Is my foreign name affecting my job hunt?

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    Topic
  • #190173
    sickofFAR
    Member

    I am born and raised in the U.S., but originally from another foreign country. I have been job hunting for the past couple of months now and feeling disappointed. I thought my Master’s and CPA (candidate) would land me a job fairly quickly- or at least that’s what my professors drilled into my mind. “You’re guaranteed a job right away!” Yeah, right.

    I realize now it takes a while to find something to get my foot in the door. But, I should at the very least be receiving interviews. I have not had not one single interview, even though I feel like I am a perfect fit for most of the positions I am applying to. I am starting to think it’s my foreign name. I bet recruiters take one look at it and toss my resume in the bin. Has anybody else been through this? What advice do you have?

    A- 77 1X
    F- 83 1X YES!
    B- 81 1X
    R- 73 ._. got cocky. Retake: 83 Done.

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 29 total)
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  • #619236
    Tripp11
    Member

    Unfortunately, I would tend to agree with you. Although, your resume is probably very well written, because your forum post is well written.

    Have you thought about following up your resume/cover letter submission with a personal phone call to the recruiter or partner/manager in charge of recruiting? Perhaps if they HEARD your voice and your perfect English, they might be persuaded to give you a chance.

    As odd as this sounds, a resume came through a friend's CPA firm, and along with it came a CD which had a brief one minute video where he highlighted his resume and talked about his career objectives – and he had a very foreign name. Perhaps that's why this guy did that?

    AUD - 93
    BEC - 80
    REG - 86
    FAR - 83

    #619237
    ruggercpa2b
    Participant

    I was born and raised in Africa and have a foreign name. I actually think mentioning that I did not grow up here has helped me some in interviews. I have a long last name that even the people I have worked with for the last 2 years cannot pronounce.

    I don't think its your last name. Have someone look at your resume. They do the initial screen and if you don't look good on paper you are not going to make it. And to be honest just because you think you are a good fit the jobs does not mean you are going to get an interview. The job market is very competitive. Having a masters degree means nothing any more these days. I work for a Big 4 and have been trying to find another job. I have been looking for at least the last 6 months. I have had interviews but because I don't have my CPA I have been passed over. Like you I too have a masters degree but no one cares. They only care to know if I have the 150 hours to sit for the exam and where I am with the exam.

    If

    AUD - NINJA in Training
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    REG - NINJA in Training
    AUD - 1/6/18
    FAR - TBD
    REG - TBD
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    AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
    BEC - 8/20/2016
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    I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

    #619238
    sickofFAR
    Member

    @Tripp11 I like your idea of following up with a phone call. I think I'll try that.

    @ruggercpa2b Perhaps you are right, maybe job hunting does take a longer time than I had initially thought. I am starting to lower my standards and apply to basic bookkeeping positions. I am even thinking about taking my Master's in Accounting off my resume so I won't appear overqualified for those positions.

    By the way, I have a foreign first and last name.

    A- 77 1X
    F- 83 1X YES!
    B- 81 1X
    R- 73 ._. got cocky. Retake: 83 Done.

    #619239
    rana_cali
    Member

    It's possible that ur overqualified – meaning u have a masters but no experience, which means recruiters have to pay u more due to ur higher degree yet u don't have experience.

    Don't get discouraged…keep at it and possibly follow up with a phone call to see if they might take another look at your resume. Also, don't feel bad about applying to the more basic jobs to start out with. Any experience is good experience!

    Best of luck to u

    AUD: 84
    FAR: 75
    BEC: 78
    REG: 75

    DONE-ZO!!!!!!!!

    REG: Used Becker 2014 book, NINJA MCQ, Ninja notes, ninja audio
    _______________________________
    CFE since Oct. 2013.

    #619240
    cool_kid
    Participant

    As a MAcc student who is also looking for a job and who hasn't had much luck so far, I think it might be two things: lack of experience and high competition. It seems like your first job is always hardest to get since you don't have any experience and your employer is taking a risk by hiring someone who has nothing to prove. And depending on where you live, there might be a lot of other qualified candidates.

    #619241
    ridiqls
    Member

    Your name could be it but how can anyone know for sure? There was article written by a guy where he changed his name on his resume from Jose to Joe. They are the same name but one is the English/American version of the name and he said his callbacks were higher. I think his last name was Rodriguez so instead of Jose Rodriguez, it was Joe Rodriguez. People are still susceptible to social stigmas even if it's subconscious. If there's a name that is similar or the American equivalent to your foreign name, you could adopt that and just say “i go by Joe”

    Or you can go so far as to get it legally changed or add it as a second or middle name but that's up to you

    #619242
    Martin
    Participant

    I have a foreign name and a foreign accent, I used to have issues getting an interview, but everything changed with Linkedin. Now that a picture goes with the resume, i get a lot of calls. I guess because I look like a nice guy.

    Through God all things can happen!

    “You never fail until you stop trying.”
    ― Albert Einstein
    When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
    “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

    FAR= 72-84
    Audit= 73-82
    BEC= 74-75
    Reg=77

    #619243
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    How can you be born and raised in the US but come from another foreign country?

    #619244
    Martin
    Participant

    Akvod, i think he is referring to his name and last name. sickofFAR, where are you from?

    Through God all things can happen!

    “You never fail until you stop trying.”
    ― Albert Einstein
    When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
    “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

    FAR= 72-84
    Audit= 73-82
    BEC= 74-75
    Reg=77

    #619245
    mw798
    Member

    To the OP, if you have a very foreign sounding name I hate to say it but it could very well be impacting your job search. HR and hiring managers even if they don't do it intentionally, may do it subconsciously. Covert discrimination happens and anyone in the job world knows that it happens a lot, especially age discrimination.

    I know one colleague of mine who struggled with getting interviews until he put Joe instead of Zhou as his first name on his resume. Like you he was pretty qualified academic wise, but couldn't even get interviews for entry level staff accounting positions. After making the change, he got several calls for interviews. Why not put a nick name down? Obviously first name only; don't touch your last name. Just remember to put your real name down on the official job application and forms.

    #619246
    Martin
    Participant

    Is it legal to translate your name on your resume so that people can feel more comfortable when they glance at your resume? I never thought of that before until i read this post,but it might help a lot of people get more more interviews.

    Gianmarco to John Mark

    Through God all things can happen!

    “You never fail until you stop trying.”
    ― Albert Einstein
    When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
    “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

    FAR= 72-84
    Audit= 73-82
    BEC= 74-75
    Reg=77

    #619247
    mla1169
    Participant

    Just as a point of reference I had to send out over 300 resumes to get 40 interviews and 3 job offers. If you do a search in this forum you'll see plenty of people with the same struggle to get a job. If you've only been at it a few months it's pretty normal.

    FAR- 77
    AUD -49, 71, 84
    REG -56,75!
    BEC -75

    Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

    #619248
    stoleway
    Participant

    Your name could be an issue especially if it's a long one and the recruiter doesn't want to embarrass himself by saying it wrongly when they call you up. I believe recruiters can use this excuse and move on to the next resume.

    back in school, most of my Chinese classmates write their full name and put the American version into bracket

    eg…zhiawei (Lucy).

    Disclaimer…I made this name up.

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    #619249
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Just buy a new name. Problem solved!

    #619250
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    @SickofFAR , it depends.

    If your name is a typical Middle Eastern name (e.g. Mohammad or Abdullah) then yes, that could be the problem (Post 9-11 effect). Russian names also are not considered favorable (e.g. Yuri Vidmedev) but not as much as Middle Eastern.

    Otherwise the answer is NO. Sorry to say that but that's the reality and bigotry in America became rampant post 9/11.

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