Would You Like Fries With That?

There is an interesting article on globeandmail.com today. Well, the article isn't that interesting, it's actually really lame, but the 165 comments that Globe readers sent in are interesting. The article is titled "Canucks Come Home" and the government is asking expats to return home because Canada apparently needs skilled workers. The majority of the comments were, not surprisingly, negative.

Most respondents cited high taxes as a reason for not coming back. However, that's not really an issue for me because I live in Europe. My taxes might be slightly lower in Dublin, but not for much longer (I move up to a higher tax bracket next year) and the health care system is worse here. I think there is a much better quality of life in Canada.

However, I did agree with the respondents who said that there are no jobs for skilled workers in Canada, and therefore no point in asking expats to come home - there is nothing for them. Just look at our taxi drivers - we have the highest-educated taxi drivers in the world. I for one know from personal experience that you basically have to be overqualified in order to get a job in Canada. I remember when I was working at the mall after graduation. Yes, you read right. Working at the mall after graduation. When a lot of stores put up job ads, they requested a university education - to work at the mall. That's so utterly ridiculous. Or is it? If there is a glut of overeducated people in Canada, which there is, then you can demand over-the-top educational requirements for menial jobs. The problem is that Canada has one of the highest rate of university graduates per capita, but doesn't have the employment landscape to absorb these graduates. The problem is, by educating these people, you're setting them up with expectations for employment - and those expectations don't involve wearing a polyester uniform.

Also, it's very difficult for someone to get valid work experience after graduation. There is little in the way of proper intern, work experience, or in-house training programmes for young graduates. Many are caught in a no-work, no-experience cycle until they either somehow break in, or decide that delivering pizzas for a living isn't that bad.

I remember back when I was working at the ad agency and I was looking for work elsewhere. One of the reasons why I wanted to leave was that I was under-paid and I didn't have room to move up or grow because it was a small company. The only person above me was my boss. When I went on interviews, I was told that I wasn't qualified because I hadn't ever had someone working under me before. First of all, all managers haven't when they first become a manager, and secondly, I had been a manager before - I had managed my own retail store for a short period of time and was responsible for hiring, firing and training staff. Of course, that didn't count - that was different. After all it's much harder to keep a high school kid working for pocket change motivated than it is someone who is trying to build a career.

It doesn't help that HR practitioners in Canada are dreadfully conservative. They like to see the classic, linear career path. Any bends in that path and game over, they're not interested. I remember another time when I was at the ad agency and looking for another job. I was in the interview and I have (had) a five-month gap on my CV. When I graduated from my post-graduate diploma, it took me five months to find a job in my field. During that time, I temped a a receptionist. However in an effort to keep my CV to the recommended two pages, and because the job had no bearing on my experience as an advertising practitioner, I left it off. The HR person asked me what I did during that time and I explained that after graduation, I was caught in the no-job, no-experience cycle, that it took me some time to find a job and I temped to earn a paycheque. She then said, "but what did you do?" So I replied, "I temped as a receptionist for a mining company." And explained why I felt that I didn't need to have it on my CV. Her response, "Yes, but what did you DO??" "Well, I answered the phone and transferred calls to various departments, I received courier packages, as it was a high security building, I screened visitors before allowing them access and I also used Microsoft Word Mail Merge to send out mass mailings to shareholders." Her response, "so what did you DO???" What did I DO???? I went home and changed the dates of my schooling on my CV to eliminate the damn gap, that's what I did. I couldn't fathom how an irrelevant five-month gap from four years ago had anything to do with how good I was at advertising. But then again, if I wasn't good enough to be hired right out of school with no gaps, I wasn't good enough for them.

Job prospects were tight for me in Canada. When I wanted to leave the ad agency, I wanted to leave for more money because I was already underpaid. However, I was currently paying next to nothing for transportation because I walked to work. If I moved jobs, I would probably need to add in the cost of a commute. As nothing that I was applying for was within walking distance, I needed to consider that unless I was making more money, my disposable income would be lower. I couldn't find anything that was going to pay me more money to offset my higher living costs. At the same time, none of these jobs were sufficiently interesting for me to sacrifice a bit of money for long-term gain. Also, considering the wage-freeze, hiring-freeze climate that Canada was in at the time, I had to consider that the wage I accepted upon hiring was probably going to be my wage for around 2-3 years.

I know that I would never have the job that I have now back home. In fact, the company I work for has offices in Canada, and had I sent my CV to them instead of moving abroad, they probably wouldn't even have considered me worthy of a thanks-but-no-thanks email in response.

I often think about moving home but my main barrier, besides the lack of vacation time and travel opportunities, is the fact that I'm not sure there is anything for me at home. Will there be a decent, challenging job for me back home, or will I be turned down because I'm considered a waster for quitting my job and leaving for Europe in the first place? Will any employers feel that my international work experience is worthy and valid, or will they write it off because it's not "Canadian experience"? In the past, I heard critcisms from would-be employers that I wasn't qualified because I didn't have enough experience with PowerPoint. (PowerPoint? Hi, I'm a moron and have the inability to learn a Microsoft application). Will I return home to hear that I am not qualified because I haven't been in the Canadian workforce for the past few years, and international experience is not desirable because it's something akin to colouring outside the lines?

Will I pack up my wealth of life and work experience to return home to end up performing the office equivalent of asking "Would you like fries with that?" According to those 165 comments, the answer to that is yes.

Article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051113.wcanada1113/CommentStory/National/