I always get a laugh out of all those stupid "build your resume" or "10 interview questions to prepare for" type articles on Yahoo or whatever. First of all, I kind of wonder if there are people out there who actually think Yahoo is a good source for this type of information. Seriously, try reading one of those articles once, but don't do it with a mouth full of milk because you're likely to start guffawing all over your computer.
I was a darn good interviewer in Lima. I was turning down jobs left and right, and when I did take a job I made it a point to set the record for the largest contract ever awarded to a new employee. I've never spent the time interviewing in the US that I did in Lima, although I think some of the things I learned in Lima gave me bad habits for interviewing in the US.
You see folks, it's a whole different ballgame. Employers are looking for something totally different in Peru than in the US.
If you go onto Yahoo, most of the advice tells you to essentially grovel for some table scraps. I think that attitude is BS and it's much better to go in there and give the impression to your potential employers that they're going to be in BIG trouble if they let the competition get a hold of you. Obviously, that's not all that possible with many jobs that you're likely to be interviewing for, but that should be the ideal your striving towards.
In Peru, it's good to go in there like you own the place. You really have to develop that superior Pituco mentality. If you're Caucasian, that's in your favor in Peru (hey...I'm not saying it's right, it's just the way it is)--my friends used to call it "reverse racism" because Peruvians tend to treat you really well just for being white. I don't have any experience in how Peruvians treat people of other ethnicities.
The only problem I could potentially see is that business wear in Peru is very formal and Americans are used to dressing...as my wife puts it..."like slobs." You definitely have to wear a suit, tie and nice shoes when interviewing in Peru. Women should wear heels...again, that's the way it is, I didn't make the rules so don't look at me like that.
Every time I interviewed, I always put things in the context of what I would be making in Peru versus what I could be making in Peru and let them know I was willing to do them the favor and take the job because I wanted the experience. It's always nice when you're letting your prospective employer know that you should be making 3 times what they're paying you, it makes them treat you with the right amount of respect.
Oh, and be able to speak Spanish. This will help you not only in the interview, but when you're dealing with the workplace politics that are inevitably going to be stirred up by the massive contract and favorable treatment you're getting. Yeah, it can be unpleasant at times, but that's the price of being paid three times as much as everyone else.
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If someone is taking their employment advice from Yahoo they deserve to be relegated to a cubicle backwater and shackled to a computer from 9 to 5 doing essentially superfluous,"bullshit" busy work. Yea, that's the American Dream in 2013. Seriously, what's the "real" meaning of work in today's economy? During the Great Depression II-the Sequel most Americans, if they're fortunate to still have a job, have had to grovel like campesinos (peasants)justifying their very existence to their employers 24/7 or they're fired and kicked out on the street without notice. Job security in America these days is not predicated on skill or talent, but rather the ability to "kiss ass" and master the art or psychotics of office politics, you know, survival of the fittest or dog eat dog. When it comes to employment one thing Peru and America have in common is age discrimination. If you're over 40 and unemployed you're pretty much "shit out of luck" in terms of getting your career back on track unless you're willing to clean toilets, bus tables or be a greeter at Walmart. Here's the irony of it all. All the technology that we've so embraced, advocated and deified has now evolved to a point where it can pretty much keep the system "greased and running" without human beings. Simply, technology doesn't need us anymore. I'm reminded of HAL the computer in the movie "2001: a Space Odyssey" that evolves to a point where it takes over the space craft because it thinks the human astronauts are too stupid and untrustworthy to carry out the mission. Think that's just a science fiction nightmare? Step back and look how controlling and entrenched smartphones and Facebook have become in our daily lives. My God, whatever would we do if we couldn't text our friends an LOL, OMG or :)? Truth is, the end of work is coming and we're all going to have to find productive ways to occupy our time or we're going to turn into ravaging dogs chasing our tails. Now that's just my opinion and I could be wrong, but regardless, have a nice day and love the one you're with.
ReplyDeleteMr Dean's absolutely right.
ReplyDeletein Peru, if you're over forty and out of work, you're pretty much screwed unless you have a connection.There might be an exception, of course, if you're a white gringo and a native speaking American. Then they'll possibly scoop you up faster than free Hagen-Daz.
Actually,Mr Peru, I found your post very interesting My only caveat would be that job searching by a light skinned native speaking gringo in Peru might put you in a different category than other job seekers and invalidate some of the observations that you noted above.
However, I would like to underscore your point about Peruvians being pretty racist in that if you're light skinned, you'll generally be treated with a lot more respect and have things a lot easier than if you're a swarthy mestizo.
Hey Dean and Dr. Anonymous, here's the Today show link with the "nightmare in Peru" story, thoughts?
ReplyDeletehttp://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50585772
Just checked it out. OK, now we're getting at some factual evidence than lends credibility to the story. Hey, I always said I'd stand corrected if the story turns out to be 100% true. And the three do look like the photos of the people you posted from Carretas. I'm still amazed that there's been such a news "blackout" on this story. Why? The comments from both the American and Peruvian embassy official "seem" legitimate, but they're clearly making them based on face value or circumstantial evidence. I hope there's going to be more follow up. Again if the story is true I stand corrected and extend my heartfelt sympathies to the victims, but at the end of the day as unfortunate as this story may be, in terms of the bigger picture of the social upheaval going in Peru it's still the story of three financially well off young American tourists on safari who happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time and all hell broke loose. Shit happens.
ReplyDeleteI would think this MSNBC video report should open the story up to more investigation and scrutiny. My skepticism is reduced, but not 100% removed. The MSNBC video doesn't have the reporter going to the scene of the crime, interviewing the villagers and producing the document the Americans were supposedly forced to sign to gain their freedom, and I'm uncomfortable with the fact that the comments from both the America and Peruvian embassy officials seem based more on hearsay and not irrefutable fact. Hey Mr. Peru, like you I'm just an inquiring mind that just wants to know
ReplyDeleteIf that story is actually true, that's OK by me. I never stated a belief that the story was a fraud, only that we should be very skeptical about uncritically believing anything that passes as news by different media sources.I think it's generally a good policy to question everything and not to take anything at face value. Reporters are often quite lazy and shy away from any serious investigative reporting, and the veracity of news stories is often compromised by the financial interests of those who sponsor the news.Anyone who thinks that we get genuine unbiased news in the USA would profit immensely bey reading Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent.
ReplyDeleteNot wanting to get overly obsessed with this story, but playing devil's advocate just the same, why has this event not generated the kind of "buzz" that normally occurs when shit happens to Americans in foreign countries? I can't sight specific examples, but it sure seems that whenever something unfortunate happens to an American in a non-military capacity in some foreign land it's on the evening news or in the New York Times immediately. This story gets its first credible news coverage on MSNBC, a cable news network, 28 or so days after the fact. The interviewer apparently travels to Peru to conduct an interview with the three Americans, shows a photo or two and what looks like a "recreation" video of a truck racing down a road somewhere and then ends with the reporter taking statements from Peruvian and American embassy personnel who come across more apologetic and dumb founded than anything else. Closing shot is the Americans shaking hands with some Peruvian official and walking off into the sunset. I sure wouldn't call this video investigative reporting by any stretch of the imagination, its like MSNBC crafted it from bits and pieces of what's been available on blogs and Facebook. And Dr Anonymous is 100% correct, news reporting has morphed into a vehicle for entertainment purposes and generating obscene amounts of money - infotainment. My gut feeling is there's probably some truth to this story, but I don't think it happened exactly the way the three Americans described it. And to be fair, we really do need to hear the villagers side of the story. And I'm sorry, but damn it I still feel this whole thing reeks of a Hollywood screenplay in the making.
ReplyDeleteFact is: news IS entertainment and that's precisely as it's perceived by the moguls who control the media. I guarantee you, you can learn more about Peru here by reading Streets of Lima than by the crap that seconds as news on your TV screen. And in case you've wondered, the news media in Peru isn't any better than that in the USA, perhaps worse. Media outlets like El Copmercio serve primarily the oligarchs who control it, and they, in turn, serve the interests of foreign corporations that indirectly finance many of their advertisements.
ReplyDelete