| Topic Name: |
Job Search/Career Advice |
| Message Name: |
hmm interesting |
| Date Posted: |
04/20/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
hehe, i AM from eastern europe, my last name is unpronouncable and i don't think i was discriminated in any way during my job search. i wouldn't blame that.
it all depends what jobs you are looking at. english literature, except for the strictly academia kind of jobs can be used in any position that requires editing, correspondence, creative writing type of thing. i'm not an expert, you probably know better. if you have the skills required for the position (that your major and work experience gave you) then you are probably doing something wrong and cannot sell yourself properly.
don't blame it on the last name... believe me on that one... |
| Message: |
Thanks for the response bugsior. You have cleared up my thinking quite a bit.
If I may ask, what industry are you in? I know my last name would not be a problem if I were involved with computers, or technology, or engineering or any of those types of jobs. If you have the skills, then you're in. Outsiders are typically welcome as long as they can produce and work alone. However, what happens in a case where the position is not highly-skilled? A position where you have education and experience but there are other people with the same education and experience applying for the same job? What criteria do they use to sort you out then? It is my guess that when you get into more "people-oriented" jobs where you are just starting out and people don't really do much but hang around and bullshit, it would make sense that they don't want some unfamiliar Slav walking around. In all likelihood, they never met a person with a last name like mine. But, what is my point? Well, I think it's that if you happens to be a Slav, unless the person in charge of hiring is also Eastern European, you're not getting in. I'm not even sure if it goes this deep. But put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager. If they don't recognize your name or it's unfamiliar to them - you're sorted out.
I know I'm making pretty big generalizations here. I am almost tempted to test my theory by applying to places under an Anglo name. The only thing that stops me from doing this is it would be a complete waste of time. I'm not doing a social experiment here. I'm looking to get a job.
Also, I would venture to guess that many of the people on this job board are outsiders in one way or another. Whether they're from another country or handi-capped in some way.
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