Posted under Career Management, Diversity, Job Search, Resumes, Women on July 27th, 2008
Do you have an “ethnic”-sounding name? Do you suspect you may be discriminated against when submitting your resume to employers? If so, have you tried to come up with a strategy to prevent this from happening again?
As a resume writer and career coach, some clients ask me how to handle their “ethnic”-sounding names on their resumes. “Is it ok to use initials only?” “Should I include or omit academic or volunteer affiliations that indicate ethnicity?”
There is no hard and fast answer and I hear both sides of the argument from job seekers. Some refuse to “hide” their names as they wouldn’t want to work for a company that is willing to discriminate against them based on their names – and thus their backgrounds.
Others say they want to make it through that first round to be able to judge for themselves if they’d be interested in the organization. After all, the actions of an HR manager or recruiter making these selections are not necessarily representative of an overall discriminatory sentiment within the company.
Also, what may be perceived as discrimination could be a hiring person’s preference to call back a candidate with an easy-to-pronounce name. This way, the recruiter or HR person saves him/herself the embarrassment of mispronunciation.
This article (The Regional Economist, 2006), details several studies that have been conducted on the topic and shows contradictory, even inconclusive, outcomes.
The flip side of the coin is applying with an organization you know is trying to diversify when you actually fit their profile. This article gives some tips on how to capitalize on your ethnicity or gender.
In another part of the world, in the Netherlands, temp agency Manpower and the city of Nijmegen performed two experiments last year with “anonymous applications” to see if this would increase the employability of, mainly, the Muslim population. The tests have been halted as all tests indicated this was not the case. If these experiments had been successful, the measure would have been implemented for all government applications.
While we’re on another continent, and in case you’d like to get very technical, this article focuses on discrimination in the Swedish labor market against candidates with an Arabic name.
In the end, it is up to the candidate to determine what he or she is comfortable with when it comes to masking or emphasizing ethnicity. For most people, this will be based on a combination of their convictions, their own experiences in the job market, and possibly the experiences of relatives and friends. There is no right or wrong in deciding how to deal with it.
If you do want to disguise your ethnicity, and it’s mainly your first name that sounds “ethnic,” consider these options:
- Use initials only – followed by your last name.
- Use your first initial and your middle name in full if that one is not “ethnic” – followed by your last name.
- Shorten your first name if it’s very long and “ethnic” (as in some African or Indian names) – but only if that results in something that makes sense as a name.
- Use your “nickname” your peers, friends, colleagues, etc. consistently use for you. This works only if your nickname is an actual name, not something goofy.
Here are a few additional ideas on how to maximize your identity on paper.
Something I also wonder is whether having a black presidential candidate with a very “ethnic” name will have an effect on people’s perceptions of “ethnic” names – and with that, these people’s capabilities. Do you think it will?
What is your personal experience with having an ethnic name and your job transition? Have you tried masking it? Or would you never do this?
Alternatively, have you emphasized your ethnicity or gender by using your name and affiliations when you thought it might be to your benefit?
Share you experiences and comments with us!
Posted by Ilona Vanderwoude
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LaChish on 10 Aug 2008 at 6:46 pm #
Great blog!
In doing an experiment, I would like to know what gender and ethnicity you associate with my name.
LaChish
Thank you.
IVanderwoude on 13 Aug 2008 at 2:05 pm #
Dear LaChish,
Thank you!
My immediate association with your name was 1- female (because of the “La”-part) and 2- African-American.
However, I am not so sure about the African-American part. There is something about it that has me thinking your name might have a different origin altogether. This, of course, in part because you asked, which makes me think the most obvious answer is probably not it.
I’m very curious now to hear what it is. Will you reveal the answer? : )
Ilona
LaChish on 14 Aug 2008 at 10:05 am #
Dear Ilona,
Thank you for helping me with my experiment. I really enjoyed reading your response.
Your association with my name being female is correct. I agree that the “La” part is a giveaway. As for my full name LaChish, it has a biblical origin. Regarding ethnicity, I am Jamaican-American (born in Jamaica, raised in America).
As for my “ethnic”-sounding name, I do suspect that discrimination may exist when I submit a resume to an employer. Whether I am perceived to be African-American or another ethnicity or the hiring recruiter has difficulty pronouncing my name, I believe that my name might be a factor when considering whether or not to call for an interview. With this in mind, I have used the initials only strategy as well as emphasized my ethnicity and gender when I thought it might be beneficial.
While I would absolutely not want to work for an organization with discriminatory practices, I do realize that the actions of a particular HR manager are not the overall sentiment within the company. Therefore, I do what I believe is necessary to get an interview so that I can decide if I would be interested in the company.
Regarding your question about whether a black presidential candidate will have an effect on people’s perceptions of ethnic names and the capabilities of the people, I think it will.
Once again, thank you.
LaChish
Ilona Vanderwoude on 17 Aug 2008 at 7:22 am #
Dear LaChish,
Thanks for the insight into the background of your name and yourself. Very interesting! I did google your name after I posted my last comment and found the biblical references with much emphasis on the place LaChish in Israel. So then I started thinking you might either be Israeli or Jewish.
Just curious: did you notice a difference in responses when you used your initials only when you applied to positions? Or did you do it on a scale too small to tell whether it made a difference?
Ilona Vanderwoude
Karen Swim on 17 Aug 2008 at 7:51 pm #
Ilona, thank you for posting about a topic that so few are willing to discuss. It is my hope that these types of discussions will make us aware of our biases and lead us to broaden our perspective. My African American nephew, Walik was told by a teacher (he was 8 at the time) that he would never be successful in life because of his ethnic name. She indicated this in class in what she thought was an enlightening discussion about this very topic you are discussing. My brother and wife (and me) were of course outraged. Bias exists in this country and others but I hope that we can work to change that and learn to judge on actions not names. Thank you for introducing this very important discussion.
LaChish on 20 Aug 2008 at 11:59 am #
Dear Ilona,
As a matter of fact, I did notice a really big difference in responses when I used my initials only. I got calls and emails shortly after submitting resumes and scheduled interviews rather quickly.
While I wish I did not have to employ such a strategy to get these responses, I am happy that it opened doors of opportunities for me to discuss my knowledge, skills and abilities. Interviewers are typically impressed by my KSA’s along with my overall credentials and personality, which I believe is all that should matter…not my ethnic name or background.
Thanks again for your help.
LaChish
Ilona Vanderwoude on 21 Aug 2008 at 4:20 pm #
Hi LaChish,
Very interesting and true – and I am glad to hear you have been able to find a positive way to deal with the whole situation!
All best wishes,
Ilona
Ali Kirk Mashayekhi on 23 Feb 2009 at 5:47 pm #
I am a lawyer and a teacher and been discriminated against in “Middle America” based on my name for over 15 years. I have lived in Orlando, Florida and now Columbus, Ohio. Orlando was by far worse than Columbus. I have lost many opportunities just because of my name.
I grew up in L.A. and never experienced discrimination. I don’t believe that “Middle America” is as advanced as the east and west coast and it is not getting better.
Can anyone guess my heritage?
Ilona on 13 Mar 2009 at 8:08 am #
Dear Ali,
Thanks for your comment and apologies for my late reply.
I am not surprised that you received different treatment in L.A. and the on the east coast vs. in middle America.
If I were to guess… “Ali” obviously has a muslim flavor, but as far as ethnicity, I’m looking at your last name. First thought: middle eastern. Am I close?
Ilona
Lady on 15 Mar 2009 at 8:00 pm #
I actually reverted to Islam about two years ago and I’ve been wanting to change my name to an Arabic name, I am also getting married to a guy with an obvious Muslim last name.
I find America now foolish to judge a person by their name before meeting them. Might I also say I read an article a few moments ago and it listed my “American/English” name to mean “bossy” therefore I won’t get hired? I find that extremely amusing. A name is a name, why should people change their names because morons hiring don’t know what’s called MEETING A PERSON before judging.
I do not care whether they think my name is “stupid” or “not good enough” for the American job, I’m changing it anyway, first and last name Arabic. That’s what it should be, and that’s how it should be.
Ilona Vanderwoude, MRW on 08 Aug 2009 at 6:02 pm #
Dear Lady,
As you posted your comment quite a while ago, I was wondering if you indeed changed your name (first and last) and whether you’ve been in a job search. If so, I’d be very interested in hearing if you noticed a difference with your – I presume – American-sounding name.
Few people are in a position of changing both their first and last names, so it would be an interesting experiment of sorts.
Also, following up to my original blog post from last year… here is a recent article referring to a test done in Canada. It finds that job seekers with English-sounding names received 40% more interviews than people with foreign-sounding names -but with the exact same resume! Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/lfs8yk
Ilona
sandrar on 10 Sep 2009 at 6:19 pm #
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
Jishot Prasad on 09 Oct 2009 at 10:03 am #
My name’s Jipshot, you think anyone would hire me as an honest basketball player???
SONIA on 22 Nov 2009 at 5:20 pm #
Hi guys,
I was kind of dissapointed to read that this article only gave suggestions on how to work around your FIRST name. What about LAST name. Mine is PADILLA and actually my husband’s is CASTRO. Reason I have not changed to my husband’s last name is JUST because of this…discrimination on getting hired. Any ideas to go around the LAST name?
Cassandra on 03 Dec 2009 at 5:52 pm #
I am writing an paper for my Critical Thinking class that asks you to research an ethical issue that may arise in your chosen career. My future career lays in HR and Administration. I have been interested in names and am a self proclaimed “name nerd”, so I jumped right into name discrimination during the hiring process. I have found that, unsurprisingly, it is common that people with names that are associated with the African American community are often discriminated against based solely on their name. If 2 equal resumes are presented to an HR manager for review, it is more likely that the one with a more “white” sounding name is called back for an interview than the one with a more ethnic sounding name. I was wondering if you had any kinks to studies done that will help drive home my point. I have found a few, but I know there has to be more. Thank you for your time and consideration.
– Cassandra