And Even though I was born and raised in Canada, I feel that it might be used against me when submitting my resumes through screeners/HR who may be temted to dismiss my resume because they might feel I am a new immigrant (not that theres anything wrong with being a new immigrant), but you know what I mean. Other than the fact that my resume says I graduated in 2004, for all the HR person knows is that I arrived here in 2000 and I am still working on my english skills. basically I wanted to know what you guys think by putting beside my “Excellent Communication Skills” a little blurb in brackets (English; Mother Tongue) etc… Thoughts?
Is your first name non American / Canadian as well? I think there are studies out there that show a name can make a difference, yes.
I dont think it really makes a difference if your education and experience is canadian …
I’ve seen a case where a someone whose name was Jose’ shortened it to Joe. Even though he grew up in Texas and spoke fine English, he explained a stigma was attached to his name. Granted your last name cannot be altered, no harm in shortening/modifying your first name.
Definitely mention what your mother tongue/native language is. It’s unfortunate that HR has the proclivity to dismiss your resume based on your last name, but assuming that you don’t plan on changing your last name to “Smith” or “Johnson,” make sure you do a heck of a job on your resume as well. On another note, does anyone know why “Lee” is a surname that occurs so frequently across multiple ethnicities? In professional baseball alone, there are players whose last names are “Lee” that are Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Black, Hispanic, English, or just plain ol’ American. I’m sure there are other nationalities that I can’t think of at the moment.
XSellSide Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Is your first name non American / Canadian as > well? I think there are studies out there that > show a name can make a difference, yes. Well my first name involves a sound that you need to make with the click of your tongue ( just kidding, that is from a russell peters joke), My first name is Peter
how about writing fluent english (written/spoken) on the resume?
Numi, So you feel “(English; Mother Tongue)” is appropriate to place on the resume and has no negative connotations.??
I disagree. A name has nothing to do with how well you do in your job search. You think the foreigners/immigrants who go to ivy league and other top schools get looked over because of their names?
positivecarry Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I disagree. A name has nothing to do with how well > you do in your job search. You think the > foreigners/immigrants who go to ivy league and > other top schools get looked over because of their > names? I’m seeking a client facing/Interacting role and I do believe it has a big factor if the HR is dealing with 2 resumes on the screen with similar education and 1 is a John Smith and the other is Peter 18 letter in last name…
Well, if you’re concerned that HR is not giving you a fair chance because of your last name, then I would suggest having a line on your resume that reads something like this: Language skills: English (native speaker), French (fluent), and Spanish (conversational) This would have no negative connotations whatsoever.
jaz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > how about writing fluent english (written/spoken) > on the resume? That would make me assume english is not your first language. This is tough, and I’ve never thought of it… even though I have an absurdly long slavic first name. English translation makes me sound like a 65 year old librarian so I don’t really have any options 
In my situation, I assume the fact that I have a BA from a US school clears it up, does your resume have enough things to make it obvious you are competent??
i suggest including every school you’ve been to since junior kindergarten. but i honestly don’t think it will affect you too much after reading that your first name is Peter… i mean thats a biblical name. but also, i think this line of work involves much less discrimination, etc b/c of the world knowledge that is necessary in performing well. i’m sure you’ll be fine pete. ps. i just thought of something… say you like to play hockey; any canadian recruiter would automatically assume you’ve been a canadian for most of your life reading that. every interview i’m in, we talk hockey b/c its on my resume and i mean, what canadian doesn’t like hockey?
Akansa, CFA level 3, Undergrad Degree in Finance, and some other Canadian finance certifications but other than that, these can all be accomplished by someone who has English as a Second language Jaz, I think placing “Fluent” just means that I am a foreigner who is overconfident in their english skills. I think I’ll be going with numi and placing English (Native Speaker) and thats it because I dont even speak the second language associated with my last name
bypass HR and go directly to hiring manager
put eagle scout in your activities 
hehe can’t be more obvious than that no?? I think numi’s suggestion is the winner so far, but it is a bit awkward.
„« Excellent interpersonal and verbal/written communication skills; (Mother Tongue, English) ??? Matt, you said place hockey on my Res. I was just about to start a post on whether activities/hobbies should even be placed on a resume?? But we can continue that after I hear agreement on my bullet point above
I have a friend who’s Asian also and he changed his first name to Bill as opposed to the unpronouncable first name he really had for the purposes of finding a job his senior year of college. It makes a huge difference to people like JDV to not have Asian-looking names. However, I do agree with the previous posters that the reputation of your school and strength of GPA are more important than name. Xobile Sook Chong from Harvard with a 4.0 GPA is getting the interview over Bill Smith from State U. with a 3.0.
i think stating that you’re an english speaker is dumb and highlights your insecurity about what your name might bring. if i was a recruiter i’d look right through that and never give you a call, although you sound pretty qualified. i swear, put that you play hockey…
MattLikesAnalysis Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i think stating that you’re an english speaker is > dumb and highlights your insecurity about what > your name might bring. if i was a recruiter i’d > look right through that and never give you a call, > although you sound pretty qualified. > > i swear, put that you play hockey… Lol, Matt I dont though!! Maybe I should say I enjoy maple syrup and seal hunting>??? lol