Monday, November 26, 2007

Fall down, get up, fall down...

Alas, Mr. O didn't get the great job after all. It came down to him and one other candidate, and the other guy got it. Although this sucks for multiple reasons, I am somehow grateful that he didn't get it because he wasn't the right guy, rather than because of the visa BS involved. However, the woman who interviewed him was apparently very impressed, and has passed his name on to several other potential employers. He already has another second interview this week.

To make matters worse, Mr. O saw an email from his current employer not intended for his eyes, which sorta kinda said that staff in other locations doing the same job were being paid $6 more an hour. Since his probation had just ended, he talked to his superior about a potential raise, and got a lame answer about it "not being in the business plan." All of which makes it that much harder to stay and work when he could be doing something more interesting for more money elsewhere.

And of course, this is where it really gets complicated: he gets a call from a woman in Stockholm looking for talent to staff a new company, and is he coming to Europe any time soon and would he like an interview? And does he have a family, because they would pay to relocate? Etc. etc. Maybe it's just the winter blahs, but Stockholm sounds pretty fun right now. We could quit a few months early, do a cross-Canada tour for two months, and then head on home on someone else's tab. Mr. O says This is more like it.

So that's the current fantasy. As a consolation prize, his employer has agreed to let Mr. O work from home, so he'll have more time for other things, maybe a pro bono project to keep his portfolio fresh, some music stuff, playing with the cat, whatever. I'm hoping that this, coupled with a steady-enough stream of interviews and other interest from local agencies, will carry us through to the new year career-wise.

To be fair, he's feeling much more pragmatic about the whole thing lately. There was a little bit of doom and gloom last week, and I have to agree that it would have been much easier to do this kind of thing at 25, like I did, than at 30, like he is. But to take off for Scandinavia after all of four months would be like cheating, worse, it would be a pathetic defeat. And so we take small victories and go from there.

3 comments:

Chrisinha said...

DON'T GO!

I think it will all work out. I say, the less you have to deal with immigration BS the better. I'm sure that looking like a hot prospect will collide with the visa.

that SUCKS about the $6. I am reading that socialist Finnish novel, about the landowners living off the backs of their tenants, and getting more and more incensed at having to carry significant workload for advisors who make $10 to 30 K more per year than me, but put in half as much effort and time. it's frustrating. I say we hold a meeting for Finnish workers to rise up in Canada [shaking my fist in the air]...

Karri said...

Here's a bit of good news: my application has now officially entered the CIC system. It's currently "in process".

"We received your application for permanent residence on October 29, 2007.

We started processing your application on November 26, 2007."

Chrisinha said...

i would consider that a fast processing time.