Change Your Name And Get A Promotion
Even if you don’t like it, the fact is your name can sway how seriously you are taken at work. If you have a distinctive or tricky name to say you may have to work two times as hard to get the same results. It appears that many people have a tough time excelling in your career and your name could be the reason you are not advancing in your company.
The University of Chicago recently published a study where they established job applicants with names that sounded African-American didn’t get equal thought in the hiring process. Researchers were able to find this out by submitting 5,000 phony résumés, and the résumés with names like Tyrone and Tamika were less likely to be contacted again for interviews than Anglo-sounding names. They also realized that credentials had little influence in the process.
One case in point of this is Shuki Khalili. He worked for a company for quite a few years but felt his name was holding him back. So he resigned, began his own company and quickly realized that phone sales were a bust so he tried using an American name ‘Andrew Warner’ and his sales rose sharply. By altering his name he was able to get in touch with and engage in discussions with more clients. So he now goes by Andrew Warner and runs a flourishing entrepreneurial resource site.
Khalili are not alone. Throughout the U.S. Latinos, Asians and African Americans have found further success when they have changed their names. Many have changed their names from Marko to Mark and so on in order to find greater success in their vocations. Unfortunately there is some discrimination remaining in America but the main reason customers don’t want to work with these people is the fear of a language barrier.
Workplace prejudice can be a problem and it can keep some people from advancing. But changing your name shouldn’t be the only resolution. By catering and twisting to fit these standards you are just making things worse. You shouldn’t have to transform your name and consequently part of your individuality to get hired or get a promotion.
Yet people that are Anglo but have uncommon or what are termed “weird names” face the same problem as those mentioned before. Many miss out on promotions since they don’t have a serious name or people are uncomfortable saying it. So many have changed or shortened their name to sound more Anglo in order to get the promotion and the higher salary.
A name can easily make or break your career. So all those parents that want a unique name just remember you are branding your child for life. By picking a strange or foreign sounding name people will wonder if English is their primary language and question their capability to get along with Americans. So find names that reflect your ethnicity but are also somewhat normal. Or choose a middle name that is Anglo-sounding so that your child has the opportunity of going by that name.
Either way parents choose to go, bear in mind that a name really does determine the success an individual will have in their career. Anglo-sounding names allow individuals to move further up the corporate ladder. Albeit this isn’t right, unfortunately that’s how things are right now. And presently, there are several cases in front of the courts right now in which businesses are facing charges of discrimination. With any luck everything will be resolved and workers won’t have to change their name in order to get a job or be promoted.
About the Author Info
Diane Johnson graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Utah and enjoys writing about current events, politics, online classes, online education, and the office.
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