An Odd Obstacle for Young Italian Job Seekers

March 12, 2008 · Filed Under Life in Italy · 6 Comments 

The Situation

OK, so you are young, Italian, from the south of Italy, have just finished struggling through a five year degree course which took seven or eight years and you have had the courage to move all the way up to Milan to do a Master in some business school or other. All in the hope of landing an internship (internship is ’stage’ in Italian), which may become a permanent job.

You have just about finished your Master and are doing the interview rounds. You have a degree mark or 100 or higher, possible ‘cum laude’, and have passed all the Master exams with flying colours. Everything looks positive.

Then you go to a few interviews only to find that you are not called back for a follow-up interview. You cannot understand why, all the questions asked seemed so normal. Friendly even. I mean they even asked about your boyfriend/girlfriend. That was maybe a little unusual, but, well, they do want to get to know you.

The Obstacle

Do you remember that odd, but seemingly innocent questioning concerning your boy/girlfriend? Well, perhaps it was not as innocent as it first appeared. Because, the interviewer was trying to establish whether your ’separation’ is likely to affect your work, presumably because the employer has had problems of this type in the past. And unless you answer satisfactorily, you may not be offered an internship, let alone a full time position. It appears that those from the south of Italy who are seeking work in the north are more likely to receive a grilling about relationships than those from the north.

Now, whereas this line of questioning may very well be considered illegal in the UK, in Italy such questions are quite legal and normal. However, these questions could be described as being more than a little discriminatory, even if, with the rigid Italian employment laws, companies do need to be very sure that they are not going to end up with deadwood. It is still very difficult to remove poorly performing employees in Italy, hence these investigations into such indirect personal matters.

The (possible) Solutions

You could simply lie, and say you have no boyfriend/girlfriend at the moment, but if they find out later, you could face problems, and these problems could prejudice your future career.

As an alternative, you could say that the relationship is not serious, that you are more than happy to work in north Italy and willing to move out of Italy if offered the opportunity. Many companies in Italy are well aware that many Italians are highly reluctant to move away from their places of origin for much more than a short time, and so they are often extremely content to find an Italian who is prepared to live permanently in another area of Italy, or even better, to travel regularly or move abroad.

Then again, you could be honest and let the company take you as you are, and risk not being offered an internship or a permanent position. Then at least you will know what kind of company you are dealing with.

If your boyfriend or girlfriend is in north Italy, either studying or working, make this very clear and you will be considered a lower risk.

Above all, be aware of the potential traps contained in questions about relationships and have an answer prepared. Occasionally such questions may simply be a way of monitoring your reaction to emotional issues and nothing more, but…. Better safe than sorry, as the old English saying goes.

One thing is certain though: it ain’t all that easy for young Italians to find a job.

OK, I guess this post should be in Italian, but those Italians who can understand it are potentially very good job candidates for multinational Italian or foreign companies. And knowing this might be helpful.

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Legislative Decree no. 25000001 of 7 March 2008 - a New Italian law

March 7, 2008 · Filed Under Funny · 7 Comments 

Section 1. Henceforth spoken and written use of reference to and inference to the word ‘old’ and the use of all synonyms of such word related concepts appearing in the Italian language and equivalent words which exist in any and all dialects employed by Italians are hereby declared illegal.

Section 2. Pursuant to the requirements of Section 1 herein of this Legislative Decree Rome shall be known forthwith as Italy’s new capital and Pompei shall be granted the status of ‘New Town’.

Section 3. In accordance with Section 1 hereto any and all words appearing in any and all Italian dictionaries and/or dictionaries concerning Italian dialects which make reference to the word ‘old’ synonyms of aforesaid word and dialectical equivalents of such word are to be removed.

Section 4. Use of word ‘old’ and the use of all synonyms of such word that appear in the Italian language and equivalent words which exist in any and all dialects employed by Italians shall be punishable by appearances on the newest version of ‘Big Brother’. Appearance is obligatory and mandatory. Any and all of those who refuse to appear on ‘Big Brother’ will be sentenced to prepare new election posters for all of Italy’s new politicians.

Section 5. With reference to Section 3 hereto above as aforementioned any and all of those found in possession of dictionaries and/or other reference sources electronic gas-powered or otherwise containing reference to the word ‘old’ synonyms of aforesaid word related concepts and dialectical equivalents of such word shall be burnt at the stake until nicely roasted and served with chips fries or there common equivalents.

Recently edited to remove any and all commas.

Recently edited to keep you reading.

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Rom or Romanian?

November 10, 2007 · Filed Under Italian news · 6 Comments 

As I wrote a few days back, Italy has taken measures to extradite European Union citizens who have been involved in criminal activities here. The Italian law enforcement spotlight has been shining heavily on those from Romania, and the police have been rounding up Romanians by the dozen in preparation for having them sent back to Romania.

I’ve noticed that the press here has been becoming a little confused, and it is evident that they are not really sure of the difference between Romanians and the ‘Rom’. Just to make matters more confusing, which indeed they are it has to be said, both Rom and Romanians come from Romania! Indeed, one may think that ‘Rom’ is a diminutive form of ‘Romanian’, but this is not the case.

Just in case someone was wondering, the ‘Rom’, who hail from Romania, are really a nomadic gypsy type population, whereas ‘Romanians’ are those from Romania, who, in the main, are not nomadic gypsies. In fact, the ‘real’ Romanians regard their ‘Rom’ counterparts as being something of an unwanted underclass, and Romanians do not really like to be associated with the ‘Rom’. I told you it was confusing.

It becomes worse. Both true, shall we say, Romanian illegal immigrants, and the Rom live in favella type encampments, found, as far as I believe, throughout Italy, but I’m not sure that both Rom and Romanians can be found living side by side in the same shanty towns. Whilst the Romanians are quite recent immigrants, many of the Rom have been in Italy for a long time.

Around Milan, the Rom, not the Romanians, are well organised and raise funds through busking, cleaning car windows, and begging. They, the Rom, are not averse to a little fund raising petty crime either, as anyone who has seen the groups of unkempt kids carrying newspapers and surrounding tourists in an attempt to remove wallets, cash and cameras, will know. I have seen these people in action, and while she was with our son, even my other half was approached, (nothing happened, Cristina is very streetwise) - but this incident illustrates that these little gangs don’t solely prey on tourists. Most travel guides contain warnings about these nasty little gangs. Well, these gangs are part of the Rom network.

‘True’, Romanians have become involved in petty, and more serious crime, but not as a result of falling in with the Rom, at least I do not believe so. In general Romanians come to Italy in search of a better life, whereas the Rom just come here to live and operate as they always have done, in other words, as gypsies. As you may appreciate, distinguishing between these two groups that have the same places of origin can be a little mind boggling at times. Hence the confusion in the some of the Italian press.

The enforcers of law and order on the other hand, are not attempting to differentiate between Rom and Romanians, and are doing their level best to use the recent government initiative to round up and send home both Rom and Romanians. Both are now personae non gratae as far as the Italian authorities are concerned.

With regard to Italians in general, I think it would be true to say that both Rom and Romanians will not be missed particularly. Although this whole thing must be making the lives of the honest established Romanians quite difficult.

We shall see how long this extradition initiative endures, but, as is often the case here, the enthusiasm, if you can call it that, of the authorities will probably wane in a few months time, and it is probable that both Rom and Romanians will creep back into Italy. Back to square one.

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