change name for college?

Hi,
I was wondering if you guys can give me advice on whether I should change my name or not? Background: I have a very ethnic(and i guess unique(im the only person found throuh googling my name)) name that has a spelling making it hard to deduce the pronounciation so it's butchered 99% of the time. I never got an "American name" because my original name kinda stuck and because I grew up in a small school district where everyone knows you.However, recently I got advice from a family friend to change my name to make it easier for college professors+meeting people. will a name change be beneficial or no? thanks!

 

My name got butchered a lot of time at school and at work as well. Talk to your parents. If they are okay with that and you personally think that it has been an issue, talk to the lawyer and file for name change. Better late than never.

"I am the hero of the story. I don't need to be saved."
 

You can keep your name, but just pick an interesting nickname that you have people call you by. Gives a great talking point, paints a little bit of character, and makes the relationship friendly/more chill off the bat imo.

Cheers.
 

I understand where you are coming from. I've grown up with an ethnic name(though not difficult, it is always pronounced wrong) and it is definitely frustrating at times. But I love my name and embrace it, because it represents who I am.

I grew up in a really small town(hence my username) and I came from a very influential family where my name (all the men have the same name) was extremely well known. Whenever I introduced myself, people knew who I was. When I went to college, it wasn't bad at all. With both the foreign students and the many first generation Americans with ethnic names, it won't even be an issue. The world is becoming more global and names are becoming more diverse.

Learn to embrace your name. It is unique and people will remember you because of that. Do you really want to be another John, James, Bob, etc.?

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful suggestions! I think I'll be adopting a second English name that sounds similar in addition to my original name to make the transition easier.

kudos @swagon---yup i'll be the same person regardless of name changes

 

interesting study about nominative determinism in freakonomics. sent out thousands resumes, each resume had an identical counterpart where only the name was change (one with a "white" name and one with a "black" name). the white resumes got called back substantially more often, though with banking, the opposite could very well be true thanks to affirmative action at many of the BBs due to way too many white make bankers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_determinism

 

[quote=dew2229]interesting study about nominative determinism in freakonomics. sent out thousands resumes, each resume had an identical counterpart where only the name was change (one with a "white" name and one with a "black" name). the white resumes got called back substantially more often, though with banking, the opposite could very well be true thanks to affirmative action at many of the BBs due to way too many white make bankers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_determinism[/quote]

That would explain why most of the BB recruits from semi-target and non-target schools are women or non-Asian/non-Jewish minorities unless they have near perfect GPAs and gmat scores.

Would it hurt a person's chances at Goldman Sachs if they have a Jewish sounding name?

 
sparkydog:

On the contrary, being black will improve your chances because of diversity recruiting. Make full use of it.

While this is true, having a very "African" black name could probably hurt him with the wrong HR person. If I were him, I'd acquire a common "black" name like Curtis Robinson or something, so the HR person can think either way and be more likely to bring him in, and THEN when he's seen, he'll be helped.
 

Get a second name. Look up the respective name day which falls on your birthday and voila a new unbiased european sounding name. Once you get the offer, be clear that your name is Tyronne with two N and not Marcus.

 
Best Response

To be honest, yes, change your name.

You don't have to do it legally. You can just apply as [new first name] [legal last name] and tell HR that the new first name is your preferred name if they ever query why it's different on your transcripts or passport.

There are plenty of white people who do this. HR should be cool with it as long as you can show them photo ID confirming you are the person named on the academic records.

As for diversity recruitment programs, you can already tick the "diversity candidate" box, so no need to have a recognisably "belongs to ethnicity class X" name.

A first name is entirely arbitrary, ultimately the whim of your parents and family. Changing it to get a job is fine and only involves sacrificing 'who you are' if you identify 'who you are' by this arbitrary denotation and accident of history rather than how you act today and what your capabilities are.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 
SSits:

To be honest, yes, change your name.

You don't have to do it legally. You can just apply as [new first name] [legal last name] and tell HR that the new first name is your preferred name if they ever query why it's different on your transcripts or passport.

There are plenty of white people who do this. HR should be cool with it as long as you can show them photo ID confirming you are the person named on the academic records.

Listen to this advice. Tons of kids nowadays have a different "preferred name" if they don't like their given first name. I know a Zach who goes by Robbie, an Andrea who goes by Melanie, a Sarah who goes by Danielle, and a Dick who goes by Alex. Some of those are middle names, others are completely arbitrary. Totally up to you!
Currently: future neurologist, current psychotherapist Previously: investor relations (top consulting firm), M&A consulting (Big 4), M&A banking (MM)
 
SSits:

To be honest, yes, change your name.

You don't have to do it legally. You can just apply as [new first name] [legal last name] and tell HR that the new first name is your preferred name if they ever query why it's different on your transcripts or passport.

There are plenty of white people who do this. HR should be cool with it as long as you can show them photo ID confirming you are the person named on the academic records.

As for diversity recruitment programs, you can already tick the "diversity candidate" box, so no need to have a recognisably "belongs to ethnicity class X" name.

A first name is entirely arbitrary, ultimately the whim of your parents and family. Changing it to get a job is fine and only involves sacrificing 'who you are' if you identify 'who you are' by this arbitrary denotation and accident of history rather than how you act today and what your capabilities are.

I see Chinese students and colleagues that have done this a lot because their first name is so hard for many westerners to pronounce, so they just pick a random ass western name. No harm in doing it whatsoever, especially if you already have a strange first name.

 

this is what i posted on your other thread

i'm caucasian but my lovely yet hippie mom named me "Nandrin". knowing that this might have an effect on job prospects i went by Andy while applying for internships/jobs after college and then put Nandrin as my middle name, (still shows this as my name on linkedin). honestly i didnt really care much, not sure how much it helped but i'm pretty sure it didn't hurt.

i'm sure you've read this story by now http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/02/jose-joe-job-discrimination_n_…

WSO Content & Social Media. Follow us: Linkedin, IG, Facebook, Twitter.
 

Just use another name and if/when they ask for your legal name for a document you can give it. As others have stated, I've known dozens of people from China (not simply Chinese-American) who have Anglo names they chose for no reason other than that they liked it, a decent amount of Anglo guys who just didn't like their name so they use something different, and then the ones that I truly don't understand, the guys whose parents gave them a first name but never intended them to use it and have used their middle name for their entire lives instead. I was really good friends with a guy for years whose first name was actually Kevin but I didn't know it for about 5 years. His parents always called him Adam. I don't get that one.

Just remember to respond to the name you choose and when they call out John, you don't look around the room for John.

 

I also know several guys who have girls names, i.e. Michelle Taylor. Probably just a huge mistake on the birth certificate, but they definitely chose to use the more gender neutral name (Taylor) or choose something else entirely. Parents mean well, but... you gotta do what you gotta do.

Currently: future neurologist, current psychotherapist Previously: investor relations (top consulting firm), M&A consulting (Big 4), M&A banking (MM)
 

Though I have to say as someone with a Slovak last name it can be uncomfortable for both parties involved as someone tries to work through your last name. I'm considering using my middle name in lieu of my last once I start a FT position

"I am not sure who this 'Anonymous' person is - one thing is for certain, they have been one hell of a prolific writer" - Anonymous
 

I agree with rainmaker. I mean I guess you don't see a problem with it, but I don't know if I would want to be the guy who changed his name just for a job. In my opinion, that kind of says something about you, and not in a good way. Just keep it on there. Having a unique last name could probably turn into something positive, like a dope nickname.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves. - Abraham Lincoln
 

Change your name to Schlomo Goldsteinowitz if you really want to work on the Street. You may also want to brush up on mixing Yiddish into your daily conversation. A Slovak/Russian sounding name ought to be bonus points as well, just write it phonetically. Not so sure on Scandanavian, it may be a "power" name or it might sound wimpy, you'd want to introduce yourself to people at a bar and see how impressed they are with your name.

 
Kanon:
While changing one's user name is a way to disassociate your old reputation, your new user name is attached to all of your current and past posts - so it's not much of a cover-up.

I think it'd be easier for someone with a bad rep just to create a new account.

but then you'd lose your hard-earned bananas.
"... then, lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it."
 

Haha

I made a huge change in my name lol.

You don't lose your banana's. It is actually easy to do, but for brand value you might want to keep your name.

Troll changing their name can be dealt with real easy.

 
Anthony .:
It is actually easy to do, but for brand value you might want to keep your name.
I've got a ton of brand value built up. Once I reach 4,000 bananas I'm going to auction off my account on Ebay. Will even throw in a free WSO t-shirt to get the bidders really riled up.
CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 
Nikkisixx:
There are also multiple pokemon evolutions on this site

Gotta catch em all!

"Do whatever it takes to keep the legend of Wall Street as it was truly intended live on. When you think back on investment banking of the early 21st century, remember the heat—remember the passion. But mostly, remember the titans. " - LSO
 

Well what I mean by brand value is that you have helped a lot of people and they recognize it. People get familiar with certain people posting and if they are helpful or not.

Plus I have a website so I suppose my value from being recognized is less than other peoples.

 

Anthony -- I'm just messing with you! By the way -- my brother is a 2006 Syracuse grad -- we was an engineer though, not a finance guy.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

Cool dude, I am glad the football team has improved some. Looking forward to our 1st bowl game in a long time.

No worries dude, I didn't take offense. Internet still leaves something to be desired when conversing.

 
blastoise:
what every happend to squirtlez he made that awsome shot bond call...did the sec ever investigate him?

Heard he made serious $$$ and spends his day snorting coke off naked supermodels in the south of France now, you know him?

People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can't trust people Jeremy
 

I believe that a name change limit was imposed to prevent someone from changing their name more than once every few months.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

Patrick Bateman has a nice ring to it.

- Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered. - The harder you work, the luckier you become. - I believe in the "Golden Rule": the man with the gold rules.
 
alexpasch:
No joke but stupid shit like this matters.
Agree with Alex. It may not be right, but it's true.
- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 
karypto:
I hope that's not your real name because Google indexes posts really fast.
Haha and there definitely aren't a lot of people with that name floating around - this'll be at the top of the search results in no time.
- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

Honestly if you just went with Ali Hassan, you would still have some of the uniqueness of your name but it's easily memorable. It's an easy enough name to remember and you wouldn't really have to change your name, just use that as your name in correspondence with HR/the bankers you meet. Think about the fact that you'll have to spend 100 hours a week being called "Andrew" all the time instead of people saying "Hey Ali can you come take a look at these numbers" or as my friend goes by the nickname "Hassy."

Just my 2 cents, but I think Ali Hassan is "Americanized" enough, for lack of a better term. I also think it's BS and a bit sad that this would even be an issue,as alex and CaptK mentioned.

 
GoodBread:
This almost sounds fake. Andrew Wellesley is pretty waspy but it screams girl's liberal arts school to me. Try Peter Wharton for size.

Or Prince Tom Harvard of Yaleshire.

- Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered. - The harder you work, the luckier you become. - I believe in the "Golden Rule": the man with the gold rules.
 

You could easily get ALOT of looks just by changing your name to Lloyd Blankfein Jr. Apply to every Wall Street position and when interviewed, you're sure to be asked about it... act like celebrities when they are on their media blitz promoting a new book/movie/album with a recent scandal that they don't want to focus on.

Interviewer: Lloyd Blankfein Jr., huh? Any relation to THE Lloyd Blankfien? You: (somewhat uneasy) I was afraid of this, I really just want to focus on how I can make a valuable contribution at your firm, irrespective of my name or who my father may or may not be. Interviewer: Yup, I can appreciate that. Just curious thats all. You: Understandable, its just a bit of an uphill battle when you can't focus on discussing your own qualifications in an interview. So respectfully, I'd really prefer to focus on ME during this interview.

... later on ...

Interviewer: so where else are you interviewing? You: JPM, CS, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, BAML… umm… I’m missing someone… oh and Deutsche Bank(GS conspicuously absent)

That'd be so classic.

 
Marcus_Halberstram:
You could easily get ALOT of looks just by changing your name to Lloyd Blankfein Jr. Apply to every Wall Street position and when interviewed, you're sure to be asked about it... act like celebrities when they are on their media blitz promoting a new book/movie/album with a recent scandal that they don't want to focus on.

Interviewer: Lloyd Blankfein Jr., huh? Any relation to THE Lloyd Blankfien? You: (somewhat uneasy) I was afraid of this, I really just want to focus on how I can make a valuable contribution at your firm, irrespective of my name or who my father may or may not be. Interviewer: Yup, I can appreciate that. Just curious thats all. You: Understandable, its just a bit of an uphill battle when you can't focus on discussing your own qualifications in an interview. So respectfully, I'd really prefer to focus on ME during this interview.

... later on ...

Interviewer: so where else are you interviewing? You: JPM, CS, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, BAML… umm… I’m missing someone… oh and Deutsche Bank(GS conspicuously absent)

That'd be so classic.

It'd be even funnier if this came across your desk.

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 

You'll be fine Konig. Don't think Middle Eastern kids get too discriminated against. I'd say that during our resume reviews we probably hated on Asian kids the most... by the time we got to the end of the alphabet we'd seen a million Charlies, Joyces, etc with 3-letter last names who had what looked like the exact same resume. We give Asians the most credibility in terms of technical skills / cranking ability, but when it comes to social skills we're very wary.

 

Yea, I'd just shorten it to Ali Hassan, that doesn't scream foreign the same way your full name does. Also, you don't happen to wear a turban do you? Not hating, I have a buddy working at a top firm with a turban. Dude had to kill his interviews to make his interviewers look past it.

 
noobmonkey:
Yea, I'd just shorten it to Ali Hassan, that doesn't scream foreign the same way your full name does. Also, you don't happen to wear a turban do you? Not hating, I have a buddy working at a top firm with a turban. Dude had to kill his interviews to make his interviewers look past it.

He has a middle eastern name. Indian sikhs wear turbans. Stupid mid-westerners.

 

i'm caucasian but my lovely yet hippie mom named me "Nandrin". knowing that this might have an effect on job prospects i went by Andy while applying for internships/jobs after college and then put Nandrin as my middle name, (still shows this as my name on linkedin). honestly i didnt really care much, not sure how much it helped but i'm pretty sure it didn't hurt.

i'm sure you've read this story by now http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/02/jose-joe-job-discrimination_n_…

WSO Content & Social Media. Follow us: Linkedin, IG, Facebook, Twitter.
 

nonsense. in reality, it's just black american names like shanequa or something like that. if it's something interesting like a nigerian name or something like that, then nah, it'll probably up your chances.

 

if you know kal penn from Harold and KUmar (the indian guy), he said that he got like 3 times the number of calls from directors when he changed his stage name to "Kal Penn" from Kalpen (his real name). Thats got to say something.

 

Does everyone here really think color or names don't matter in getting an offer? Research by Uchicago and MIT point otherwise: Job-seekers with names like Greg and Anne get 50 % more replies from employers than black-sounding applicants such as Ebony and Rasheed (with both groups having similar resumes). The research only compares white names vs. black names, but I would be surprised if white names don't get more calls vs. Asian/Indian/Hispanic names. Refer to the link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2660845.stm

 

In all seriousness though, I'm sure there's some underlying prejudice and they probably have justifiable psychological proof from studies and whatnot but honestly what are you going to do. If you start worrying about stuff like this, it'll just drive you crazy and you lose a sense of self. I mean unless you are deeply ashamed of your name and from your post it doesn't seem like the case, then be who you are and bite the bullet. Most likely, it won't be a determining factor and if it is, fuck it then if they are to judge you on something so arbitrary. Obviously actors are going to change their names, but this is fucking investment banking, not Hollywood. I mean, if it bothers you that much, then just put some modification of your name or a nickname that sounds better or is easier to read/pronounce/remember such as the Kalpen => Kal Penn.

 

I wish to revise my comment. Your name will have no impact unless it's something ridiculous. The name Ebony is a pretty good example.

I remember screening resumes and we came across a girl named Fantasy McNamus. It's hard to get anywhere decent with a pornstar name.

 

This is very important - make sure no one is following you, and head straight for the airport. Fly to Chicago O'Hare and go to the Johnny Rocket's outside Terminal 2. Order a cheeseburger and a chocolate malt. I'll find you. Good luck, Mr. Kardashian.

 

It's easier to change your name first day on the job. I had a buddy that I named Larry, one of my friends got him a job during university, and intorduced him as Larry on day one. From then, and for the next four years that he worked there, everyone called him Larry, nothing he could do would change that.

So if you want to change your name in the office, it's really as simple as introducing yourself under the name you want people to call you. Just don't try to get people to call you 'Ace' or 'Maestro', they might as well call you shit stains. Deal with the legal stuff in due time with the back office and HR.

 
MB78:

Because I feel the need to continue my father's surname.. I'm the last male.

Half your genes are his. Isn't that enough?

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 

This may seem obvious, but have you asked any of the women you know in finance who've got married and changed to their husband's surnames?

Most women I know keep their original surname at work, only change it for other purposes.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 

At my school the Asians dominate recruiting (both as analysts reviewing resumes and as students applying), so it seems this is a non-issue for investment banking recruiting in the NE, specifically. Can't comment on other regions/industries.

melvvvar:
we are all racist some of us are just more honest about it.

Not sure if you're a troll or not yet...

And no, not everyone's a racist. Racists are a minority. Yes, people do often stereotype, but stereotyping ≠ racism.

 

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in it 2 win it
 

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