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Discrimination against foreign applicant?

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  1. #31

    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Siu Sai Wan
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    Quote Originally Posted by newbie2010:
    Once again, thank you for all your comments.

    Actually I have a different view on this.
    Hate to be harsh, but i am close to hearing "waaa, they won't do what i want, waaa, i have to make a long distance call, waaa, HR people have no idea."

    Welcome to the real world.
    It is harsh out there, so strap yourself in for a bumpy ride.
    HR will do what is good for them and the company.
    They want to see candidates infront of them, not on a phone - that is their decision, so live with it.

    You are just a graduate - a nobody in many peoples eyes.
    How many applications do you think the HR department has that is exactly like yours?
    Unless you are a star at MIT or similar, then you are not special.
    There are many like you and many better than you.
    You cannot afford to be picky, demanding or difficult - they can be.

    If it is really a job you want, get on a plane.
    It shows you are committed and you want this.
    If they like you and hire you and you believe it is the job for you, it will be the best money you ever spent - I guarantee this.
    If they don't like you, then put it down as a learning experience.

    Good luck.
    Last edited by Crocodile; 11-02-2010 at 11:41 PM.

  2. #32

    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    HK
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    188
    Quote Originally Posted by newbie2010:
    Once again, thank you for all your comments.

    Actually I have a different view on this.

    I agree I am causing HR to do extra work, so I may not be the right candidate for HR….but whether I am the right candidate for the role is a different case. I believe HR are hired to find the best candidate for the role, for the company, not to eliminate those who are inconvenient for them (Altho we will never get the chance to decide whether I am the right candidate given I have not been given an interview…).
    Sorry but i agree with Mr Crocodile with his comment. Welcome to the real world where things are not fair. Anyway it wont be HR doing the interview. They just go through about 200 odd CV/Resume for the department manager who would conduct the interview as they know who they want.
    May i ask why would the manager/HR make an international call to the applicant that are currently abroad? If i was a manager of a company, i rather look at the local applicants more as they could easily to come to the interview the same/next day. If they are successful, they can start the job very quickly and not have the hassle of moving from one country to another.

    I am from the UK and i also thought near enough the same but as i didnt get anywhere, i just had to leave my job and move here to HK to take that risk to search for the right job. I have sent my resume/cv to about 250 position since December 2009. Out of the 250, i only had about 7 interviews. I am not moaning that i didnt get the offer even though i thought i was the right person for it. This is life! You got to move where the job is and not the other way round.

    Do think about what the other guys have said as they have the experince of doing this. Think about what the manager/HR has to go through each day. T
    Finish your study, save some money and then relocate back to HK to search for the right position.

  3. #33

    Thank you once again for all your comments.

    Sorry I should have used past tense - the last comment I made was referring to what my view was - before posting this tread on the site. After hearing all the comments left, I got a better understanding of what the real world is like, and have a better understanding how HR works in the HK. I have accepted the fact (and learnt a good lesson) that it really is an employer's market and I have no bargaining power over them, and also my ideal world is very different from the real world as most of you here stated.

    As I have previously said, I have no real work experience and so I am very thankful for all who left your valuable comments here to help me better understand (and hopefully better adopt also) about what the job market in HK is like.

    It's almost Chinese new year and I wish all of you here enjoy the lovely atmosphere back in Hong Kong and have a great year ahead of you.

    Thank you once again for all your valuable comments


  4. #34

    I think an important point is that it's not as simple as conducting a telephone interview and treating it the same as a face-to-face for the rest of the candidates (actually in HK). Body language, how you present yourself, your general demeanour and handling probing questions in a real-time scenario are things that cannot be assessed from a phone interview.

    Skyhook likes this.

  5. #35

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    59

    That's not discrimination. You are the one begging for a job not them. You can't tell them you want special treatment for an interview over the phone and webcam, when they have many applicants over in HK that went to them for the interview. I think you need a dose of reality check. When you apply for a job, you are at their beck and call and they are not at your beck and call. Also asking for a phone interview with webcam shows you really are not motivated for the job to fly for a interview so i would just chuck your cv to the trash. Next time, learn to accommodate them and not you.

    Skyhook likes this.

  6. #36

    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Tai Po, Hong Kong, PRC
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    newbie2010 which field are you in?


  7. #37

    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    18

    What worked for me....

    I've had a few phone interviews but in the end I found my job when I was physically in HK.


  8. #38

    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    21

    For what it's worth, here is my general experience about job finding in London vs HK:
    Things do seem different between the UK and HK to me- I think HK in general prefers a personal approach. Email doesn't seem to work- there's often no reply in HK (in London, you at least get a "no" or "holding" reply). Telephone is a step better, but people really want to see you in person. I also find a real "box ticking attitude" by HR here- possibly because of an oversupply of good candidates. If you don't tick all the boxes, you don't get a reply- which means "no" in a face-saving way! In London, being an excellent but unusual candidate may actually be a plus but it'll put you on the "reject" pile here because an HR person is ticking boxes to whittle down the list. This is frustrating if you're a great candidate and the "box" isn't actually needed (like your case of being unable to go through the same interview process, and often language requirements seem like this too).
    The best general advice is to meekly jump through the hoops and fit the "standard format" and things get a lot easier!
    ps this post is full of loads of generalisations, which are always dangerous, but I speak as I find to try and be helpful!

    Football16 and leedseagle like this.

  9. #39

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    1st it's a dog eat dog world out there and the world doesn't owe anyone anything. What you get, you have to take and not hope it will be offered to you. You and maybe your mom/friends may think you're special but in the eyes of the world, you're one out of a few billions...

    2nd Why would any company bother to spend extra time on an overseas candidate if there are suitable candidates locally? Unless you have something unique to offer that a local candidate doesn't, that's always going to be the case regardless where you apply. Just because they pulled you out of a big pile in the first batch doesn't mean they'll want to take the extra time and trouble down the road.

    3rd Most people prefer to meet a candidate in person. If you ever really want a job somewhere, make the effort to find out who to talk to and take the time to go over there to drop your CV and meet that someone if you can. There are thousands of people nowadays that fire letters/CV by email and I can tell you that the sifting process is extremely quick and no one wants to spend weeks trying to find the very best candidate for entry level positions.

    4th Don't fret too much about little things, you haven't even begun to experience the frustrations that the job market and life has to offer. If you think life has to be fair, you could be in for a lot of disappointments. Save your time and energy for the real battles you will have and make sure you enjoy the times when things are rolling your way.


  10. #40

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    just book yourself a ticket, then an appointment with the HR and / or the hiring manager to show that you are genuinely keen for the position. HR won't want to waste their time on the overseas applications who use it as their 'back-up' options

    when i was working in london we received thousands of applications for varoius graduate positions... and we only looked at those who were 1> physically in the country and / or within EU 2> no visa issue
    as it was a v competitive market that there was no time for the business to wait around for students to fly over...

    Last edited by cow1201; 02-03-2010 at 05:14 PM.