Firms not practicing "equal oppurtunity" 7

[COEngineeer]

Ok, so I sent my resume to this one company a few days ago. I think I match the experience they need pretty good. I dont know what happened, but the person that received the email mistakenly replied/forwarded the email to me and said (direct quote) "Not sure, he looks pretty foreign, but has been here for a long time..."

I am from Asia. I have been in the US for 12 years. Went to undergrad and graduate school in the US. Got my experience in the US. I have a greencard. What would you do if you were in my situation? My wife (an attorney) thinks I should do something about it. I feel that I should just let it go. I did reply to her and pointed out her mistake and this is what she replied:

"I do thank you for pointing out my obvious ignorance. I do hope that you will accept my utmost apologies for my actions.

I have passed on your resume and someone will contact you if our manager feels you the experience that we are looking for.

Thank you again for your interest in our firm."

What do you guys think?

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[jmw]

Not exactly profuse either.
Try and project different scenarios from outright bigotry and a fear of prosecution through to not intentional and hard to find any real reason why offence could be taken, but apologise anyway and see what replies you would give (absent the exact email notifying you you have sent your email to the candidate you'll have to guess how offended the candidate is).
Now rank this reply on a scale from a polite email for forms sake through to abject fear...

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[Zogzog]

BJC,

That video is great! Thanks.

CoEngineer, glad you have not learned the art of suing everyone for anything in your 12 years here. Save the email, chalk it up as a good story to tell over some good old USA Budwisers.

 

[EddyC]

I had an employer who prefered to hire folks who were immigrants. His theory was that they would work for lower wages than a USA born individual.

 

[MadMango]

Being half-Asian, I was told during an interview once that the company wished they could find more candidates similar to me because "you guys are so diligent". I finished the interview, but walked away.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[TheTick]

At least he didn't tell you that you have good rhythm or seem "really articulate".

 

[doberdorks]

Being half-Asian, I was told during an interview once that the company wished they could find more candidates similar to me because "you guys are so diligent". I finished the interview, but walked away.

One of my amusing moments in university was listening to a friend complain about "all those Asians who worked so hard and did really well so he wouldn't be able to get into grad school". -- the amusing thing is he was a North-American born Asian for lack of a better discription... Personally I never complained about those who worked harder that did better than me... and I did get into grad school, didn't stay though.

SLH

 

[COEngineeer]

Update:

I had an interview with them and also another firm that I really want. As it turn out, the firm that we have been talking about on this thread is not that great. The benefit is not really good. No insurance the first 3 months and it is not 100% paid, no vacation the first year. What a joke.

The good news is, I just accepted an offer from the other firm. They didnt even notice that I was a foreigner during the interview (ok.. just joking). I am very lucky (and very lucky to get an interview) because people hardly ever leave the company because their benefit is awesome! Thank you guys once again! I cant live without this forum.

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[hokie66]

Congratulations on your new position.

 

[jmw]

Good luck.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[msucog]

i think you're wasting good effort. the company obviously has reservations about who they hire. they may not be prejudging you other than trying to answer the question as to your origins. however, they could happen to be kkk members and hate foreigners...i seriously doubt the latter is the case. certain folks do not "fit" certain positions. we once had a position that was only open (here in u.s.) to a particular origin (not american)...i suppose one might construe that as prejudging. that position was opened partially for the reason of having expertise with certain clients.

if you think they are negatively prejudging you and you think you do not have a fair shot, then don't work for them and move on. starting a lawsuit will ultimately use up lots of your time and money and is not a slam dumk in court...if they would've used a vulgar slur in that email, then i might feel differently. that's my thoughts for what it's worth.

 

[hokie66]

msucog,

Now I am going to give you a slap on the wrist. COEngineer has resolved his issue and moved on. There is no reason for you to chime in based only on the OP. You should read the whole thread if you want to comment.

 

[msucog]

i was trying to put a skin on the perspective since the situation i noted was somewhat rare from my experience. however, i did happen to skip the last line of the last response...i managed to read the entire thread and skipped the last line. (guess that's why the lawyers slip nasty language in the last paragraph of contractrs). sorry and congrats.