[Anonymous]

Basically there was this study done where this guy with a foreign sounding name sent out a lot of resumes and then he dropped one letter off of his name to sound more Americanized and he got a lot more responses. so I am just wondering, is it okay to change your first name on your resume to be more Americanized?

[Anonymous]

I don't see why not, clearly you're not misrepresenting any information pertaining to you having the experience and skills needed to do the job. You'll probably have to submit your legal name down the line of course but I'm sure they see variations of names all the time.

[RachelP]

If I had a foreign name, I would definitely use a more american one when applying. If asked, say that it is the name you go by. I would definitely say there are some hiring managers that discriminate based on name, even if they do not mean to.

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Ethics Exam

[Determined CPA]

I went through this 2 years ago when I was looking to leave Big4 and start somewhere smaller. When I started at Big4, I wasn't married yet and had a very Italian name. My husband is Spanish with the most Spanish last name ever. I was very worried that I wouldn't get a call based on my last name and even considered hyphenating it for my resume. But then I decided not to bc I wouldn't want to work for a firm that discriminates.

it was at that moment my husband looked at me and said ‘now you know how it feels'….pretty shitty!

It's a tough call though. Unfortunately people do judge a book by its cover. Might be worth changing your name just to get in the door so they can see your good qualities.

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[lalap]

@OP. I think that's a very common practice. For example, if my real name is Park Hye Seok- I can say that my American nickname is Susan Park. It's easier for people to pronounce and remember your name.

Passed

[vanadium3]

There are rumors that if you put middle initial with your name it makes you look more sophisticated.

CPA

[fuzyfro89]

Yes, and this sounds super racist, but Chinese people do this all the time. I don't mean that as a generalization, but seriously… people from China almost always have an “American” name… especially in the business world.

Your resume is a marketing tool, not a legal document. Changing your name is nowhere close to unethical. By that logic, no one should have a nickname either.If you start fudging experience.. that's definitely crossing a line.

[Author]

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