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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
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I am a professor at Middle Tennessee State University and teach a course titled Business Communication. In this course, we cover an Employment Communication section where we discuss numerous topics--r
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Forums » Topic Forums » Recruiting & Staffing » Do Applicants' Names Matter?
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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
posted at 2/4/2011 7:53 AM EST
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Posts: 17
First: 11/1/2006 Last: 6/9/2011 |
I am a professor at Middle Tennessee State University and teach a course titled Business Communication. In this course, we cover an Employment Communication section where we discuss numerous topics--resumes, cover messages, interviews, etc. In a June 2010 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education (section titled On Hiring), I read a brief article entitled "Why Jimmy Dick Can't Get Hired." The crux of the article centered around his name and how it might have impacted his job search (his full name was Jimmy Dick Shirley Smith). Smith was advised by the author of this article to use his first two initials, "J. D." and only Smith as his last name.
Given the plethora of unusual names that we see and hear each day, I became interested in whether names did, in fact, have any impact on the job search process. I asked my students to respond to the article in an online discussion forum and many of them expressed concern that a name may provide too much information to a prospective employer--in terms of ethnicity, national origin, gender, etc. Have you ever experienced anything of this sort? Has an applicant's name ever had an impact on the search deliberations, either positively or negatively? Thank you very much for considering my questions. Having seen many unusual names in the course of my teaching career, I am very curious to learn what you think about this topic. Dr. K. Virginia Hemby, COI |
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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
posted at 2/4/2011 8:42 AM EST
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Posts: 32
First: 1/31/2011 Last: 9/13/2011 |
Hi: Research has consistently shown that a name can have an impact on the likelihood of getting an interview or of being hired. A good starting place might be a study by Cotton et al. in the 2008 Journal of Managerial Psychology.
Dave Arnold, Ph.D., J.D. |
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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
posted at 2/4/2011 9:15 AM EST
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Posts: 17
First: 11/1/2006 Last: 6/9/2011 |
Thank you so much! I found the article, "The Name Game: Affective and Hiring Reactions to First Names" and will review it in more detail. From a quick glance, I can see that the information will be very interesting.
Virginia |
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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
posted at 2/7/2011 7:25 AM EST
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Posts: 32
First: 1/31/2011 Last: 9/13/2011 |
Hi:
One more study came to mind: The title is Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal by Bertrand and Mullainathan. Published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (2003). Dave |
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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
posted at 2/7/2011 7:52 AM EST
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Posts: 45
First: 1/13/2011 Last: 4/14/2011 |
Hello MTSU (I love the Murfreesboro/Smyrna area. I spent the formative years of my life there, but that's another story for another time.)
While I have no scientific research or proof of my own to validate what you ask I can share from personal experience that it appears valid. I have had many a counseling session with hiring managers and recruiting professionals regarding the avoidance of considering or even contacting those with unique names. Th most common reason given to me is that "I can't pronounce the name" or anything similar. I have the unenviable task right now of trying to convince my son and daughter-in-law not to do this to their soon to be born child. I fear I am not being successful and I hope that by the time he is of age to enter the job market this will no longer be an issue. |
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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
posted at 2/7/2011 10:21 AM EST
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Posts: 17
First: 11/1/2006 Last: 6/9/2011 |
Thank you, Mr. Arnold, for the 2003 study title; I will search for it so I can read it as well.
Thank you, too, HRPro. I appreciate your input. I, too, have a son and daughter-in-law expecting this year and am trying very surreptitiously to suggest(without getting in trouble for being an interfering mother-in-law/mom) that they choose the baby's name carefully with consideration toward adulthood and the pros and cons of an unusual/family name. I, like you, hope that by the time my grandchild enters the workforce that he/she won't be subject to the name issue. Thank you also, deltac, for the info on the 2004 paper authored by Frye and Levitt. I will look for it as well. I am very interested in this subject and want to be able to share as much information as I can with my current Business Communication students. We have always cautioned our students about what to include (and not include) on resumes but with regard to names, we just didn't give it much attention in our classroom discussions. Now that I am armed with more information (and please keep it coming!), I will be better prepared to discuss this topic in class. I look forward to reading more of your posts! Thanks again, Virginia |
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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
posted at 2/10/2011 6:02 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 2/10/2011 Last: 2/10/2011 |
Hello. As a Haitian-American, I find this topic interesting...especially since I have family members named Taneshia and Jamal =).
There are two things going on here: whether or not to mask one's racial/ethnic identity on the resume, and whether or not masking will make a difference in being called in more for interviews. I counsel job applicants for a living and tell all my job seekers that although you can hide ethnicity/race by masking your birth name on your resume, it'll be hard to do when you walk in for an interview. Race/ethnicity is something that you can't mask. The same is true for age identity. If you're sixty you are most likely going to look like you're sixty, and it won't matter what you present on your resume, the truth is that you are who you are and the interviewer will see that once you walk in their door. My question to them is -- do you want to work for someone who will discriminate against you based on your ethnic identity? Use your birth name proudly, it may eliminate bad employers for you and leave you with the employers who truly value people for what they can contribute. That said, masking racial identity can improve your chances of being called in for an interview in the first place if you have an ethnic-sounding name. But be ready for an uphill battle when it comes to promotional opportunities and culture within the organization. This is a place where you'll spend a bulk of your days, choose wisely. People of ethnic races have done this for decades in order to break down barriers for those that come after, or to gain better opportunities for themselves. Nonetheless, it will be an uphill battle within the organization if you have to mask your identity just to apply to get it. Also I find that as time passes, having a racial/ethnic identity from a minority group may work to an applicant's advantage. By the year 2040, the US Census projects that the working population will become more than 50% minority. As a Haitian-American hiring manager, I may pay more attention and be more familiar to a name that sounds like another Haitian-American. But again I counsel applicants, who wants to work for someone who will hire you just because you're a fellow Haitian? Again, choose wisely. Who knows what the future holds but I have the feeling that as decades pass, we are going to have to navigate through much greater cultural differences than just ethnic-sounding names. Then what? |
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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
posted at 2/10/2011 6:08 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 2/10/2011 Last: 2/10/2011 |
Applicants name should not be a motive or reason to disqualify for employment. All in all I would be curious to find out more about the person and the history behind their name. I think it creates an "ice breaker" during the interview process. |
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Do Applicants' Names Matter?
posted at 2/10/2011 6:30 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 2/10/2011 Last: 2/10/2011 |
I am the Director of Job Placement at a California Community College. We have not seen much of the ethnic issue from our community. I too do not have documentation to back up this claim, however it is an interesting topic.
Our community has a 17% unemployment rate and if a hiring manager is reviewing 100 or more applications for each job, they may opt to not interview a person who's name they cannot pronounce. It is an employers market. Most employers are looking at how they can expedite the hiring process not really be concerned about the name. I believe that the candidate needs to present strong evidence within their resume to identify qualities that meet the employers requirements. If that is done, the candidate will get the interview and subsequently a real opportunity to secure employment. |
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