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Job Interview - questions

Has anybody ever been to a supposedly formal interview where they were asked personal political opinions or beliefs with phrases such as "What are your views on�?" or personally identifiable information such as "Where are you from?" followed by "How long have you have you been in Canada?" and then "How much is 'very long'"? Did anyone ever experience being engaged in an ideologically based discussion on socio-political views and been told things such as "Canadian values are not good enough/wrong" or "there is institutionalised racism and oppression in Canada" or "we all have biases, you and me; we are born biased; we just have to become aware of it to deal with it" during what they expected to be a formal interview process? Do you think this is normal and acceptable?

My company (very large) has very strict policies against asking any of those questions. A large company with lots of money is one that would be taken advantage of if a kind of prospect would perposely try to engage in such conversation for the primary purpose of suing the company, and eventually accepting a settlement. It can be quite lucrative going after companies with naive or inexperienced interviewers. The risks for my company are way to great to venture in this area.

However, smaller companies don't have as strict HR policies, and small business have none. Then again, smaller companies are more difficult to sue as the payout isn't there.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission go very much in depth in regards to discrimination. http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/default-en.asp

NO!
however I would really like to know what is the position/organization, it just might justify the questions, i can think of one case where these questions could possibly be asked

if you are applying for a job in a social services division I can see it, or to work on a campaign for a politician.

Then again, i don't know Canadian law, but in the US they can't ask those questions, or if they do they are supposedly "Off record". And how are you gonna prove it anyways?

Hell noooooo!

Unless you're applying to some kind of policy making (lobbying) involved position/organization...

I would have left the interview or asked right away what it has to do with the job!!

edit: I too am very curious to know what company/position you were applying for!

quote:

Originally posted by malek edit: I too am very curious to know what company/position you were applying for!

same here! can you please give us some more info what type of organization this is and what they do?

Hi people

Thanks for your responses

This was for an ESL-teaching job in a LINC ("Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada") program, which is basically an ESL-program for new immigrants, sponsored and funded by the Federal Government of Canada (maybe Ministry of Education, I'm guessing).

The person who was asking most of these questions was a very-high placed offical in one specific location/school in Toronto.

... which is also why I find it rather interesting that she made claims such as that there is "institutionalised racism" here, or that "Canadian values are not good enough/wrong" (I can't remember the exact wording she used now, so I wanna give her the benefit of the doubt; neverthelesss, the statment she made was an assertion of this in no uncertain terms).

yes, i can totally see these questions as appropriate to ask for this type of job, since it is a government sponsored program they want to make sure that a person who is teaching newcomers is also teaching them ideals and principles Canada stands for

quote:

Originally posted by endless_summer yes, i can totally see these questions as appropriate to ask for this type of job, since it is a government sponsored program they want to make sure that a person who is teaching newcomers is also teaching them ideals and principles Canada stands for

Yes, but she specifically said at one point that "Canadian values are wrong!!" You're f---ing kidding me? And this was when I replied to one of her questions that "I would try to explain to the students the Canadian values..." <---- that was my reply...

^^^ that was my reply as an answer to a question of hers about what I would do if there was some conflict between different cultural or national groups (i.e. if there was a Palestinian vs. Israeli student who were arguing). I didn't comment on her statement that "Canadian values are wrong; there is institutionalised racism here, ..." after that. That's just to clarify.

quote:

Originally posted by Kamka Hi people Thanks for your responses This was for an ESL-teaching job in a LINC ("Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada") program, which is basically an ESL-program for new immigrants, sponsored and funded by the Federal Government of Canada (maybe Ministry of Education, I'm guessing). The person who was asking most of these questions was a very-high placed offical in one specific location/school in Toronto.

I worked as a one-on-one ESL tutor with LINC for 2 years.
I wasn't asked these questions directly (you are right to question this process... it seems a bit weird) however, I know that this organization has a solid screening process in terms of who they hire to work with their students. They want people who have been exposed to situations in which they have had to deal with immigrants suffering from cultural dislocation. They basically need to see that you can handle various scenarios that might arise in this specific field of teaching (example: one of the students gets extremely frustrated because he or she has a medical degree in their home country, but here they are struggling to get a job in retail). They want to make sure you can handle what's coming - because in addition to teaching the english language, you will also be responsible for providing support and promoting a sense of belonging in the classroom.

LOL hope I'm not scaring you it's a lot of fun

you can PM me if you have any questions ^_^

WOW
do you have any other contacts at this agency? can you file a complaint?
unless there is a gross misunderstanding this person should not be in the position she's in

quote:

Originally posted by endless_summer WOW do you have any other contacts at this agency? can you file a complaint? unless there is a gross misunderstanding this person should not be in the position she's in

Yes, I wish I could file a complaint, however I know how "far" I will get...unfortunately I have no physical proof of this conversation. It is my word against hers. There was no one else in the room with her but me and the conversation transpired behind closed doors. Even while this "interview" was going on, I started to have a feeling that I wish I could record it... and I really do wish that I had this recorded on some audio-tape or MP3 player... however I don't. So, I don't think I will get anywhere. But I'm still considering it.

quote:

Originally posted by Ania_xox I worked as a one-on-one ESL tutor with LINC for 2 years. ...

I can understand all your reasons and also we've been instructed on this extensively at school, while I did my TESOL Certificate at York University. And just from a strictly personal perspective, I can tell you that I don't have problems dealilng with people of different races/ethnicities/nationalities... My first boyfriend was a Chinese immigrant from Hong Kong. My second "boyfriend" was coincidentally also a Chinese guy from HK. (this was just a coincidence; I don't go strictly after Asian guys and it was basically more him going after me). I had friends from many places around the world; Korean immigrant girls, Chinese immgirant girls, Russian immigrant girls, Muslim immigrant girl from Saudi Arabia, Sri-Lankan born girl, a black girl of Carribiean background, Latino girl from Central America, Canadian-born people of Anglo-Saxon origin, etc. I also on some occasions met with their parents, for example my friend Jenny, who is Korean, invited me to her home, where I've met her father and mother (who seem to have been impressed by the fact that I learned the Korean alphabet), and also her grandmother (who was on a visit from Korea and she seemed to be impressed with me also). I have also experienced personally the effects of the difficulties that immigrants face when my mother, who has two Masters Degrees in Science from an internationally-accredited university in Slovakia, couldn't get a job here because of her lack of "Canadian work experience" (how interesting that eventually she landed a job with a Federal Government institution). I can also tell you that I have witnessed the effects of discrimination against my stepfather, who is a white guy who's lived in Canada for some thirty years, but has become disabled after being diagnosed with progressive Multiple Sclerosis about ten years ago... discrimination by a Canadian government body (I do not want to go into the details of it, however). So I think I am familiar quite well with the issues and difficulties that immigrants and their families face. But that's just a note from a personal level.

Let me however point out, that I was never asked about this issue through a proper interview question such as "Can you tell me about a time when you successfully interacted or dealt with a person of a different ethnic/racial/cultural background, and the other individual found this experience positive?" or something like that ("Can you give me an example of when you successfully helped an individual of a different ethnic/racial/cultural background in a situation," ... etc). I was NEVER asked that!! If they want to find out how well I interact with people of other cultures, why do they not use these behavioural-type questions, as is common in other intervies? Why instead, did she ask me things such as "what are your views on anti-oppression policies" or "how much do you know about feminism"; "did you take any feminist-based psychology courses in university"; "what was your paper on" [my Psychology Honours thesis paper btw; she didn't even ask this question properly], "what do you think about some Noam Chomsky's work" (I apologise that I cannot write the name of it, cause I can't remember it now; when she mentioned it, I recalled it from one of my second-year socio-linguistics courses that I took in University; however, I took it in my first year, so it was like five years ago, and by this time, I honestly forgot what it was about - I'd have to review it first to even remember).... Is this an ideological screening, or what?! The night before, I prepared a sample lesson plan that I wanted to show as an example demonstration (they didn't ask me for it when they called me in for an interview btw, I volunteered on my own to bring it and I told them so); they never even asked me to see it!! They never asked me for photocopies of my degree or my York TESOL Certificate... they never asked for any references... instead, they asked me things such as I listed above... illegal questions such as exactly how long have I been in Canada... so I still ask: is this a normal and acceptable practice from an employer funded by the Government of Canada, (or any employer for that matter)?!

WOW for the 2nd time
this is not right, but what steps you can take and what you can do about it is beyond my area of expertise, i think you need legal advice, not sure though is it worth your time and effort to go after them/her for this

actually, after reading kamka's explanations, i think its perfectly legit to ask these type of questions.

They want to know where you stand and if you're reasonnable(your answers don't have to be top notch). I am pretty sure they will tell you exactly how to react to each of these situations once you land the job.

1. Is it a prerequisite to believe that there is "institutional racism" in Canada in order to land a job funded by the Federal Government of Canada?

(and a teaching job too... not a lobbying or a policy-making job of any kind)

(and especially when the person making these statements, who is a very high official within this particular school/institution, is a member of a 'visible minority' group, and their Head of HR is also a visible minority member... how interesting)


2. Is it a necessity to hold the belief that "Canadian values are wrong" in order to teach new immigrants English as a Second Language to help them to adapt to life here?


3. Is it essential to hold feminist views, be a proponent of feminist policies, or a fan of 21st century feminism in general in order to be able to understand and emphatise with the difficulties and experiences that immigrants (including immigrant women) might face here and in general?


4. How are these views demonstrative of one�s teaching capability, one�s ability to interact well with the students, and to help them progress in the language by improving their communicative skills? How are they attesting to a teacher's initiative and will to help immigrant students in adapting and becoming satisfied and contributing members of the Canadian society? How are they showing a teacher's ability to acknowledge, emphatise with and understand the difficulties that (all) immigrants might face while in the process of settling and making a home in Canada?


5. And how are they specific 'situations'? I thought that they are states of mind, or general political and ideological beliefs that are more or less constant over time... I was of the impression that an individual has a right to keep these things private and not have to disclose or discuss them during an interview process... As far as I know, a person in Canada cannot be precluded from employment because of "sex, age, race, ethnic background, minority status, nationality background, religion, sexual preference, and political views" (can't find the exact citation right now but those are the things it says) ???

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