s executives towards their staff members and how you would likely be treated when hired. As employees, our job satisfaction and opportunities for professional growth depend upon these considerations.