This article on CBC.ca today caught my attention, as I am often responsible for selection and scheduling interviews of applicants for my workplace. This article talks of the difficulties job seekers with foreign-sounding names may have in obtaining interviews in the Canadian job market.

Depressing, but hardly surprising. All one has to do in order to find evidence of rampant racism in Canada is read through the comments on any given article on that (or any other) news website involving an immigrant or person of visible minority.

I read one recently in which three teenagers beat a woman in her 50s at a bus stop in Montreal. The comments therein were overwhelmingly of a racist/anti-immigration nature, in spite of the fact that said article never once mentioned the race or ethnic group of the perpetrators.

(Interestingly enough, the perpetrators turned out to be three white boys, but I'm sure the racist commenters will blame the "bad influence" of their immigrant neighbors. If you read through the comments, you'll see that this bit of info was edited out later from the article, so that people could continue assuming the assailants were black kids.)

But, I digress. Let's get back to discussing the UBC findings.

Hopefully, further studies will discover that much of the discrimination based on names is unintentional. Perhaps awareness will cut down on some of it, as employers conscientiously become more inclusive. In spite of all the evidence of racism I see, I continue to believe that with every decade Canada becomes more inclusive and that the conscious efforts of anyone who fights to be more accepting makes a difference.

In the meantime, folks applying for jobs via Monster and other job hunting sites can always use the "keep contact information confidential" option, in which employers cannot see names or contact information until they have decided they're interested in contacting the individual for an interview. That option might turn out to be a great equalizer in the job market.

The article also states: "The study also found employers preferred Canadian work experience over Canadian education.

For resumés with foreign names and education, call backs nearly doubled when the applicant had held one previous job in Canada."

This is something I understand, and may be not as related to race as one might initially think when reading this article. After all, I see plenty of resumés from people in English-speaking countries as well as those not. Verifying work experience in other countries can be a serious obstacle. Checking references from overseas employers can be expensive and awkward, as overseas telephone rates are costly and most people don't have a good working knowledge of what time it might be in Wales if it's 1pm in Toronto.

So what do we do, as employers, when we have a great applicant whose interview has gone well, but whose references will be difficult to check because they're on the other side of the world? Doesn't everyone deserve a chance? How can a new immigrant in Canada get a job without having had a job in Canada?

As much as I am a fan of diligently checking applicant's references, it's far smarter to base your acceptance or rejection of an applicant based on the interview than a reference. If you've ever called a lot of references, you'll know that you'd be hard pressed to find someone using an individual who will say anything negative about the applicant's work history as a reference. References are useful to verify details, but your experience and impressions of the individual are a far more important criteria to make a hiring decision on than anything a reference might say.

I will accept letters of reference from other countries, provided I can contact the writer of said letter via email and ask a few pertinent questions. I've also found that many employers from larger companies in other countries are happy to call you, if the cost of the call is of a concern and a time can be scheduled to talk. Live chat with previous employers over internet is also an unconventional, but useful, option.

We have a responsibility to do our part, as employers, to make it possible for a committed individual to get that first job in Canada. If you're an employer, and your applicant really seems the right person for the job, it's up to you to work with that person and find a way to make it possible. It's worth it to work a little harder to have the right employee, and it feels fantastic to know you've helped someone get a start here.