7 ms·

This is a thing in Australia as well, and it's quite baffling. As far as I can tell, it's not even racism or genuine comms concerns etc, it's just that any wor

This is a thing in Australia as well, and it's quite baffling. As far as I can tell, it's not even racism or genuine comms concerns etc, it's just that any work experience outside Australia gets discounted as "not real work".

icelancer 9y ago
>>it's not even racism >>work experience outside Australia gets discounted as "not real work". I mean, that might not be the strict definition of racism, but it essentially is.
- derefr 9y ago
  This is still true even when the people getting discounted are of the same race and culture as the interviewer, though. Like, hospitals seemingly don't want doctors that grew up in the US but then studied medicine at foreign universities—even when those universities are world-renowned for producing great doctors. Unless you're suggesting that such places think that the foreign culture "contaminated" their own countrymen in the few years they were abroad—and made them useless—a different explanation is needed for this effect.
  - dpark 9y ago
    If you discount the quality of a degree from a well-regarded university just because it’s in a foreign country, it’s racist (or xenophobic or something roughly equivalent). Not against the candidate but against (citizens of) the nation hosting the university. With that said, I think hospitals want American candidates with degrees from American universities because the concern is that an American educated by a university in another country was perhaps unable to gain acceptance to an American school, in which case perhaps the foreign university isn’t actually as selective.
    - abiox 9y ago
      > If you discount the quality of a degree from a well-regarded university just because it’s in a foreign country, it’s racist (or xenophobic or something roughly equivalent). i don't see how it can be 'racist', because countries aren't races. it might be in some sense 'xenophobic', as it seems more a case of people being more comfortable with people similar to them.
      - dpark 9y ago
        Of course countries aren’t races. The citizens of those countries do have races, though. If, for example, you’re only judgemental against Latin American universities, that could be considered xenophobic but it could also be considered racist. The two aren’t really that easy to separate when the prejudice is against a group that is both foreign and a different race.
- abiox 9y ago
  i'm not sure i follow your reasoning. is canadian a different "race" than australian?
  - icelancer 9y ago
    Describe to me what the average Canadian thinks the average Australian looks like. Now describe to me what the average immigrant to Australia looks like. I think that will help you understand.
    - abiox 9y ago
      what is the correlation between 'the average immigrant' (whatever that is) and this notion? are other immigrants 'outside the average' seen differently within the scope of this notion?
- tessierashpool 9y ago
  right, this is the “effect, not motivation” thing in the OP.
- pc86 9y ago
  nationality <> race
shegs 9y ago
When I moved to Australia I encountered exactly what you described, luckily I was still junior so I presented myself as fresh out school to find an entry-level job. A few years later I moved to the valley and finding a job was easier in many ways.
krolley 9y ago
What about work experience in popular western countries in Europe? I've been living (and working) abroad for the last 10 years but might come home sooner or later.
nf05papsjfVbc 9y ago
One reason I can think of, which can cause this, is that it's going to consume greater resources to background check internationally than just within the country. I do know at least two people who have lied in their CV and got jobs based on those and was wondering how they could get away with it so far.

icelancer 9y ago

>>it's not even racism >>work experience outside Australia gets discounted as "not real work". I mean, that might not be the strict definition of racism, but it essentially is.

derefr 9y ago
This is still true even when the people getting discounted are of the same race and culture as the interviewer, though. Like, hospitals seemingly don't want doctors that grew up in the US but then studied medicine at foreign universities—even when those universities are world-renowned for producing great doctors. Unless you're suggesting that such places think that the foreign culture "contaminated" their own countrymen in the few years they were abroad—and made them useless—a different explanation is needed for this effect.
- dpark 9y ago
  If you discount the quality of a degree from a well-regarded university just because it’s in a foreign country, it’s racist (or xenophobic or something roughly equivalent). Not against the candidate but against (citizens of) the nation hosting the university. With that said, I think hospitals want American candidates with degrees from American universities because the concern is that an American educated by a university in another country was perhaps unable to gain acceptance to an American school, in which case perhaps the foreign university isn’t actually as selective.
  - abiox 9y ago
    > If you discount the quality of a degree from a well-regarded university just because it’s in a foreign country, it’s racist (or xenophobic or something roughly equivalent). i don't see how it can be 'racist', because countries aren't races. it might be in some sense 'xenophobic', as it seems more a case of people being more comfortable with people similar to them.
    - dpark 9y ago
      Of course countries aren’t races. The citizens of those countries do have races, though. If, for example, you’re only judgemental against Latin American universities, that could be considered xenophobic but it could also be considered racist. The two aren’t really that easy to separate when the prejudice is against a group that is both foreign and a different race.
abiox 9y ago
i'm not sure i follow your reasoning. is canadian a different "race" than australian?
- icelancer 9y ago
  Describe to me what the average Canadian thinks the average Australian looks like. Now describe to me what the average immigrant to Australia looks like. I think that will help you understand.
  - abiox 9y ago
    what is the correlation between 'the average immigrant' (whatever that is) and this notion? are other immigrants 'outside the average' seen differently within the scope of this notion?
tessierashpool 9y ago
right, this is the “effect, not motivation” thing in the OP.
pc86 9y ago
nationality <> race

shegs 9y ago

When I moved to Australia I encountered exactly what you described, luckily I was still junior so I presented myself as fresh out school to find an entry-level job. A few years later I moved to the valley and finding a job was easier in many ways.

krolley 9y ago

What about work experience in popular western countries in Europe? I've been living (and working) abroad for the last 10 years but might come home sooner or later.

nf05papsjfVbc 9y ago

One reason I can think of, which can cause this, is that it's going to consume greater resources to background check internationally than just within the country. I do know at least two people who have lied in their CV and got jobs based on those and was wondering how they could get away with it so far.