From listing job and education qualifications on a resume to writing a cover letter which stands out among the rest, weaving through the job market can be an intimidating process. The last thing anyone should have to think twice about is what name to put on their resume.
In search of a full-time position, 23-year-old Jehad Aboumrad faced challenges in the job market and received little to no interview call backs.
As an experiment, Aboumrad changed his name on his resume from “Jehad” to his nickname “Jay.” Since then, Aboumrad noticed the number of call backs he received increased compared to before.
Minority populations in Canada are facing a hiring bias right when their resume reaches an employer’s desk. Studies have shown that resumes with western names have received more interview call backs than resumes with foreign names.
According to the research study “Do Larger Employers Treat Racial Minorities More Fairly” by the University of Toronto and Ryerson University, Asian-named applicants are 32.6 per cent less likely to receive an interview callback than their Anglo-named counterparts even though applicants shared equivalent Canadian qualifications.
For Asian-named candidates with some or all foreign qualifications, the rates of interview selection were much lower, sitting at 40 to 60 per cent.
No one should have to think twice about what name to put on their resume, but that’s exactly what is happening for some people. Produced by Mahroh Afzal and Kiah Lucero.
Editor: Deanna Tucker | dtucker@cjournal.ca