06/25/04

The Bank of Montreal, probably one of the most pathetic companies in existence.

When I first started looking for work in the IT industry, I was having a hard time getting noticed. I had been a teacher for a number of years and had university degrees in mathematics, psychology and education but no experience to go along with my IT diploma. A friend suggested I contact the Bank of Montreal because they were looking to hire people from minorities. I had applied for jobs there but never got a reply so I wondered if my disability would make a difference. I sent my resume along with a letter explaining about my disability and it only took one day for someone to get back to me. The woman who became my contact there was very nice and seemed to have a genuine desire to help me find work with the bank. She arranged for a few interviews for me but nothing worked out. One project manager even told me that I wasn't hired because I had such a diverse background that they were afraid they would train me and then I would leave for more money. Then one day my contact called me and told me she had a great job for me. The only problem was it did not start until October and this was only the last week in August. So she made a suggestion. The bank had a program funded by the government where they hired people with disabilities who needed to be integrated into the system. The people would get experience but only get paid a little more than minimum wage. Now I have a disability but not to the extent that I needed something like this but she assured me that it was only for one month and it would give everyone a chance to see if I was a good fit for the job. At the start of the third week, I went to my project manager to discuss things. I was a bit concerned because I didn't feel I was being challenged enough to be able to make a judgment on whether I was a good fit for the job or not. I told here that I couldn't see how she was going to decide if I would be hired for the job at the start of the next month. She looked at me with a very strange look and asked me what I was talking about. She told me she thought I was going to be on the program for three months. I went back to my contact and she denied ever telling me that it would only be for one month. She pointed out that the contracts were usually for six months and I should be happy that they only wanted me to do it for three. So I went back to my project manager, explained the situation to her and told her I was quitting. She looked at me and asked if I had anything else, as if to say that, since I couldn't get anything else, I may as well stay there. I looked her straight in the eyes and told her that I would rather sleep on the street than let the bank continue to take advantage of me. I put in a complaint with the program coordinators and was told that what the bank did was wrong but there was nothing to stop them from doing it. This woman even told me that the bank had to fill a certain number of spots in the program every year or they would lose funding for it. So what happened was I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was lied to so the bank could fill a quota.

Well, there is a happy ending. The next week I got a call from a company in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and they flew me there to work. I find it interesting that Canadian companies only look at what you have done but European companies look at what you can do. My education means nothing here but everything in Europe.

Needless to say, I will never do any kind of business with the Bank of Montreal again.