The Interview

Samir had printed forty-seven questions.

He had found them on websites with names like Ace Your Interview and Top 50 Questions Canadian Employers Ask, and he had typed an answer to every single one. The pages were held together with a large black clip, and he had read them so many times that the corners were soft.

Tell me about yourself.

What is your greatest strength?

Describe a time when you had a conflict with a colleague.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

For ten years, Samir had been the supervisor of a large warehouse in his home country. He had managed forty workers, three shifts and a fleet of forklifts. He knew how to plan a delivery schedule for a thousand orders a day in his sleep. But in Canada, for eighteen months, he had been working nights stacking boxes at a distribution centre in Mississauga, because nobody seemed to believe any of that.

Now, finally, a logistics company in Brampton had invited him for an interview. For a supervisor position.

His wife, Leila, had ironed his shirt twice. His daughter, who was nine, had tested him on the questions every evening for a week, reading them out in a very serious voice while eating cereal.

"Where do you see yourself in five years, Daddy?"

"In five years, I see myself as an operations manager, having contributed to the growth of the company—"

"You said 'contributed' yesterday too."

"It's a good word."

"It's a boring word," said his daughter.