Invisible Barriers: Job Interviews, Culture, and the Immigrant Experience

Introduction
Sheng, an immigrant from China, struggles with the job interview process in Canada despite
being well qualified for solar engineering jobs. Cultural differences may impact his interview
expectations, resulting in misunderstandings, impaired communication, and
under-performance. He was convinced that HR manager at Innovation Solar Technology Inc.
would not be calling back. It was his fifth job interview with a solar energy firm in 3 weeks
and all of them had ended similarly. But he was not sure why.

Sheng was starting to have second thoughts concerning his choice to emigrate from China to
Canada. Sheng immigrated to Vancouver from Beijing 20 months earlier, with credentials as
a solar engineer. Solar engineers design and develop solar cell technologies and are in high
demand for private companies in the growing green energy market. He had worked for a
prestigious government-sponsored Chinese solar company for 6 years. He had been accepted
for immigration under a competitive points-based system designed to select people with job
skills needed in Canada. Due to his combined education, job experience in engineering and
green technology, and fluency in English, he had been considered a good candidate. Yet
Sheng was ill prepared for the employment challenges he faced upon arrival.

Canadian Challenges
Engineering is a licensed profession in Canada. However, after Sheng arrived in Canada he
had discovered it would take well over a year for his engineering credentials to be recognized.
He had to take courses at the local university before he could be certified to practice in
Canada. Until he was certified, he could not work in his field. While he took the required
courses, Sheng took on a series of temporary jobs such as packing orders in warehouses and
cleaning offices. He further improved his English fluency. Finally, with his credentials
recognized and his language skills honed, he was eager to get back to his real career.

Sheng found it easy to get interviews due to his skills. But in the interviews things seldom
went well. At his most recent interview with Innovation Solar Technology Inc., the
interviewer asked his job experience. She wanted to know about his specific achievements as
a solar engineer in China. Sheng knew it would be rude to brag about how quickly he had
been promoted; instead, he talked about the team he had worked on. The entire team had
reengineered processes in a manner that had increased solar cell energy productivity by 9.4%.
The interviewer had not seemed as impressed by their achievement as Sheng thought she
would be, although he could not be sure since he found her body language somewhat hard to
read. He wondered, since she was in HR not engineering, if she had the technical expertise to
understand how significant the 9.4% improvement had been.

The HR manager then asked about Sheng’s personal interests. He did not mention skiing,
playing soccer and his volunteer works, instead telling her he liked to stay focused on work.
He didn’t know how to respond when she followed up by asking about what he did for stress
management, so he said he didn’t need any. That way she would know he was mentally

SMO206 Case Study

healthy and ready to work. The interview moved on.

Later the interviewer asked Sheng what he would do if he noticed a mistake in the open
circuit voltage, short circuit current, or maximum power point calculations related to a solar
project installation being managed by someone else. This question concerned Sheng deeply.
Didn’t they hire competent engineers to perform calculations and able managers to oversee
such projects? It seemed a strange thing to ask, but Sheng reiterated how important it was to
support coworkers. The mistake, if not crucial, could be ignored in order to save face. After
this answer the interviewer’s body language indicated that she had lost interest in him; she
turned away.

The Aha Moment: Problem Identification

Cross-cultural communication expert Geert Hofstede has demonstrated through survey-based
research that countries have different cultural values that influence business practices. The
Hofstede Centre website (https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/) provides
country comparisons. Another, very similar, assessment of cultural values differences was
done by the GLOBE group, with largely the same results (House et al., 2004). Sheng used
these reports to compare the cultural values that are most common in Canada with the most
common values in China. He began to have some ideas about why his interviews were going
poorly, and he jotted down interview questions from his early interviews to see if he was
correct.

After studying the questions through the lens of cultural values, he had an idea how he could
lessen interview issues for himself in the short term. Sheng even had some ideas that could
help HR reduce related problems over time. After all, other highly valuable, skilled
immigrants were probably also being overlooked for similar reasons. His plan would require
him to get hired into an organization and develop some influence with HR such that they
would listen to him—but once that goal was reached, he knew what to do.

Discussion Questions
1. Explain the issues Sheng is struggling with in his interviews. Describe the expectations,
assumptions, and communication barriers that may relate to cultural value differences.
2. Other than adjusting the interview questions themselves, what steps could HR take to
minimize the potential for cross-cultural confusion and associated under-performance in
interviews?
3. What could Sheng himself do differently in interviews to minimize the opportunities for
cross-cultural confusion?
4. List objective selection tools (other than an interview) that offer appropriate, valid, and
reliable approaches for selecting qualified international candidates for the position in the job
description.

SMO206 Case Study

 Appendix A. Job Advert With Description

Job: Solar Energy Systems Engineer

Main Duties:
 Conduct site audits to capture structural and electrical information for use in the design
of residential and commercial solar power systems.
 Design photovoltaic (PV) or solar thermal systems, including components, for residential
and commercial buildings.
 Create electrical single-line diagrams, panel schedules, or connection diagrams for solar
electric systems, using computer-aided design (CAD) software.
 Perform thermal, stress, or cost reduction analyses for solar systems.
 Maintain records of solar systems proposed, selected, and installed.
 Provide technical direction or support to installation teams during installation, testing,
and performance monitoring
 Provide reports regarding expected labour needs for upcoming projects to sales personnel,
solar installers, and senior management on a quarterly basis.

Qualifications:
 Professional Engineer designation. Membership must be active and in good standing.
 Proven knowledge of solar technologies.
 Proficient using CAD software.
 A minimum of 5 years’ experience working in solar technology with a proven success
record.
 Able to work both independently and in a team setting.
 Demonstrated proficiency in site evaluation in residential and commercial settings.
 A driver’s license (for travel to site inspections).
 Demonstrated proficiency in electronic/digital record keeping.
 The proven ability to produce easily understood, executive levels written reports,
including graphics.
 The proven ability to develop installation guidelines that are appropriate and reflect best
practices in safety programming.

In addition, the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following:

 Problem-solving skill.
 The ability to coordinate effectively and respectfully with others in order to complete job
tasks.
 The ability to stay current and informed about emerging technological innovations.

This is a fulltime job reporting to the director of engineering. Working hours are flexible.
Some evening and weekend work may occasionally be necessary to avoid having site audits
disrupt commercial activities. Salary is negotiable based on experience and full benefits are
provided.
 Appendix B. Interview Questions
1. Tell me about some of your previous work experiences and how they have prepared you
for this job.
2. During your time working as a solar engineer what achievements are you most proud of?
3. Assume clients have requested solar roof panels that need to meet all the needs of their
household. Outline the process required to assess a residential home’s solar power potential.
What steps will you take, in which order?
4. What do you do to keep current on emerging technologies in the solar industry?
5. Tell me about a time you had to create a new installation or safety policy or substantially
modify an existing one. How did you identify the need for change and how did you go about
determining what the new policy should be?
6. What would you do if a sales representative working for our company did not respond to
multiple requests to book an appointment for a site audit with their prospect?
7. How would other people describe your CAD skills? What about your written
communication skills?
8. What are your personal interests? What do you enjoy doing during your free time?
9. How do you manage stress?