November 29, 2009

Is your name hurting your career?

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On a scale of 1 to 10, the name Michelle Goodman rates a 4 in the originality department. Although not an earth-shattering setback, going through life as sort of a Jewish "Jane Smith" hasn't exactly been a boon for me (no offense to the Jane Smiths of the world).

As a writer, you want a byline that's easily searchable, unique enough that you won't be mistaken for anyone else. This has not been the case for me.

Just yesterday, I received an e-mail from a woman who was distraught about her dog's fatal heart defect and had mistaken me for a veterinarian who specializes in the condition. Usually, though, people confuse me with Michelle Goodman, the oncology author, or Michelle Goodman, the fine artist -- nothing too troublesome, and certainly not as heart-wrenching as losing a beloved pet.

Of course, if I had wanted a one-of-a-kind name that badly, I would've changed it or begun including my middle name in my byline years ago. But I haven't.

A fascinating piece by MSNBC career columnist Eve Tahmincioglu -- who's been asked by editors if she prefer to shorten her last name in her byline -- made me realize how lucky those of us with cookie-cutter names have it.

Forget the insulting factor. Apparently, if your name sounds "ethnic," "foreign," "unfamiliar," or anything less than "mainstream," it could cost you the job.

As Tahmincioglu reports:

"One study by researchers at MIT and the University of Chicago found that job applicants with names that sounded African-American got short shrift when it came to the hiring process. The researchers sent out 5,000 fake resumes, and it turned out that resumes with names such as Tyrone and Tamika were less likely to get calls from prospective employers than their Anglo-sounding counterparts, and qualifications seemed to have little impact."

Other anecdotes in Tahmincioglu's column are equally disheartening:

An entrepreneur named Shuki Khalili changed his name to Andrew Warner after having trouble making headway with potential clients. Once he did, he had a much easier time getting his business off the ground.

A Pakistani engineer named Raheem couldn't find a job for 18 months after September 11, 2001, save for a position as a hotel cleaning staff supervisor.

A resume consultant has repeatedly heard from HR professionals and hiring managers that when they see a name that's "ethnic" or "black," they think "low education" or "lower socioeconomic class."

A Taos, N.M. hotel owner ordered several Hispanic employees to change their names to something more Anglo-sounding (goodbye Marco, hello Mark!) so that customers could better understand them on the phone.

Talk about stirring the melting pot! Will discriminatory wonders never cease?

Readers, has your name held you back in the workforce? Have you changed your name for this reason? Did doing so improve your results with hiring managers and customers? Do tell.

Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com

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6 Comments

Ellie Behling on December 1, 2009 3:01 AM | Reply

This is a really interesting post. As a journalist, I feel very lucky that my parents named me Ellie Behling. If there are others with my name out there, they don't show up in a Google search.

I guess having a more common name does make you work harder for a digital brand, and could be that much more rewarding when you are high up in a Google search.

Joe Caesar on December 2, 2009 10:26 AM | Reply

Unfortunartly for articles such as this, the plural of acicdote isn't data. Rather than provide some stories to make you point, there needs to be some real statistical data.

Michelle Goodman on December 2, 2009 10:33 AM | Reply

Joe, here's some startling data in the New York Times this week:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/us/01race.html

("Various academic studies have confirmed that black job seekers have a harder time than whites. A study published several years ago in The American Economic Review titled “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal?” found that applicants with black-sounding names received 50 percent fewer callbacks than those with white-sounding names.")

Joe Caesar on December 2, 2009 3:24 PM | Reply

Yes, I'm aware of that article, but really you should have included a reference to it in your piece and not have to be prompted for it.

Michelle Goodman on December 2, 2009 3:35 PM | Reply

If the NY Times piece had been published before I wrote this blog post instead of a day after, I probably would have. :)

Steve Fatlazybastard on December 11, 2009 9:06 AM | Reply

Frankly I don't see the relevance at all. Just because I've been having trouble getting women to go out with me for most of my adult life--this has nothing to do with my name. I resent the implication. I keep my apartment clean. I don't even own a sofa!

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