Career and Job Search Help Blog

Juliet said in her famous soliloquy, "What's in a name? that which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet…" (Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II) This makes me think of some of the memorable and unusual names I've come across: Moon Unit Zappa (daughter of musician, Frank Zappa); Charles Adolphe Faux-Pas Bidet, Commissaire de Police, Paris, France; Positive Wasserman Johnson (The Wasserman test looks for antibodies to syphillis.) and Mrs. Belcher Wack Wack (Miss Belcher married Mr. Wack and then married his brother.)

Many people have names which are not anglicized – it's a pride thing – you know, my name is just as good as anyone else's. It's uniquely me, and I like it! When we moved to Canada, it was suggested to my paren'ts that they provide me with an English name. Don't get me wrong – I love "Elle" – just like I love my other name, because it means "bright star". My anglicized name would, reportedly, allow people to remember me a little easier, etc. Now this dilemma has once again reared its ugly head.

In a report released in October 2011, two University of Toronto researchers, Philip Oreopoulos and Diane Decheif, found that resumes featuring English names were more than 35-per-cent more likely to receive a callback than a resume featuring Chinese, Indian or Greek names. The researchers sent dozens of employers identical resumes – changing only the names of the applicants. They found that employers across Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver significantly discriminated against applicants with common Indian and Chinese names relative to English. The callback rate differences were larger in Montreal, while smaller in Vancouver. Recruiters were also interviewed to explain why they believe name discrimination occurs. It turns out that productivity concerns cannot explain name bias. Rather, recruiters said that employers often treat a name as a signal that an applicant may lack language or social skills. And in this time & resources-pressed work environment, employers are wary of  applicants with foreign names, hence foreign background and possible lack of adequate English-language and social skills for the Canadian marketplace. However, the researchers also suspected that recruiters are afraid of making a "bad hire", especially during these tough economic times.

So what can you do? Since one of the skills desired by most employers is strong communication skills, make sure you make it clear to the recruiters/employers that you have this desirable skill – call and talk to the recruiters. Take public-speaking and writing courses. Consider adding an anglicized name.

What's your opinion? Do you have an Anglicised name? If so, what is the rationale behind it?