Linux-related jobs in Toronto

[CLIFFORD ILKAY]

On 02/06/2010 03:06 PM, Zbigniew Koziol wrote:
> I know, I have no doubt about that that you are excellent in Linux. But
> I personally have a very bad opinion about Canadian employers - they
> mostly have no idea who is good and who is not and (I would even dare to
> say that a lot of them a complete ignorants and offer jobs to
> ignorants), additionally, its rather used that since you are a newcomer
> you must first to earn your fuc*en Canadian experience (this is a sort
> of megalomany on their side to think that non-Canadians have worser
> experience and also a lack of will to learn from these who might be
> better than they are).

While there may be some employers use "Canadian experience" to mean 
"immigrants need not apply", I'm sure they're in the minority, 
especially in the IT field. A substantial percentage of the population 
of Toronto was born outside of Canada. That being the case, with jobs 
where skills matter, it's simply not a rational economic choice to only 
hire those who were born here or grew up here. The pool is too small. I 
encounter plenty of first-generation immigrants in IT.

As for your particular experience in Canada, Zbigniew, with your 
attitude, I'm not surprised you had difficulties. You exude negativity 
and always like to remind us how much smarter you are and how stupid 
Canadians are, and how how bad this country is. As an employer, I would 
rather hire someone who may not be a superstar but has a positive 
attitude and who is a team player than a prickly, capricious, and 
negative "superstar" who can't get along with people.

The flip side of employers who discriminate on the basis of irrelevant 
factors are employees who see discrimination as the cause of their 
perceived or real lack of achievement. I've worked with a few people 
like that. They were always carrying on about how their employer was out 
to get them because they had darker skin, or whatever, while 
conveniently ignoring the fact that there were other immigrants of 
various skin tones, religions, and nationalities who seemed to do well 
with the same employer. Eventually, their constant whining and paranoia 
would become a self-fulfilling prophecy and either they would move on to 
poison some other workplace or they would be fired. I certainly wouldn't 
want to hire or keep a whiner like that around. They're just toxic.

There is also a practical reason for asking for "Canadian experience". 
I'm not likely to pick up the phone to call someone in Poland or Russia 
to confirm that Zbigniew worked there and "Oh, by the way, what sort of 
fellow is Zbigniew?" If you had some local experience, the odds are 
higher that I can get the real story behind your story by working my 
network.

As for employers not knowing who is good or bad, why is that so unusual, 
particularly for technical positions? It's not exactly shocking that if 
you put out an ad, you'll get many responses from unqualified or 
under-qualified people. It's safe to assume that many applicants will at 
the very least, embellish, if not misrepresent, their qualifications and 
experience so it's natural for employers to be sceptical. Making the 
wrong hiring decision can be very expensive so employers need to be 
cautious. Don't take that personally.
-- 
Regards,

Clifford Ilkay
Dinamis
1419-3266 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON
Canada  M4N 3P6

<http://dinamis.com>
+1 416-410-3326
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