#23, Names
"A person's name is the sweetest sound."
-Dale Carnegie
All of you have an intriguing opportunity that few others have. You get to define yourself in a very fundamental way. In a manner that will last a lifetime. You You get to choose your name. Well, your English name at least. A name is just a name though, isn't it? It's not quite as simple as it may appear. Your name may have a significant impact on the way you are treated in society.
According to a study done by Dr. Sendhil Mullainathan, an economics professor at Harvard University, your name can impact the jobs that are available to you. Dr. Mullainathan created 5,000 identical resumes and sent them to companies in New York City and Boston using two different names. On one resume, he used a distinctly "white" name, Greg. On the other resume, he used a distinctly "black" name, Tyrone. He then measured the amount of callbacks (phone call from an employer to set up an interview) that each resume received. What did he find?
Tyrone's resume was 33% less likely to get a callback. Simply because the name sounds black!
So, a name can have an impact on your job opportunity. You may have more job options if you have a "whiter" sounding name.
To complete this Journal response,
- Answer one or more of the following (a) What is the story behind your English name? For those of you without an English name, why did you decide not to adopt an English name? (b) Would you change your name if give the opportunity?
- Comment on a peer's response.
-Brenden Lee Teacher