These job seekers think their unusual names are getting in the way of their job search.
Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- For job hunters, that very first line on your résumé can influence potential employers. Just ask Glenn Miller.
Miller, 56, was out of work for about four months earlier in the year. On every interview he went on, the senior software engineer had to field jokes about his namesake, the great American jazz musician.
"They say, where's your band? And I say, they're all dead."
Even though Miller became adept at responding with witty one-liners, "it changes the tenor of the interview to have that opening dialog ... I think it makes people not take me seriously," he admitted.
For other job seekers, it's no laughing matter.
Colleen Rzucidlo, 27, has been actively looking for a public relations job for about nine months, but believes her hard-to-pronounce surname has hurt her chances of landing a position.
"While I certainly can't prove it, I often wonder if my last name hinders me when it comes to the job search process," she said. "Nobody knows how to say it -- that's a turn off. If they can't say my name they are not going to bother reading my résumé."
Of course, considering someone's name as part of the decision-making process is not only wrong but illegal, says San Diego State University Human Resources Professor Christine Probett. "Discrimination of those sorts are well protected under the law," she said.
But that doesn't mean it's not happening.
For example, résumés with white-sounding names have a 50% greater chance of receiving a callback when compared to those with African American names, according to a study performed for the National Bureau of Economic Research by the University of Chicago's Marianne Bertrand and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sendhil Mullaina.
Many job seekers agree. Nakores Sameita, 26, believes her ethnic-sounding name works against her. The former credit analyst for Chrysler was laid off in June and recently decided to go back to school for a masters in finance because her job search has been fruitless.
Hiring managers often question her immigration status, Sameita said. "I've had a couple of interviews and the first thing they mention is my name and ask me where I'm from," says the Kansas City resident, originally from Kenya. "Even though I'm a citizen it puts me at a disadvantage," she said.
Recruiters say that an applicant's name has no bearing on their chances of getting hired, and many states require employers to establish and enforce anti-discrimination policies.
"As a recruiter, the name is usually the last thing I look at," said Thad Schiele. "My job is to get the hiring manager the best candidates for a position."
But cynics suggest that if résumés can be scanned for appropriate terms and keywords, then someone's name could also play a role in the initial screening process, whether consciously or unconsciously.
While hiring managers may not intend to discriminate a candidate based on a name or ethnicity, the name could still signal something about the applicant's skills or background that is relevant to the job.
Duram Gallegos, 25, believes that potential employers call him assuming he speaks fluent Spanish because of his name.
Gallegos has been looking for a job near his home in Elgin, Ill. for six months and thinks his last name gives hiring managers a false impression that he can't back up in an interview.
If a job seeker does feel that their first name conveys an image they are uncomfortable with, then they could just use their first initial on a job application or résumé, Probett of San Diego State University suggested. But deemphasizing a last name is obviously not realistic.
Instead, job seekers should focus more on the aspects of their image that they can control, Probett said, like their online presence or the email address they use for correspondence.
"For example, 'PartyDude@BeerU.Com' might project an image of someone who is not too business savvy," she said.Next: Does Your Name Spell Success? >>
Aug 28th 2009 @ 2:05PM Mary
Someone once told me that he would never hire anyone with an apostrophe thrown into his or her name to make it "differ'ent."
Reply
Sep 1st 2009 @ 4:50PM Billybongo
Might have been the mustache.
B
Sep 18th 2009 @ 8:02AM Nameless
Big companies such as Hilton and AT&T are cutting costs by hiring home workers. Cable/Phone and hotel companies usually hire home workers for customer service. I am pretty sure they don’t care what your name is! Also, the TV shopping shows hire homeworkers to take calls. I have worked from home for more than 19 years. You just know how to find these jobs. Jobs4free.cjb.net has a FREE list of hundreds of LEGITIMATE work at home jobs offered by well known companies such Hilton and AT&T. These jobs do NOT cost you money. They are employment positions. Good luck to all that are looking for employment.
Sep 18th 2009 @ 8:04AM Nameless
That was a TYPO. I have worked from home for 10 years, not 19. Sorry. Good luck everyone.
Sep 18th 2009 @ 8:48AM Theodosia
Theodosia actually isn't my real name but is a nickname. This is a sad commentary on society, but I rarely get any response to resumes because my last name is Ford. I am white, but a lot of people just don't contact me because a lot of African Americans have the last name Ford. I am sure people with names like Washington and Robinson have the same problem. I've gotten hired mainly by going somewhere in person because people see I'm white. Isn't that awful! The one time recently I got hired through a resume, the employer who contacted me was African American.
Sep 18th 2009 @ 9:10AM they are kids not puppies
I am a director of schools and have come across some that make me question what the parents were thinking. I had a boy named Rayce Carr and a girl named D'Nasty that the mother wanted pronounced Dynasty. Last time I checked I would say Dee Nasty which is what most started with, poor girl.
Sep 18th 2009 @ 11:02AM John
I don't have a problem with people pronouncing my name. My problem is that once recruiters or employers figure out that I am ove 50yrs old, my resume goes into the trash. Experience means nothing anymore for if you have too much they figure you want a lot of money. If I could have the chance to talk to them, they just might find out how cheap they could hire me. Being over 50 doesn't mean you don't need to work. I am just like anyone else, I have bills to pay and food to put on the table and clothes on my back.
Sep 18th 2009 @ 11:46AM Clemdane
I wouldn't either.
Sep 18th 2009 @ 11:48AM michelle
In a small town if you have the right name it will open doors you can imagine, from school age on up. But if you don't have the right name then sometimes you don't stand a chance.
Sep 18th 2009 @ 12:46PM Kam
Run a test - submit two resumes, exactly the same or slighty different, one with your name and one made up (which is not ethnic sounding), or of a friends who knows what is being done. Count the responses. If the recruiter is good, they may just call you to see why your resume is a clone of someone elses - this will also let you know whether they are using a screening program.
Have fun!
Sep 18th 2009 @ 1:16PM Sally Field
My name is Sally Field and not one time have I had a problem. If anything, it has gotten me a foot in the door because people remember my name. I think this is something someone constructed to write an article. I have college friends named Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Eden and Scarlett O'Hara and a student named Holly Hunter. No one has ever had a problem getting even so much as an interview.
Sep 18th 2009 @ 3:10PM Ricardo
If the resume / CV is interesting I'll give a phone screen. If the person is inarticulate or negative attitude I say I will keep their resume in our active list but just write no interest and file with the dead resume. People need to deveop the communication skills to get in the door and then when I bring them in for a FTF we can get to their skills and real experience. It is a terrible job market but I have found alot of the unemployed that have applied probably were employed TOO LONG at their previous job and the economy gave the company the added power to dump these loosers.
Aug 28th 2009 @ 2:08PM Dick Hertz
I know what you mean.. I have had that issue for years. In college in was hard to get a date...
Reply
Sep 1st 2009 @ 4:49PM Billybongo
Good one! ***
Sep 18th 2009 @ 7:49AM jbots
It took me a minute, but...that was funny!
Sep 18th 2009 @ 9:15AM dd
hang in there pal, My former married name and my sons' name is the same as a lice shampoo. Neddlessly said, he got tough in school, but is now proud, it is his name, and he made it beautiful, because he is.
Sep 18th 2009 @ 9:22AM Janelle
that was funny
Sep 18th 2009 @ 9:26AM zookeeper536
Great oldie, but goodie! Haven't heard that one since '88 announced over the intercom at Phillie International. LOL
Sep 18th 2009 @ 9:48AM cloudman4utoday
I know their was no "pun" intended.....
Sep 18th 2009 @ 11:08AM OptimistPrime
Yeah, good one:-)