Recently applied for a position with Rishworth and after filling out their preliminary application the recruiter handling the contract outright denied it saying that their Chinese airline client has given them specific guidelines to follow when recruiting expats. She said that since Beijing Olympics certain expats from around the world are denied recruitment based on their country of birth regardless of the type of passport they are holding or their country of citizenship!
I am a US citizen and wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience with either Rishworth or Chinese.

 

Where were you born?

 

I have been applying with them for years and never heard a word. I was born in a foreign country as well i wonder if that is why they haven't ever even called me??

 

Without knowing specifics, it's difficult to say.....

However, having dealt with both Rishworth and the Chinese in the past, I can say firstly that the Chinese are perhaps, the most finicky of ALL Asian carriers and won't always reveal what they want or need!

Be aware that the hiring process for all Chinese carriers is almost the same as for Japanese. You will need to pass a Chinese medical screening which is pretty much the equivalent of an astronaut medical. Merely having an FAA Class I is NOT good enough and better beware if you have any waivers or limitations! Even if you have a perfect sim eval, pass the interview and tests, if you don't make their very narrow "band" for BP, cholesterol, BMI etc., too bad, you're done.

If you carefully read the job description and requirements for each position it will tell you clearly that they will accept candidates from those countries that have "diplomatic relations" with the PRC. That's pretty standard. Don't know about place of birth. They'd have to look at yr passport first to find that out - unless you have already volunteered that info in the on-line app.

Another thing. You will have to get a Chinese visa (and there are many types) if you have to travel to China as part of the interview process. Also, I would ONLY accept those contracts that pay in US$, NOT local currency! I shouldn't have to explain that one!

Finally, and this may not apply to you, but they do have age limits there for both CAs and FOs, so make sure you know that before you start racking up the visa and travel charges only to find out later that all that work was for nothing.

If you are working through an agency - which I presume you are - they should be providing you with a lot of this info up front. And you should be asking lots of Qs. Have a list drawn up and send an email or Skype them in AKL.

From what I've heard and my previous dealings w/Rishworth, they are OK but not the best agency out there. Parc and WASINC are better and the latter specialises in Chinese contracts.

Hope some of this helps your situation, whatever it is.

 

cretanblue your response was pretty much right on. Another thing worth mentioning is that when I emailed the Rishworth agent to provide evidence of the alleged list (a list of 50 or 60) or any written protocol between them and their Chinese client then she immediately called me on the phone as if she was afraid of letting the cat out of the bag! On the phone she told me she is unable to provide anything in black 'n white however she admitted that in the past there were some applicants who went through the whole crap and not making it and they were never told why they didn't. My question is that whether this list is created by Rishworth itself or is it some kind of a Chinese mandate on state or local level. I guess we'll never know.