I’m not sure if this is the right place but perhaps there’s someone out there that will enjoy the dramatic retelling of my worst interview ever.
(Obligatory on mobile)
I just recently finished my undergrad degree and so I started job hunting looking for my first “big girl” job. I have a degree in psychology and so I am really interested in working in social services/mental health type jobs.
On a whim, I applied to the local office of this national organization that has done a lot of great work in my community. Research, access to mental health services – they had a lot of different departments. I honestly wasn’t expecting to hear anything back from them – I just apply anywhere even if I’m under qualified. So when they did call me back wanting an interview I was super excited! I was planning on moving out of my parents house cause my family was moving and this job payed closer to 30$/hr !! The lady on the phone tells me that they’d need verification of my education and 3 references as well as my SIN (the last one is important to remember).
So the day of the interview comes and I show up, sign in and I am led to an office with 2 ladies. The one lady let’s call her Suzy, would have been my manager if I got the job. While the other lady, Ashley was the HR Director.
The interview starts and they ask for my paperwork just to get it out of the way. I hand them a copy of my university transcript, names of references and my SIN. When Ashley receives my SIN number she kinda balked a little and asks me if I was “legally allowed to work in the country”. I thought it was a werird question to ask but honestly I’m in my early 20’s and have a babyface so I didn’t think much of it.
Then Ashley the HR director asked a question that changed the whole course of the interview.
“So what’s your visa situation?”
At this point I think it’s important to add that I am a black woman. My parents are immigrants so I am the first generation born outside of my their home country. My first and last name are obviously “ethnic”. My face is an open book and I was making some type of expression because Ashley immediately starts adding onto her comment.
“I just asked because some of our workers have to renew it every 3 months, every year”
The air just came out the room, it was so awkward because it was right at the beginning of the interview! They literally haven’t asked me any questions yet!! So I deadpanned responded that visas weren’t a concern because I was a citizen. Ashely and Suzy were kinda surprised which made me even more uncomfortable. Ashely asked me why I brought my SIN number then and I just told her I was informed over the phone to bring it. Ashely made eye contact with Suzy and they awkwardly laughed about “miscommunication between staff”. I honey can’t tell you what happened in the rest of the interview but I knew when I left that I wasn’t taking that job.
It was really disappointing that I had an experience like this with an organization that I was so excited to work for. But it really just made me think about working in general and how organizations can take advantage of people in delicate situations (desperately needing jobs and immigration status). Even more happened after this but this post is already so long that I’’m going to end it here.