Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to know if this is the norm in Canada, although I think I know the answer...

I moved to Langley a couple of months ago, and am struggling to find work. I've applied for many jobs through Jobbank, Workopolis, Monster, Craigslist etc for general office admin/reception work, but as everyone else, have not heard anything back. I understand that in Canada, it's all about meeting people and calling... pretty hard to do when the majority of the adverts say "Please do not call, we are a busy office". Obviously, you don't want to go against what they asked because then it looks like you can't follow instructions...

Anyway, it appears my main problem for being able to find work is that back in the UK, I was a registered nurse. I cannot practice in BC as I have to take a year long course to upgrade to a general nurse, as I qualified in paediatrics. So, I have had a couple of responses telling me I was "too overqualified" for the job that I applied for.

So I decided it was maybe best to look for shop work, and have been around handing out resume's, and finally got an interview for a store. I met with the manager, and he asked me, what I felt were quite inappropriate questions.
For example, what does it matter whether I have bought a house or am renting a house? How many bedrooms? Have you bought a car? How much in rental are you paying per month? Why have your husbands parents not come to live in Canada?
He asked me many questions which I personally thought had nothing to do with my ability to do the job. He even asked which company my husband worked so he could call them.... why?!
I was so overwhelmed with the interview, I couldn't wait to get out. I've never been spoken down to the way he spoke to me in my entire life. At the end of the interview, he offered me a trial... just so he could see whether he feels I would fit into his business. He then commented on my shoes and said they were not appropriate... what, black heels are not appropriate anymore?!

I'm just wondering if this is out of character, or is this the sort of thing I should expect from interviewers in Canada? Feeling very deflated...

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Ruddy hell Rebecca, I hope you get lots of replies, as it's bound to be educational to all of us! I have been forming myself into an 'hopefully employable employee' involving updating my CV and BLACK HEELS, and rather niffty looking black skirt! I fear you may have met a creep - or I certainly hope so! Don't let it put you off - best of luck and bonne courage!

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

It's good he offered you on the day.

Other than that his line of questioning sounds totally off tangent.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Sound totally out of order to me... Hopefully not representative.

You could always dumb down your resume for the office jobs, strictly speaking there is no need for anything not related to the position to even be mentioned on the Resume if you are targeting it at a particular sort of job. Either that or spell out what transferable skills you bring, but if they think you are just doing it for a year till you can go back to nursing they may not consider it worth pursuing.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Sounds like a nosey creep - too intrusive and has not received any training on what is appropriate for interviews.

I mean, it's all stuff we'd all want to know if we thought we could get away with it ;) - he's just trying to work out how "permanent" you might be, or how much of a flight risk - but just too nosey!

I can't think that is representative at all - polish off those heels and try again! :thumbup:

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Glad to hear others agree with me, I was beginning to fear that all interviews in Canada are like an interrorgation!

He was a bit of a creep.... he even has the nerve to slag off one of his other employees to me behind her back. He said she looked totally unkempt and scruffy... is that really something you should be saying to someone your interviewing?!

Well, prior to nursing, I had worked in an office doing admin and reception... this is all on my resume, and have explained in my cover letter about my experience in this. Plus, the course to upgrade my nursing education is completely full until mid next year... and it's also going to cost in the region of $10,000, which I just may not be able to afford anyway.

Also, prior to meeting the owner in this interview yesterday, I had THREE meetings with his manageress before all this so she could also interview me... so although he offered me a trial on the day, it's been a long process with other members of his staff who have been giving him feedback!

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Id consider not mentioning the nursing on the resume then , its not really going to help land the admin job, and has the potential to set people wondering how long you will stay before going off back to nursing.

Canadian hiring is notoriously long winded in most cases I'm afraid.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Rebecca, previous posters on here have been most helpful, and have suggested that I try temping - to get me back into work, and because it would help me with my confidence etc., have your thought of trying this, as it might be a good shoe in for you too?

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Yep, you're definately right :thumbup:... I'll change my last 5 years to a Health Care Assistant, as I'm sure if I left it blank from 2006 they'd wonder what I'd been doing!

Hopefully someone may be able to come along and tell me the best way to land admin work, since all the applications seem to be through e-mail but they ask you not to call. Hopefully it's not always a game of 'not what you know, but who you know!'

Thanks for the suggestion, Millie! I've signed up with a couple of agencies and have told them I'm absolutely available to do temping, but still no luck with that either... it's all very frustrating!

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Experience doesn't always count as much as a piece of paper showing you can do the job in theory, ie. they seem to want you to have at least a diploma for any and every position!
I found the best way to get into admin was through a temp agency. They test your skill levels on basic computer programs and your typing speed so you prove what is on your resume. Then they put you forward for suitable jobs. Having that all important "Canadian experience" on your resume has seemed to help me. I have now been in my current job for almost 3 years after starting as a Temp-to-Permanent contract (and in line for a promotion once we move to our shiny new office at the end of they year) :D

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Will you ever regret not going back into nursing? If you have the slightest feeling that you might regret it then just do what it takes (is there another location you can travel to which has available seats on the course?) and get those qualifications to transfer your skills as soon as possible.

What is the rate of pay for an RN, triple, quadruple of what you could make working in a store? Surely, it'll be far easier to repay a debt of that size as a working RN than saving for the education on minimum wage.

Canada, we, need you as a nurse. I sense you might be aware of this and put off a little bit by anticipated stress?

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Well done on the hopeful promotion :thumbup: It's nice to know it can be done...
I've joined quite a few temping agencies, and have done quite a few of the tests they have you do - but nothing as of yet! I'll not give up until I really have to!

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Oh, don't get me wrong, I love being a nurse. It's very hard work, but it's true what they say, it's a very rewarding career. I came to Canada to be a nurse, not to work in a store. The main problem in all of this, is getting registered. The nursing registration council only have 2 courses in 2 universities in BC where this course is available unfortunately... one in Kwantlen, in Surrey BC, which is around a 40 minute drive. The other is in Kamloops, and I can't really do the 4 hour drive every day.

The bank have said they cannot give a loan of $10,000 to a newcomer with no credit rating, which is why I was trying to get work and save up for it in the mean time. If I could get the money together for the studies, it would be happy days, and I'd definately do it and it'd all be worth it! I'm hoping this is not the end of my nursing career, it would be such a shame to give up something I love and have experience at and is obviously well needed in Canada

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Can any of it be achieved by distance courses? http://www.tru.ca/distance/courses/s...tab5.html#nurs

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Unfortunately not. Thompson Rivers was the other university the course was held at, and I got excited thinking it was web-based... then when I spoke to them, it is part of the course that I'll have to go into hospitals and do practicum activites, and the placements the university give you are all in the Kamloops area. Finishing at 10pm at night on a shift and having to drive back to Langley wouldn't be the best drive in the world!

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

[QUOTE=rebecca1986;951071and the placements the university give you are all in the Kamloops area. Finishing at 10pm at night on a shift and having to drive back to Langley wouldn't be the best drive in the world![/QUOTE]

How long are the praticum placements? If it's a matter of weeks to make up a certain amount of hours, could you book yourself into the local Super8 motel?

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Apparently, it's 50% theory and 50% practice, so it'd be 6 months of the year split up. It's all a matter of money aswell unfortunately. It'd be great if I had the $10,000 but I just can't afford it at this present moment. If I had known all this prior to arriving in Canada, I probably would have just continued to stay in my job at home and save the money up. I think it's quite misleading to have people pay a lot of money to emigrate to Canada as a skilled worker, and then tell you that you have to upgrade etc to be able to do said skill, and then not mention to you the cost of doing all of that! I'm all enrolled in Kwantlen for next year, I really won't give up unless I really have to, don't worry about that! :thumbup:

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Welcome to Canada- qualifications in one country does not necessarily translate the same way here. Good Luck on your journey!

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Haha I know - it's fair enough. Just wish I knew how much it was going to cost before making the transition!

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Nor the other way for Canadians. It is not a one way thing. This happens the world over and not just in job qualifications. This is how each country sets its standards, maintains them and retains control of their standards.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

You may want to be aware of the Employment Standards Act. Never know when it may come in useful. There is an office in Langley if you have any questions or can call the 800 number.

This may also be of use http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/publications...yment-eng.aspx

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

I feel your pain Rebecca. I am a registered nurse and a registered midwife with 30 years experience. At an interview today I was asked if Midwives had any "proper" medical experience, or were they just a companion for the woman:eek: I decided that I am too old to start exams again to convert to be able to practice in Canada so I enquired about being an auxiliary........I need to submit and pass a written piece of work, I then need to pass 4 exams and then they will allow me to sit the exam for auxiliary nurses - and this is the shortened course:rofl:
Before anyone comments, I understand Canada has the right to set its own standards, but seriously, what sort of training do they think we undertake in the UK?
Talking to Safeway today, all they want is candidates with experience of dealing with people - might give it a go!

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

You ask a very good question, and I am not in any way making fun of it. Why don't the different "ruling bodies" get together and sort out an easier way to allow qualified folks to get started faster here? :confused:

Rebecca1986, what you described borders on (or crosses the border and sashays right into) harassment. By a creep (from the sounds of it). I can only imagine what his employees must go through, and I'm thankful you can see not all Canadians are like that!

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Unless you really need the job I'd stay well away from this guy. He sounds a bit sleazy and also a bit mental.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

First for Rebecca - definitely sounds like unusual and inappropriate questions for a job interview. In defense of the guy, interviewing can be very nerve-wracking for an untrained and unprepared interviewer. More so than for the candidate. It is possible he was trying to find out about your long-term interest in the job but let his nerves get the better of him.

On the other hand he may just have been a creep. I would go with your gut feeling.

To Essay - it has long been recognized as a problem. Some of the ruling bodies do get together and work out solutions. For example, my professional body, CGA have a mutual recognition agreement with ACCA in the UK, CPA in Australia and, I believe, a similar agreement in Ireland.

It seems to be more difficult in the public services such as teaching and healthcare. I suspect that this is because the professional bodies tend to be staffed by people who come from a union background and their first instincts are to protect their members from increased competition.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

If it were me and I had been asked those questions at an interview then I would give that employer a very wide berth.

I'm in the middle of a University module on HR right now and those sorts of personal questions are totally inappropriate, possibly even verging on discriminatory perhaps?

I'm not sure I could work for someone who was going to make a selection on the basis of those types of questions.

If its a big, well-known organization I would even be inclined to make a formal complaint (but if you're trying to get into the job market you might not want to rock the boat like that!)

Good luck with the job hunting!

Flossie

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

I'm definately going to have a good look through this, thankyou! At least I'll get an idea of what's allowed and what's not.... if that was an interview in the UK, I'd have asked him why these questions were relevant to the job. But here, I just didn't know if this was the norm. So glad it's not!


Oh my, you're joking! I think with 30 years experience, you know what you're talking about. By no means, upgrading to their education is perfectly fine and acceptable to be a registered nurse, but some of the things are just crazy. I'm sure if we were that bad, we wouldn't have been able to be registered in the UK. How funny that you were asked if about if midwives were just a companion :lol: If only they knew that midwives run the maternity! I looked into working as an auxillary or an LPN until I managed to get my registration, but like you, was told their was a course and X amount of exams and coursework... I wonder where the nearest Safeway to me is?! :lol:

Yeah, I thought he was a little bit borderline harrassment in the end. I definately know not all Canadians are like that, the majority I have met have been lovely! There's always one that spoils it though hey...

Don't worry, I'm going nowhere near that store again. If he was this bad in an interview, I can only imagine what he'd be like as your boss!

From my gut feeling, he was a creep. I got a horrible feeling about him as soon as I went into his office. He just sat back in his big leather chair and rubbed his hands together in a way you see in movies. He was definately trying to intimidate me... apparently the business has been there for 26 years, so I'm sure he's interviewed plenty of people before. I just don't know how he got anyone to actually work for him with his attitude!

Sounds a lot easier when the regulation bodies come together, just a shame they can't do this in healthcare. Regardless of the nasty stories you sometimes read in the UK press, us nurses are good! We work on the bare minimum and just get on with the horrendous workload.

Yes, perhaps those questions were discriminatory, I'd never thought of it like that. As soon as he started with the craziness, I knew I didn't want to work there. Unfortunately, it's not a big organization, just a one-off store that's been in the same spot for 26 years. Just so glad I know interviews aren't usually like this!

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Safeway will probably be the best place to have a heart attack - they will all be staffed by UK doctors and nurses:rofl:

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

If your gut feeling is that he was a creep it might be better to stay clear. It's tempting to take the job to get 'Canadian experience' but you need to think about what happens if you can't get along with him - how will it look to future employers if you only stayed a few weeks, what kind of reference will he give you, etc.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

I thought you had to send off educational transcripts to cnrbc to evaluate relevant experience. If you haven't what they consider theory or practical experience in paeds, MH, LD's, adult, then I thought they then let you know what additional credits or SEC training you need. As far as I'm aware this is requested prior to leaving UK.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Canadian experience is not the same as relevant Canadian experience.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Haha, definately! Sad, but true.

Yep, I've turned the job down. I just couldn't work for someone I get that gut feeling about. There'd be no point, I'd be miserable!

Yeah, this was all done last September, did SEC assessment in May and let myself down in general adult nursing (drugs, condiitons etc). I'm a paediatric trained nurse, therefore I have zero experience in adults and mental health so I have to do an upgrade course which takes a year. Paediatric nurses have no general experience in the UK, and are not taught medications and illnesses which occur in later life.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

If your atleast a permanent resident have you looked into government student loans in order to pay for the schooling you need.

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Uh oh, I'm adult trained so I hope I won't be expected to undertake a years course as I won't be able to financially pay for a course as well as live if the course is f/t

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

I'm going to look into student loans when I get me official acceptance letter in August. Fingers crossed! Hoping you don't have to be a PR for a certain length of time until they'll give you loans etc?

To be honest, I think you'll be fine. They'll probably make you do a SEC assessment, but in my opinion, the SEC is mostly based on adult & general nursing. I literally got about 3 questions on paeds and that was my lot. Most questions were all about conditions that don't occur in paeds, and the the majority of the meds were things that we NEVER use in children. I studied, but there's only so much you can do. I didn't even come across half of the stuff in general nursing books. I know a couple of adult nurses who applied, did the SEC assessment, and just had to do a workshop in paeds for a couple of months. Not sure of the cost, but I think if you're just lacking paeds that's all you need. But for me, there is no short workshop in general nursing - hence the year long upgrade course :frown:

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Thanks for that useful info Rebecca, are you able to give me any pointers as to as and when to send off my transcripts? Did you complete all your skilled worker PR forms, language, medical tests, and your transcripts seperately to CRNBC? I'm dubious about completing all the PR forms and being accepted, then finding out I need to study further for months over in canada with no wage coming in.:)

Re: Strange questions being asked in an interview
 

Hmm, it's a tough one...
I obviously did my PR first, got accepted, and once I knew when I was moving I then started the process with CRNBC. You can definately start the process with the CRNBC first if that's what you want to do, but just make sure that you are aware they will probably make you do a SEC assessment, so if you're not living in Canada at the time, it's a lot of expense to get a flight here, hotel and a flight home for a couple of days of assessments. Then you'll get your letter from CRNBC telling you what else you'll need to do to be registered (most adult nurses I know who have done this had to do 3 workshops - one in paeds, one in maternal and one in something else that I just can't remember!). So if you're not living in Canada at this point, you'll have to come here and study for those aswell...
It's really tough. Either way, it costs you A LOT of money trying to register over here!