I'm a foreign worker worker who graduated from a top school in Canada but now work in Silicon Valley. Interviewing in Canada was a nightmare, I was called back 3 times to interview more and more people for the same company, salaries were abysmally low and I felt a general cautious vibe / old school bureaucracy in hiring.
There are hundreds of thousands of wannabe tech immigrants stuck in the broken US immigration process who should be prime targets for Canadian Tech Companies. But the fact that these people would rather be abused by lifelong delays imposed by US govt. than instantly get a Canadian Residency and Citizenship is testament on how unattractive opportunities in Canada are.
It's not only reasonable but very crucial for you to ask the total number of outstanding shares. I have made it a point to ask every company this question and have gotten an answer out of them. Also, and this is me, I don't trust a word recruiters say. Not a single word. Ask to talk to the VP (or if possible CEO directly) if the recruiter is being cagey about it.
Of course, I definitely didn't seek to trivialize depression. Maybe the comment came across as too dismissive. I meant to apply in this particular context and not to the ailment as a whole.
I grew up in Delhi in a middle class family but I went to a school full of kids from Upper middle class to filthy rich families. The kids who came from old money families were actually fairly down-to-earth and some of them have worked hard to build their own businesses and startup (of course, having a cushion to fall back makes it easy to take risks but still, it still admirable to have the desire to do something on your own.) But then there were kids from the 'new money' families born out of the new economic boom. These were the ones who drove daddy's expensive cars, flirted with prostitution, drove through traffic stop lights (like it was an inconvenience for them) at full speed.
The thing is that this breed exists in every city in the world - what exacerbates the situation in Delhi is that they don't have any regard for law and order. Couple that with the relatively weak and easily bribed police force - you have these kids running over pedestrians and getting away with it, shooting waitresses in the head when they deny them drinks after closing time (as an extreme example)
I don't care about their depression problems, a good ass whooping can fix that, I care about the unsafe environment they create in the city.
2004 - I applied to do my Master's in the United States, I had great financial aid in a good school and great GRE scores.
Student Visa? Neither approved nor Denied : Placed in indefinite limbo because I have a muslim name which brought up some flag in their database. Btw. my surname is the 'John Smith' of muslim names.
I gave up and went to Canada to pursue my education at McGill. Fantastic experience. Eventually landed a job in US and got my H1B this time. Thought the visa issues were behind me. I was wrong.
2007 - My mom applied for a US visa to come visit me. Neither approved/nor denied (Section 221(g) - name check).
2008 - My dad and mom both applied for a US visa to come visit me.
Neither approved/nor denied - same reason.
2011 - After living in working in US for about 5 years and having gotten multiple visa stamps, I got to Vancouver to get my visa renewed. Placed under limbo again! Stayed in Vancouver for weeks before they 'cleared me'.
2012 - My mom applies again. Result? you guessed the answer. Visa limbo.
I'm facing another visa renewal soon and I'm prepared for another night-marish episode.
Oh yeah, forget about green card - the queue for my country has ensured that I'll be lucky to get it in this lifetime, pretty much screwing up my ability to take chances with starting my own start-up in the US.
The thing is that I really like living in this country, the work opportunities and its people. But the more I deal with the immigration system, the more un-welcomed and temporary I feel here.
There are hundreds of thousands of wannabe tech immigrants stuck in the broken US immigration process who should be prime targets for Canadian Tech Companies. But the fact that these people would rather be abused by lifelong delays imposed by US govt. than instantly get a Canadian Residency and Citizenship is testament on how unattractive opportunities in Canada are.