Going through the motions - Job interviews, job applications, and more interviews

 I'm 3 days late on this post. It's been a busy few days, please indulge me the few days delay.

In the previous post, I mentioned how we left Nigeria hurriedly. Hurriedly we did, because I was simply tired of the country. I was tired of how I wasn't earning much (in my opinion), and I truly wasn't. I was basically carrying too much weight on my salary, and earning low compared to my peers...discontent, discontent.

In the same office, there were people who earned almost three times my salary, who we graduated from school in about a year's difference. Yes, I had a HND (later finished a B.Sc.), or maybe my job role wasn't as critical to the organization as the other person's, maybe that was why I wasn't well paid, but I was simply tired of it.
These other persons didn't make the pay disparity pleasant either. They had an air of superiority, and were a tad condescending to us "junior staff". I was sent all sorts of petty tasks, and i endured it all because I had a target of leaving the country for greener pastures shortly.

Contrast that to a country like Canada where even the bus driver or waste disposal man is treated with almost the same respect as an oil company executive.
I think that the orientation needs to change in the Nigerian workplace. Employers/senior staff need to realize that employees do have options, no one is a write-off, and no staff will be your subordinate for life.

Nuff said, let me stop ranting..

At the airport on Thursday while we were weighing baggage, prior departure, I got another interview invite for Monday and I accepted it because I wasn't about to let any opportunity pass me by.
I went for the interview on Monday and did a fair job, although I had no hopes of getting a callback. The organization is the biggest I have ever interviewed with, and i didn't feel like i stood a chance. After the interview, I was more interested in taking a selfie in front of the company's logo than hoping for a callback. The interview on Tuesday was the third round interview, in continuation of the earlier two stages which I did in Nigeria. I had another phone interview on Wednesday, I sent more applications on Thursday, did a phone interview on Friday. In fact, I forgot some interview appointments because I had shot my shot so much and lost track. I had lots of interview take homes assignments and I was under so much pressure, but I knew that I had to be strong for my family as we needed a source of income quickly. Actually, I told my former colleague at work that I would go get any kind of survival job if I didn't get a job in 2months of landing.. luckily I didn't have to do that.
It was a dream come true to be in a land with so much job opportunities.

I had high hopes for the interview which I had on Tuesday, although I remembered that i goofed badly on a particular question, and I only realized my error after the interview. The next week, the company sent me a nicely worded rejection email that made me sink into despair. I was really crestfallen because I had felt I would clinch the job easily.
Out of the blues, the organization which I interviewed with on Monday (I refer to them as the big one henceforth) sent me an invite for a second round interview! That raised my hopes once more, to know that I was still in the race for the job.

On one of the days, I had a physical interview in Toronto with a tech startup that was into machine learning in the medical space. That interview is my worst interview experience ever. Let me gist about it. I got the interview invite and found my way to the company's address. Two guys interviewed me: an east European guy and an Indian. The east European guy hammered me about 10 deep technical questions, and to be candid, I think i only answered three correctly. To round off the interview, he turned and said to his Indian colleague (i hope this confirms our assumptions), which I interpret to mean (this confirms that blacks are not really intelligent, or this confirms that this guy is just good on paper, but doesn't actually have the skills).
I left the premises totally ashamed of myself, and there was no question that the interviewers felt like I was a waste of their time.
They didn't even bother to send me a rejection email, and I never asked too..

I prepared for the second round interview with the big one and did a great job. I spoke about my most recent experience, and it aligned with their expectations. I spoke about my failures and polished it well to show that I had learnt my lessons and it has become a strength for me. That interview encounter was about the most natural interview I have ever had in my life. I felt totally welcome. To illustrate how at ease I felt, I almost started speaking colloquially to the director on the interview table, but I brought myself back to earth. Expectedly, I got an invite for the third round.

In summary, after the third interview round (in which I was thoroughly grilled like barbeque), which happened in the third week after we landed in Canada, I got the job.
Thank you Canada, thank you the big one!

While we were preparing to leave Canada, I told a friend who works in an oil company about the process, and this guy kept scorning me. After we landed in Canada, he continued being silly and sent me all sorts of distracting messages about how I should prepare myself for the tough realities of getting a job, advising me to settle for survival jobs etc.
I never paid him any attention, neither did I let his silly remarks get to me. He has stopped being silly now, and I wish him all the best.

In hindsight, I am grateful to God that I didn't get the job for the Tuesday interview, or any of the ones following, because due to Covid, a lot of companies downsized, and I could have been let go of. I have been with the big one for almost a year, and looking back, I wouldn't have had it any better.

This is the biggest job I have ever been at, not knowing anyone, in a new country, without any connections (like is obtainable in most parts back home).
The interview process was professional and everyone was really friendly. In fact, on the last interview stage, the director who i met thanked me for agreeing to come interview on a day with heavy snow.
I'm grateful once more