Is Your Name Ruining Your Career?

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Linette Singleton (@NPDIVUS) and I (@MarkADyson) tackle the very complex subject of the risk of changing your name to draw less attention to race, culture, and gender. Has your ethnic specific name affected your career or career choices? Do you use a generic name to avoid bias or questions about your culture?

We realize name bias or name discrimination is not an easy subject to tackle, and makes some people uncomfortable to discuss, but I feel is necessary. In this discussion, we talk about it as it relates to race and culture bias.

Both of us would love to talk more about it because of how much of this discussion is diverted to several different factors:

Bias in this instance is hard to point to specifically as “here it is” or “there it goes.” We wanted to start a conversation that is needed to move to a more diverse and inclusive society and workplace
We do not discuss how name bias affects gender and societal conscious people. As people are changing, transforming, and evolving, so will this discussion and how it affects people in various communities
One thing that stands out in this discussion is how it affects race, and what is in the future. Although we agree it comes down to a job seeker’s presentation, resume, and other determining factors to get in front of a hiring manager, we do not ignore that in many circumstances determines who goes to the next round.

Linette and I highlight the following points in our discussion:

1) We want to describe what it is and what it isn’t

Name and address could potentially mean bias
Not always limited to race

2) What are the risks in changing your name if you feel it’s necessary?

Celebrities change all of the time, but the spirit of the change is vastly different for artists than regular working folks.
There are instances that as a coach, I have witnessed that interview requests become more frequent once a client alters his or her name to a generic one.

3) Changing your name has to do with a job or some emotional need to do so? Do some employers (or individual hiring managers) have an innate bias towards names?

4) What should you do when you do change your name on a resume, or social profiles? Will it really make a difference?

Linette wanted to talk about how an article from a few years ago point to the success of individuals who had a cultural-less name.

We invite discussion on this topic, and perhaps you would like to share your experience with name bias. Feel free to catch either one or both of us on Twitter. We welcome all views on any side of this topic.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.