How has your experience been when you have been interviewed by a desi person, more intense, laid back. is it any different from interviewing with non-desi people.
hints, personal experiences, suggestions?
e.g. a big question, if the interveiwer is muslim, you knw it, he/she knows you are muslim. Now one should say salam on the other hand the interviewer may feel that this is unprofessional and personal, ont he other hand if you dont say it maybe the interviewer will get a negative image as the fact that both of you are muslim is clear and because no one else is around it would not seem out of place.
Would it be different especially if it is a phone interview..My take on it is to let the interviewer lead and if she/he says salam then respond otherwise let it be.
so whats yor take on this topic in general (salam was just one of the examples)
Dude I did .. my former boss was a desi/Indian women and as a general rule I avoided any desi reference .. and it did not come up .. although the curiosity is always there .. but avoid any religious or racial gestures .. unless your interviewer engages in that kind of conversation you should not… but it could happen on less formal level (not interview) like on a second or third meeting …
Hey one more thing
These things are hard to explain
For some it seems strange... to swallow
The frontier of our minds
Is the last place we find
But maybe the first place we should go
I wouldn't start the desi acquaintence and usual salaam dua'a bujiness until you're on the same wavelength and you can gauge how much the person is receptive to "desi association" at work place. He/she may just wanna keep it professional at work.
Well, I co-interviewed a desi with mah boss. Now, I knew he was desi so I wanted to cut all sorts of breaks for him but I also wanted to keep in subtle so my boss won't think that I am playing favorites here. I asked him which part of Pakistan he was from and told him about my roots. But this guy started turning into a major league a$$. He brought up the little mix-up we had during the initial interview and how I may be trying to avoid getting him interviewed (I guess he thought I was trying the usual desi leg pulling on him). Then he starting rambling about how over qualified he is for this position (which in my opinion he was, but still no need to be rubbed in). By the time the interview, he was on my bad side. I pretty much shot him down for the position 'cause he seemed like someone who wanted to be a little too smart in everything. Needless to say, he wasn't selected.
p.s. fraudiyee.. if you ever walk into an interview with moi, you can pretty much go "abaayy ghalib.. tu kaisa hai beh... chaal chai paani lagaa phir interview karrain gey.. or bhahhi kaisi hain." No probs. with me there..
Frauds, IMHO let the interviewer take the lead. It does not matter whether it’s a telephone interview or a face-to-face interview. Keep it professional. I am sure at this level the interviewer will not get a negative image of you if you do not exchange greetings in an Islamic way.
Whether a desi person is more laid back or intense depends on the individual. From my experience, I have had the pleasure of meeting both.
do you think you are at an unfair advantage or disadvantage if the interviewer is desi, what if he/she is desi but of 'rival country'
Maybe.. can't say for sure. I guess it depends on the situation and person. You interviewer may be hesitant to have another desi onboard a same company or just may not like you cause you're from either India or Pakistan. Or he may just be deighted to see another desi joining the group. It varies with every situation.
As far as advantage is concern, well any headway you can get or brownie points you can score with the interviewer without uttering a single word is fine by me. Afterall, isn't it the same as being interviewed after you come recommended by another employee of the company?
what has your experience been? have people been professional or did you feel a bias for you or against you? and why?
As I talked about my interview with the desi dude, my experience was nothing to feel good about. But, again, it was about this particular incident and may not happen with the next one. At the level we're talking about, I don't see any reason why it wouldn;t be more professional than personal. You're not applying for a manager at a gas station or 7-11.. You're gunning for a position with a professional firm and they expect you to appear professional when dealing with company business, just like they would expect the interviewer to be one also.
[quote]
do you think you are at an unfair advantage or disadvantage if the interviewer is desi, what if he/she is desi but of 'rival country' **
[/quote]
Frauds, I don't think you are neccesarily at a disadvantage if the interviewer is from a so called 'rival country' . I believe the person would want someone who is capable of doing the job. Whenever I have interviewd, I have always looked beyond where the person is from. What I look for is whether the person is capable of doing the job and will (s)he laugh at my jokes (kidding :)).
Just as an example, I have a team which consists of people belonging to different faiths and beliefs. Politics or religion did not sway my decision. What I looked for is whether they would be good at their job, is (s)he a team player, and would (s)he help achieve success for the organization (whatever the criterion for measuring success might be).
Good Luck at the interview. I am sure you will do well.
okay so it was not hypothetical. it went very well, the guy was from lahore and 40ish but immediately brought up the topic of being Pakistani and we had a brief chitchat before focusing on the task at hand.
I am convinced that Deshi interviewers normally want to find out "what you DONT know" while non-deshis check "what you know". Also, Deshi interviewers like to show-off "what they know".
While on the subject, I must say that Pakistani candidates stand a very GOOD chance with Indian interviewers for the simple reason that the Indian would like to display his fairness and unbiased judgement.
Timepass, what about Indian interviewee and Pakistani interviewer..??
Re. comment on "what you know" or "what you don't know," you don't think you're being a bit too judgmental here? this fraudz character above apparently had a pleasant experience with the desi....
My stance is that the desi cases are so diverse, especially in the professional industry - not gas station or 7-11 job market - that its hard to gauge what your propspective desi interviewer will pull on you. Hope for the best and project professional attitude and it will compell the desi on the otherside of the table to respond likewise.... aghhey allah ma'alik!!
well i feel the same.
i feel much more relaxed if its a desi taking the interview..
i mean sometimes i wish i could say to him/her lets get the lasssi out and parathi out and have a meal.but then may be not.
lol Mr. Frauds, but I'm glad the interview went well!
I asked my dad about this coz I found this discussion to be very interesting. He's been in international banking, outside of Pakistan for 16 years now and he says if he was to interview a desi he keeps it completely professional. He doesn't think there should be any reason to give him any special sort of treatment or slap him on the back, share common jokes etc. He says that you can get on a personal basis later on. He doesn't even think you should greet in the common language.
Riz, I would feel more uncomfortable being interviewed by a desi for some reason, they make me nervous.
Let the interview be professional.. but Saying salam IMO should not be a problem . you can say it to other interviewer as well (if there are two) but then keeping it as it would be if the interviewer was anyone else is the best option.
Once the interview is kinda over.. you may talk over 'background' but leave it to the interviewer's discretion.. (they may not want to associate themselves with desi culture.. i have met a few)
the guy was very professional but talked about my background at first..
when i did not accept the offer right away, even though the company was my first choice, he called to see if he could do anything to change my mind if i was thinking of going elsewhere or to sweeten the deal..this was followed by calls from the senior director of the group as well as the partner..needless to say I accepted in the end, but very pleasant interviewing and job discussion experience.
I had recent interviews some of them were mostly indians. 1 tried to favour me. most of them tried hard enough to expose the weak side of my skills and kept the whole interview more and more questions on 1 topic which i didnt mention to be my speciality in my CV. my guess was they were just waiting for their own banglore guy/friend to appear up.
other interview with gora lot went smoothly and called up for 2nd one.
interesting to see this thread here. the guy who interviewed me for that position ended up being my mentor for a bit until I started reporting to him for a project, later after Arthur Andersen went Kaboom, he stayed on as a friend and an advisor, families met each other. he served as my reference for my 2 jobs after Andersen, and I served as his reference. As a matter of fact I hooked him up with his last 2 jobs since I was contacted by recruiters t see fi I know someone, and he came to mind.
he was over last night with his family to meet my parents and the kids.
Interesting that 6 years ago I was sweating bullets before interviewing with him.
lol interview with a desi, I can only laugh as they are highly unfair, well my husband made the experience with indians and the fact is that they are unfriendly, looked at his islamic university llb law degree as he is some kind of terrorist.
One also tried to get him rejected but his boss an european accepted him,
he found this out later, but well I think indians prefere indians, even if pakistanis are highly qualified for a job.