I received a text message from a stranger introducing herself by the first name and asking me for a short talk that night. I agreed. She called me the same evening and said : "My name is ..., and I was asked to talk to you. Tell me about yourself".
The conversation was in Russian. I told her about my background and education. She did not interrupt me, but stayed quite the whole time.
The next question was "How come you speak such a good Russian after living in US for so long?" I responded with: "Because it's my native language. Because I lived in Russia 27 years of my life before moving here, because I constantly read Russian books, watch Russian TV, follow Russian news, communicate with my family in Russia, visit Russia yearly etc".
The next question she asked was "Who do you know from Russian singers?" I gave her at least 6-7 names and did mention though that Russian show business doesn't let young and talented singers to be on TV much and Russian TV usually plays the same artists year after year.
Next she asked me if I have any questions, and I asked her what was the purpose of the interview - to check my Russian vocabulary or my knowledge of Russian singers? She said "both". So I mentioned that I am not being interviewed for the musical content but that I was happy to talk about whatever she wants.
That was it. The stranger on the phone asked me again if I have any questions and I said no. That was the end. 7 minutes of conversation.
2 days later, I received an email from the recruiter that I did not pass the TEST with stranger. Test? Thanks for letting me know what was it.
To say that I am shocked is an understatement. What did not I exactly pass? The knowledge of Russian? It would be the same as to say that the Earth changed it's shape into square suddenly. My knowledge of Singers? I gave at least 6 names, but if the interviewer wanted me to keep going I could continue for at least an hour. Anything else? But I was not asked anymore questions! So what kind of "test" exactly I did not pass?
I currently work for the company where I review Metadata and Russian videos 8 hours a day. I work around other 10 Russian speakers and my knowledge of Russian and Russia is the best in my company. Every single person can attest to that.
I wanted to share my big disappointment with Welocalize employee who was on the phone with me for 7 minutes, who clearly did not know how to interview another person but was apparently "great" in making a decisions. She did not have enough professionalism to even fully introduce herself.
Just some advice to hiring managers of the company - maybe pay better attention to your employees who are clearly LYING about the interview results for whatever reasons they may have. I hope "Stranger" from Sacramento ( her phone are code is from Sacramento) will face consequences for her lies.
I contacted CEO of the company and hopefully my concern will make a difference in his company.