A Matter of Trust

I've been looking for jobs lately. It's hard for an expat. None of the rules are the same.

Last week, I brought my resume to a company where a friend of Carlos works. Well, the resume was alright. But it was deemed a bit thin. In the US, you are supposed to limit your resume to one page with just the most important elements and the person hiring can ask for more information if the resume looks promising.

That's not how things work here. You are expected to list every job you've ever had, every project you've ever worked on, every conference you ever attended. You are expected to disclose your race, sex, age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and marital status. Well, maybe not all of those, but you are expected to have a photo on your resume.

I was asked to provide my original diplomas so that they could be copied. Not notarized copies. The originals. Most people in the US have their diplomas mounted and nailed to the wall. A diploma is just to look at, not for actual use.

Then, I was told that I would need to get "Certificates of Employment" from my former employers. I'd never heard of that before. That means I needed to contact former bosses and ask for documents stating my dates of employment, projects worked on, cost of said projects, my responsibilities, etc. I mean, are they going to think any different of me when they find out that I used to work on projects that cost half a billion dollars (yes, that is billion with a "b", even though the civil part was a tiny fraction)? They can talk for me for five minutes and find out much more about my experience.

When I first saw Carlos's resume, I laughed at it, because it was a tome. He had the names and dates of every conference that he attended AND copies of the certificates stating that he did indeed attend. Is that really necessary? I mean, just because you have a certificate, it doesn't mean that you learned anything. I was appalled by the behavior some of the guests at the conference I attended last month in Cuenca. People had not only not turned off the ringers on their mobiles, but actually answered them and started chatting in the middle of the conference while speakers were talking. Some eventually left the room, but others didn't. Not only is that incredibly rude, but these people who spent two days chatting on the phone got the same certificate that Carlos and I did. And I should admit that I didn't learn nearly as much as Carlos did since the conference was in Spanish.

But that's how things work here. If it's not signed and sealed and stamped, it is worthless.

I think I will start designing my own stamp.