Can Your Name Hurt Your Chances of Getting A Job?

Go with your culture, or go with the status quo. Studies have suggested that your name can be a handicap when applying to a job. One recent paper from the Cambridge-based National Bureau of Economic Research suggests a black-sounding name remains an impediment to getting a job. After responding to 1,300 classified ads with dummy resumes, the authors found black-sounding names were 50 percent less likely to get a callback than white-sounding names with comparable resumes.

Is this white America holding down minorities? Highly unlikely. An interesting experiment would be to see how often a black employer will call back an Alistair Thiel versus a Jerome Theo. I’m sure you can guess what the results would be. Chances are, the black employer will call back Alistair just as often as a white employer would. Stereotypes tend to be color blind – i.e. all people tend to pick up similar stereotypes, even if it is of their own gender or culture. How often have you heard a blond call herself a “dumb blond”? Or an Asian guy telling you how bad Asians are at driving?

Anyone in a position of reading resumes is naturally going to want the best person for the job. However, humans tend to unconsciously stereotype one another, and they will most often express a warmer sentiment to a person with a name that fits the position. My behavioral psychology professor would not allow his students to write their names on their papers. He felt that just by looking at a student’s name, he would give preferable grades to certain names and gender over others. He gave all his students a number to write at the top of their papers ensuring an unbiased grade.

An employer free from stereotypes is improbable, and there’s no way out of putting your name on your resume. It is also illogical to name your children solely based on how well the name appears on a resume. Therefore, the answer is quite clear; name your child with the beautiful name you had in mind. Our diversity should never be hidden, however, we must be aware of our stereotypes and how to strategize around them. If you have an unusual name, change it up on the resume – use a nickname. Celebrities change their names all the time so that they sell better, and sometimes we have to do the same.