First name discrimination

Ok here is my dilema, I am trying to apply for jobs but getting very few call backs (my resume always gets complimented) . I am starting to think that the reason is my first name sounds Middle Eastern and it does not specify what sex I am. I was not born in the Middle East and I have no Middle Eastern blood. Everybody has known me by my first name all my life and I am wondering HR people look at my name and pre-judge me and my resume ends up in the trash. I have a middle name that when it's translated is very English sounding name and it makes it clear what sex I am. I am wondering if I should start using my middle name on my resumes even thou nobody except my family knows it. Any thoughts?

Example(not my names):
Akmal and Michael

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Comments

volfkhat

NetworkNewb wrote: »

You know know what he meant by snowflake... You know like Generation Snowflake

Oh Wow... i am officially an Old fart.
Had no idea of this term.
lol

mbarrett wrote: »

In my own experience, some Asians (Koreans, in particular) use a more Western-sounding name in place of their legal first name when conducting business, etc in the US. I never heard anybody complain about it, that's just the way it is. Everybody has their own reason - you just do what you gotta do and move on.

Exactly.
or, for instance, whenever i call [insert Company X's] customer support; the voice on the phone with often have a noticeably Foreign accent; but he will insist that his name is Tom.

Yeah, right.

So... Corporations can play "games with names" when it's convenient for them.
But when Achmed or Prakash or Muhammad wants to play the same game.....

Totally UNACCEPTABLE.

Chinook

One only needs to look around at the current climate to realize yes it may affect you. Use the Americanized version of your name.

mbarrett

volfkhat wrote: »

So... Corporations can play "games with names" when it's convenient for them.
But when Achmed or Prakash or Muhammad wants to play the same game.....

Totally UNACCEPTABLE.

It's the "Golden Rule", he who has the gold makes the rules, as the saying goes.

gespenstern

Yes, there's a measurable discrimination against non-western sounding names: Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination

Which agrees with common sense, so no surprise here.

Now, why is this happening? Why is it common sense?

The root cause is it takes time and effort to know a person well enough to be capable of measuring this person's skills and personal traits with some precision. This involves putting a person to some convoluted tests that take time and cost money, etc. During a hiring process it's usual that there's no enough time to do that. They need to siphon tons of resumes with minimal effort and therefore they have to rely on really shallow and superficial criteria, such as race, country of origin, etc.

Now, why use this criteria at all? Does skin color, race or country of origin really matter and determine in any way a candidate's potential performance? If we decide to rely on statistical data as opposed to the culture of political correctness we inevitably will have to conclude that it matters.

Work performance is a composite parameter consisting of many factors, such as durability, intelligence, loyalty, problem solving skills, knowledge, tendency of criminal behavior etc. Some are less and some are more measurable. If we just take criminal behavior and check the stats we will immediately see a big difference between different races, etc. These are hard facts and should be taken into consideration. Even if someone will argue that these differences aren't based on reality and differences between average people of different races/origins/whatever don't exist, they still exist in perception of general population and it is perception of reality and not reality itself what drives anyone's decision making process. This world is unjust in the first place and one shouldn't expect much justice in his life.

I personally have a russian sounding name (although I'm not exactly russian) and I have to deal with consequences. General perception of russians in western world is they are rather violent, dangerous, crazy, stubborn and not loyal. It doesn't matter much if it is really so or not. It is how they are perceived in the western world. Would you rather trust a russian guy or let's say a british or french guy to watch over something precious, like your company, provided that you do not have time or other resources to know each candidate better than this? Some may prefer russians, but many will stick with folks of either british or french origin.

This is the cause BTW why people trust (to some degree) your certs and education papers. It is well known that you could be pretty dumb but able to pass certain certs and get through college/university and by itself it doesn't prove that your are actually capable of getting job done. But for your potential employers it is enough to make the first approximation judgment about you because they don't have time and other resources to test your knowledge and skills to full extent and therefore they have to judge superficially, at least, at first.

So one should be aware that it's harder to deceive people in a long run. You may change your name to the one that sounds more western, or even more specifically more british-style as opposed to black, eastern european, african, irish or whoever "need not apply" for today and get more calls. But if you don't meet expectations during a phone interview or in person interview or later on they'll find a way to get rid of you. The world is a cruel place, you either accommodate or end up on the bottom.

But if you feel that you are better than average, a hard worker and actually people tend to underestimate your skills, it could be a good strategy to change a name to more western-like because later on, when people will know you better, they will be judging you by your achievements as opposed to judging by superficial things like name, country of origin or whatever else. That's kinda fake it till you make it approach. But "make it" part here is crucial because if you fake it but don't make it -- they will **** you rather sooner than later.

Remedymp

Do NOT change your name. Go to a company that will be more accepting of you. Where I work, foreigners are the majority and americans are the minority and although the yanks are usually the ones to gripe, they can go work somewhere else if they don't like it.