In business, we tend to be attracted to things we are familiar with. Whether that is subconsciously or by conscious choice, this conservatism is there for every one to see. This extends to the people we employ in our team. Culturally speaking, we choose people that are representative of our values and how we see our brand.
To put it more clearly- Having a localised (westernised) nick-name for business works. Names and meanings go hand in hand. I didn’t invent this. This has always happened in every global society. It isn’t a question of discrimination or racism, but the truth is, if you intend to work within a particular society, then you need to adopt a localised nick-name to be more accepted within the local culture. We have seen it with every new cultural group that has immigrated from one land to another and how over time their acceptance of local culture has been adopted by the eventual names they have chosen for their future children.
This is certainly true for jobseekers that have chosen to immigrate to a new country. The first decision to consider should be to find a new nick-name you would prefer local citizens to call you by. You should choose a localised name you like before one is given to you (accidentally or deliberately).
When speaking to recruiters and employers they have advised me that having a first name they can correctly pronounce is as important as choosing a first name that they are familiar with. From a customer service perspective, this becomes more apparent, as employers want their employees to be seen as both business and cultural experts when interacting with local customers.
A name is a powerful statement. Period.
In my own experiences when career counselling clients, I have found that “localising” their names made a difference by-
- Increasing the number of phones calls they received
- Allowing for greater connection / rapport with local employers and recruiters
- Opening up new job opportunities in professional roles
- Building greater confidence from those around them that they had made successful efforts to assimilate
Whether this is a fortunate or unfortunate reality isn’t the debate here. What I am pointing out is, simply, a solution to get the right attention form local employers and recruiters. Having a localised name gets results.
I had a recent client who for the first 3 months of our relationship refused to take my advice in changing his first name from ‘Hardeep’ to ‘Harry.’ My reasons for changing his name was to ensure local employers could better relate to him as a Production Engineer. Hardeep believed that, because he had worked for European and American brand enterprises back in his home country, this meant he didn’t needed to ‘compromise.’ This was on top of the fact he had no local industry experience, so my work with him proved doubly difficult. I tried to explain to him that having a localised name allowed for greater acceptance, as he was the one who chose to come here, so it was up to him to accept the culture and take this necessary step to demonstrate he had taken conscious steps to successfully assimilate into local society.
The change only came after I had his brother in law, Anoop come and see me. Anoop was introduced to me by Hardeep, and was much younger than him. From the very start he was open minded to my ideas, as his number one priority was to get a job as a Graduate IT Helpdesk Officer. He had very good international experience, but, like his brother in law, had no local industry experience.
When I made the suggestion to Anoop to adopt a localised nick-name, he already had one in mind- ‘Andrew.’ So from that point, we practised using ‘Andrew’ in all our interactions and I coached him in all the same areas I had done so with Hardeep. Unlike Hardeep, Anoop made a conscientious effort to be open minded about my pre-employment advice.
All his coverletters, his résumés, his mobile phone voicemail message, his email address, his LinkedIn profile and his online applications were consistent with our strategy to refer to him as ‘Andrew.’ Within a week, he got 2 interview calls. Then within 4 weeks, he had 2 face to face interviews with employers. Finally within 7 weeks, he finally scored a job in his field. All this without local industry experience!
How was this possible? It was all possible, because Anoop understood that he needed to assimilate into the local culture and that the most explicit and most powerful statement he could make that he had successfully done so was by adopting a localised name for business.
As soon as Anoop announced to all his family and friends here and abroad he had got a job, I received a phone call from Hardeep. He was apologetic that he had not taken my advice sooner and that a lot of the frustration he was now experiencing could have been avoided. By this time, Hardeep was ready to take my advice on adopting the name ‘Harry,’ which resulted in him getting a job in 3 weeks!
My end game when I approach any conversation with a new client is to help them get a job. Period. If this means suggesting a name change, then it is all about achieving a positive outcome. My advice to those taking note of this article is to think about the following points:
- Choose a nick-name that is similar to your own name, in regards to the first letter of your name or a direct translation (from one’s language into English). For example: Saviz=Sam; Anushka=Ana; Fahad=Frank; Pradeep=Peter; Esteban=Steve, Michel=Michael. Try not to use names that are too unique. For example, I would not use Neo, Oprah, Elvis or Jesus as a name. As much I am very respectful of the meanings of these names, to modern western societies they are not names that would generate a positive reaction. A big part of “successful assimilation” into local society is to acquire a real perspective / appreciation of the humour and banter behind the local language. These specific names will only draw a negative reaction based on local cultural humour.
- If you are from a country where it is normal to have multiple first names and multiple family names, then please just settle on one first name (nick-name) and one family name. That is it. In most western countries, this is the accepted culture. This is the name combination you will use in all your applications.
- The localised first name you choose needs to be a name you need to be comfortable with using for the rest of your working life in your new chosen country of residence. It will be on your business card, email, work badge, etc. So it is critical to find a name that you intend to stick with.
- It is important that your “voicemail” message on your mobile phone introduces you as your new nick-name. The last thing you want is for recruiters or employers to be confused when they call you and get the wrong impression when they hear your voicemail message. Whilst your friends might not like it, the critical point to make here is unless your friends are going to offer you a job, then they have no say in this strategy!
- It is important all your local and international referees are made aware of the new name you intend to use for the local job market. It is imperative should they receive a call to conduct a reference / referee check they acknowledge you by your new nick-name / localised name. There must be a consistency applied throughout the entire recruitment process.
- It is important you create a new email address that is consistent with your new name. Most businesses use Microsoft Outlook as their default email system. This means your full name as well as your email address will be visible in all your emails to employers and recruiters. For example, if my name was Harsha Singh and I changed it to Harry Singh, then I need to create an email, which is reflective of my new nickname- harry.singh@gmail.com. Another point to make, is to ensure you use English letter characters when creating your new email profile / address.
- It is important ensure your LinkedIn account is consistent with your new name. So if we use the example of Harsha again, then the new profile name should read either ‘Harry Harsh Singh’ or just ‘Harry Singh.’ You also need to change the URL setting to customise it. You can edit this to ensure maximum recognition of your new unique profile name. Local employers and recruiters will use LinkedIn to authenticate your experience and at the same time research your profile. Their acceptance of you is also dependent on their view that you can fit into the culture of the local business.
In summary, a localised name is an explicit statement about your intentions within the local job market. It is also symbolic of your successful assimilation into the local culture. History has shown how many business leaders from diverse backgrounds have travelled over oceans to start new lives in foreign countries, where they eventually built their own empires. Their success to rise above local stereotypes of their culture was made easier by their decision to alter their names to suit the local market. Thus, while it isn’t compulsory you do so, there is enough evidence to suggest how being called ‘Harry’ and not ‘Hardeep’ in the local job market can make a positive difference in your career journey.
