I'm so upset right now, so can't even say much but wanted to share my feelings with you anyway.

I've applied for a numerous amount of jobs; I have the qualifications needed, I have the skills needed and I have the experience needed. Sometimes the jobsI apply for don't even need experience etc.

However, I NEVER get to the interview stage. At one point I thought my CV wasn't good enough, so I went to a CV drop-in service and had it improved. It is still the same. The only jobs I manage to get are in retail, I can't ever get into an office.

I've been a graduate for a year now andI know that it is not easy to get what you want straight away, which is why I'm 'dumbing' down. I'm applying for jobs that I know I am fully capable of doing and that are below what I want to do, because it's nice to start somewhere. But I'm not even given the opportunity to show them what I'm made of, I'm not even able to sell myself because I'm not given the chance.

My conclusion is that my name is 'too African'. Who works in offices and who works in retail? - There is a pattern!!! So I've decided to changemy name on my CV (to an English one) and see if I start to get interviews. (For an experiment. Please don't se this as me wanting to change my name, its just to see what happens).

STAY PROUD AND STRONG

YOUR NAME IS SOMETHING WHICH SPEAKS VOLUMES AND THEY WANT TO BREAK YOU

STAY STRONG AFRICAN WARRIOR

u say ur lucky



why r u lucky?

lucky that your ancestors name was replaced by a brutal oppressive slave master.

lucky to have a name that reflects somone elses culture

i dont understand 2005 after Malcolm, after dubois after garvey we dont listen or learn

I had the same problem, I legally deed polled my name... so I got rid of my English names, and used my Ghanian names instead...

It was hard at first, but I was blessed to get a fantastic job at a great company. Although, at times the frustration of having my CV's ignoredwas such that I wanted to scream... the great thing about it was, at least I know the company that I work for values and respects my identity...

Rather, than spend my time at a company knowing that the only reason why I got the job - is due to the fact I presented them "with an acceptable face of blackness" and a nice 'normal english name' to pronounce...

What you should do is send in two copies of each CV, keep a note of the companies who rejected you for having an "ethnic" name... and then report them to whatever board is willing to listen, and hold them to account for their prejudicial/preferential behaviour... CRE, local MP ( I got some woman in the passport office in world of trouble due to her stink attitude)

But, don't get frustrated... you will find something... just stay focused

Adeola: You are probably right about the name thing, i remember reading somewhere that people with 'ethnic' (oh how i hate this word), sounding names are less likely to get shortlisted in certain professions..

Whilst I would advocate that you keep your name and your principles, it is very easy for me to say that when i'm employed and you are not.. my view therefore is that even if you decided to change your name, it doesn't essentially change you, if that is you keep hold of the culture and identity that raised you... IMO..one only become a sellout when you tek the name and then consume the culture too lock, stock and barrel... At the end of the day I think you have a very hard choice to make..

As an aside I actually did the reverse, I discarded my english label that meant nothing and had people always ASSuming i was white before i turned up at interview.. I proud to say i reclaimed my name and my heritage, because i felt that if any company were likely to turn me down because of my name, then i'd rather NOT work for them anyway..

Personally i never ever looked back after taking that decision and i personally cannot imagine it being considered'normal' to have a foriegn name.. but this is/was MY personal choice..

Adeola please please please be strong my sister. do not let them take away ur name and ur identity!

i had the same problem when i was job searching, and i almost broke from the frustration of it all, but my perserverance paid off. just hang in there, because if u cave in and take a meaningless name u will regret it in future.

hold ur head up with pride and keep on trying. so many of us are so quick to sell our souls just to fit in, those who fought for our freedom to exist will be turning in their graves at the betrayal.

your name is who you are, ur identity...do ur best to hold on to it. and good luck sis!

Thanks for all the respnses.

I am not plannning to change my name on a permanent basis, I love the fact that I have an African name. I just wanted to change the name on my CV and see if I do get an interview.

I would love to get a job having used my real name, because as mentioned in another post, it would make me feel a lot happier knowing that I have been accepted regardless of my race.

What I do plan to do is send my CV off to many companies with an English name and if I do start to get interviews, write a huge piece on it and try and sell it.

Everything is in a name as it identifys us with our origins. An Ethiopia can orally recite their ancestry by name back 8 generations. Arabs and everyone else take pride in their names Omar ibn Khattab ibn Adullahi

There is only one group of people that ask the stupid slave question of what is in a name

And let me say their is an advantage to having the name Daniel as they is an advantage to being born White. So if it was about advantages then we should bleech or skin and do as MJ did to remove this disadvantage

When we stay to our identity we force change and one day soon this so-called disadvantage will be an advantage. If we become cowards then this will never happen. Every enslaved person should revert to an African name as this is an aspect of healing and restoring that which was lost.

Adeola,
Dont change your name, I see two very good options you could utilise and which are easier to pronounce
Ade or Ola.

Ocacia wrote:Everything is in a name as it identifys us with our origins. An Ethiopia can orally recite their ancestry by name back 8 generations. Arabs and everyone else take pride in their names Omar ibn Khattab ibn Adullahi

There is only one group of people that ask the stupid slave question of what is in a name

And let me say their is an advantage to having the name Daniel as they is an advantage to being born White. So if it was about advantages then we should bleech or skin and do as MJ did to remove this disadvantage

When we stay to our identity we force change and one day soon this so-called disadvantage will be an advantage. If we become cowards then this will never happen. Every enslaved person should revert to an African name as this is an aspect of healing and restoring that which was lost.

clp)clp)clp)clp)

Crispus attucks wrote: Lets be honest here, someone named Danial is at an advantage against someone named Okeioboya Akunwalaua Abobodo or something crazy like that.

confused3:?:P

This brings up something that they were talking about BET Nightly News:

I was watching the news on BET and they were how African-Americans were discriminated against for buying houses, getting jobs or having an oppurtunity to do something because their name, according to whites, sound "ethnically black". For example: A name like Teisha or Ebony wouldn't be considered as much as a name as Katie or Sharon. And for males, you wouldn't be considered as much if you had name like Tyrone, instead of Keith.