On job hunting and covert racial discrimination...

I was reading in the New York Times about covert racial discrimination and job hunting this morning. It reminds me of an incident some years back when I first came to US. It actually happened to someone else, but the incidents recounted in the article were strikingly similar.

When I first came to US, I joined my husband who was a grad student at MIT at the time, sharing an apartment with another guy. I have to say something about this guy since it could have some bearings on the events to be unfolded. This guy was ethnic Chinese, came to US with his wife maybe 2-3 years prior to my arrival, to pursue an MBA at Sloane School. (His wife was also pursing an MBA with another school - can't remember exactly now, but I think it's at Columbia.) It must have been a big gamble for both of them since they quit their supposedly cushy jobs in China (even though the pay was meager, compared to their counterparts in US), paid full tuition to study MBA in top schools in US. I think he was working in a pharmaceutical company in China before the MBA study. At least they didn't have kids to worry about at the time.

In any case, this guy chose to major in marketing at Sloane. He's been struggling a bit. Still, Sloane is one of the top schools, and that alone, was enough to get him interviews (supposedly) during the plumb days in the late 1990s when economy was on the up-and-up. When I arrived US, he's towards the end of the study, and was busy arranging interviews. Though he has some work experience, he hadn't had too much luck, even though he had the Sloane name tugged under his belt. He got a few interviews locally, but they didn't pan out. And then, one day, I remember during dinner time, he came back all excited, and telling us that he's got a job interview to a big name consulting company. They talked to him on the phone, and sounded very excited in meeting him. They even paid him return airfare, accommodation, and the works, to fly him down for the interview. He thought, if they were willing to pay for all these, they must be genuinely interested.

Or so they thought. A few days later, he flew back and was all dejected at the apartment. We asked him how it went. He was all pissed about the interviewers, saying they were not serious about it. They pretty much lost interest in him 5 minutes into the interview, according to him. The only thing he was bitter about was, if they were not interested, why they paid for all these and made him go through all the hassles, just to send him rejections (!?!). He further complained that, it's not like they didn't know he's Chinese, because they talked on the phone prior to the face-to-face interview arrangement.

I have to say something more about this guy. Yes, he's ethnic Chinese, and he's maybe 5'1", bespectacled, drooping a bit, and when he talks, he tends to talk quite loudly (almost to the point as if he's yelling). I don't know if that's the way Mandarin speakers are like (since I've observed that trait in alot of them). His case was probably a bit different from those mentioned in the article, since those black guys might not even have a chance for interviews, given their black-sounding names or African-American accent over the phone. At least this guy had the chance to show his ethnicity, and the interviewers had not had a problem with that (or even his loud voice). I'd say, in his case, it's probably has alot to do with presentation. When you're in consulting, you want someone to project confidence, in order to win confidence from clients. This guy never struck me as anywhere that comes close to that. When he wants your attention, he would talk louder to your ears.

One other thing he complained about was that, the interviewers were trying to challenge him and trash him during the interviews (there were a few rounds of it when he was there), indicating that he did not know the cultural issues well enough to provide insights in marketing. They were asking him, why he chose marketing in the first place, since he's obviously not good at it. He readily admitted that he hadn't been able to master the western culture and nuance to be very good at marketing, or maybe he's not extrovert enough to be in marketing at all. Still, he went back to the point, saying that the interviewers had known all these (that he majored in marketing at Sloane, and that his grades were not excellent). They should not need to trash him like they did.

Was that consider discrimination? He certainly thought so, although I'm not so sure about it. That phrase "cultural fit" was mentioned in the article. That might probably have something to do with this guy. I hate to say it, but life is not a fair game. If you have to choose between two persons, with everything being equal, would you have chosen a better-looking one that is 6', oor someone who's bespectacled with drooping shoulders that is 5'1? I would probably have picked the former candidate too.

Interestingly, his wife who was graduating around the same time, had not had troubles with interviews. She had rather quickly landed on a consulting job. Perhaps you might see her as more "regular looking," being 5'2 or 5'3 (yes she's taller than he), and with a more confident air.

Which all leads back to the question. Is there racial discrimination? I have no doubt it's there. But does anything lead back to race? I don't think so. In the case of the blacks, the case of race can probably be more overt, and competition more intense. Afterall, with Asia and China rising in prominence, alot of companies want to have some Chinese expertise. The same is true with India. But you can't say that with Africa-Americans who are kind of "stuck" here, having to strike success in this home turf. I hate to say this, but it's true, to my mind.

PS: As a woman in ethnic group (double minority, if you will), I never feel discriminated or experience it in a material way. Perhaps I can count myself lucky. Perhaps it's also because of the field that I'm in (even though it's a predominantly male field). I'd say, there are times when I know I get less out of the grapevine because I don't socialize with management (more white managers). But it's a personal choice I made, since my life priorities have changed after our kids are born. Sometimes, your life is what you make of it. Sometimes, it's also true that discrimination decreases when the "law of large numbers" is reached (ie. when there is enough diversity, people don't feel it in the big melting pot).