Just Take A Hint, You.
People who know me know my flaws. I am so comfortable with making conversations with people I know, with people I just met, and even strangers who are just chatting with their stranger friends.
I always thought I was good at taking hints. Well, I’d like to share with you some things that tell another story.
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After two months of interviewing with a company round by round, I encountered another around of everyday small talk.
“Um, I see your resume here. You went to college in California, right?”
“Yes, thanks for asking. I did. In San Diego.”
“So you want to move all the way back from Pittsburgh?”
“I look forward to it.”
“Since you went to college in California before, it means that —“
Long pause.
“That I already knew how to drive because there was no Uber back then?” I broke the silence and was proud of my humor for a second.
“Ah. No. I meant if you grew up here. That you don't need sponsorship.”
“Oh, thanks for clarifying. Actually, I do need sponsorship as an international student. Would that be a problem?” I stopped being funny.
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Despite the fact that I didn’t get this (dream) job in the end (after several more rounds), I can vouch for the company that me needing sponsorship wasn’t a problem for them at all. They just need to worry about hiring the best person.
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Two months later.
Yesterday.
A company, based in San Diego, reached out to me for a video interview, after the initial round of resume screening plus some personality and cognitive assessment tests. The recruiter, when confirming the interview time, checked in with me via email:
“Are you willing to relocate to San Diego?”
“I am excited to move back to San Diego, where I went to college,” I replied.
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Today.
I was meeting with my career advisor this morning to prepare for this interview. Taking a closer look at the job description, oops, I saw something jumping out from the Minimum Requirement column.
In red.
And italics.
U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident status required.
Visa Sponsorship not available.
I can't believe I ignored this when I was applying for the job. And I can't believe they didn't filter me out from the sponsorship question I answered honestly.
“What should I do? Should I just bring this up during the video interview?” I asked my advisor.
“If they ask, be honest. If they don’t, then bring this up at the end of the interview. Maybe this is not an issue for them. It's good to know so that you are on the same page and not waste each other’s time.” My advisor suggested.
Yea, it was totally fair.
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Time for the actual video call.
A nice lady on the other side of the webcam, smiling, asking me of my day, apologizing for the (merely 10 seconds) delay…
“So where are you? Where were you? Tell me everything.” She asked.
“I am in Pittsburgh…graduating…August…San Diego…psychology…theatre…New York…teaching…linguistics…moved…” I excitingly pitched myself.
“So all your experiences on the resume, they are internships during your school time.” The recruiter threw out a statement.
“Yes. I have been fortunate enough to be working 20 hours all these years when I am in school.” I played humble with some confidence.
And I added some more persuasive statements. Honest and passion-showing.
“I see. Tell me about the languages on your resume. How did you manage to learn all these languages? Tell me everything!”
She is smiling so hard.
I am so glad she noticed my Language section on the lower right of my resume.
“I always liked language classes. When I started college in San Diego, I thought learning Spanish was a great way for me to gain communication skills, make new friends..."
And blah blah blah. I rambled a little bit.
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“So did you go to high school in San Diego?”
I feel like she is close to her question.
“Ah no, I moved to San Diego from China for college.”
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At that point, I was tired and decided to take the hint and just give everybody an easier time. I forgot if I said it first or she pushed harder.
No, I am not a citizen or a permanent resident.
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The rest of the conversation included us nicely exchanging pleasantries.
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This series of conversations reminded me of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy (DADT).
If you don’t remember much about it: It was a policy which prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants. It was issued on December 21, 1993, and lasted until September 20, 2011. It was protective to some extent while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service (Wikipedia).
While I am in no place to compare my minor discomfort to the injustice the LGBTQ group has been facing, I have to admit that I was trying to protect myself too. From the afterthought such as --
Why do I have to break the I-am-an-international-student-so-don’t-waste-my-time-if-you-have-no-intention-in-hiring-us-although-I-might-actually-be-your-best-shot news upfront?
Why can't you just ask me if I need sponsorship as soon as possible and let me know if I still stand a chance?
I didn't want to skip the small talk and be rude.
And --
What if, what if they were just curious about how I learned all those languages.
