Name dropping

THOSE job hunters who rarely make it to the interview stage, despite having the relevant skills and qualifications, could be underestimating the impact their name is having on their job prospects.

"Evidence has shown that most people make up their mind about someone within minutes of meeting them and it's no different when it comes to job hunting. An employer's mind can be made up fairly quickly and part of that process is reading the applicant's name," says psychologist Dr Phil Erwin.

Despite the recruitment experts' mantra about the importance of matching the skills and experience required by a job with an applicant, the fact is that recruiters are human with illogical likes and dislikes.

According to Dr Erwin, who is the author of a study on name stereotyping, it all boils down to how attractive and familiar your name is to the employer. "However indirectly, names affect the way employers perceive an applicant. Put simply, people with attractive names are attributed attractive qualities."

But having a familiar, oldfashioned name can be detrimental. "We tend to like things that we are familiar with, but then if they are too familiar they become boring," says Erwin.

This is good news for those with unconventional names, because it means their CV is more likely to be noticed. A poll by online jobs search service Fish4Jobs revealed that 84 per cent of job seekers with unusual names believed it helped them get noticed.

Potkin Nemat, who works in IT, believes there are only four people with his name in the world. "Most of the time I don't have to use my surname, because people always remember the first name. It's useful for making contacts and I think I get interviews because my CV sticks out," he says.

Employers can make inferences about a candidate's age, class, ethnicity and personality - using a shortened version of your name apparently means you are fun - from a name. However, this can put people with very ethnic sounding names at a disadvantage. "We have found from anecdotal evidence that names conjure up images and if they are not good recruiters, it is something employers can be swayed by in a negative way," says Frances Wilson, human resources advisor at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Bandele Adepoju, a legal clerk, is convinced that his Nigerian name has hindered him. "A friend called Oliver Jones and I both applied for about 30 of the same jobs after university, but while he got eight interviews, I didn't get a single one even though when we compared CVs, we both agreed that mine was better. But I'd never change my name, it would upset my dad and I knew I'd get a job in the end."

Pam Woodall of The Economist, who analysed the theory of "alphabetism", says that having a surname from the lower half of the alphabet may work against a prospective applicant.

"Shortlists for job interviews tend to be drawn up alphabetically and their recipients can lose interest as they plough through them," says Woodall.

Using a nickname or a more attractive or anglicised middle name are some of the alternatives used by people who do not want their name to bring them prejudice. "There is a trend for titles not to be used any more and some people drop doublebarrelled names by choice," says Marcia Roberts, of Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

However, recruiters can root out name discrimination. The Commission for Racial Equality recommends that in job-application packs, employers use a detachable cover so that applicants' names can be separated from the CV.

Wilson agrees: "When shifting through CVs, things like name, date of birth, address and nationality should be undisclosed because it focuses the recruiter's mind on matching the person to the job description."

Copyright 2003
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