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Hi everyone,
I have a question for HR people, recruiters or hiring managers. I have been looking for a permanent job for a long time now and I am really frustrated. I have a good resume but I only got a single interview within the last two years. I am currently working as a temp and one of my coworkers suggested that I may not be getting any calls because of my foreign name. I have been in the US for the last 25 years. I went to high school, college and law school in the US and all of my work experience with the exception of my last job is in the US. My last job was with the US State Department and I was stationed overseas. My friend thinks hiring managers probably look at my name and the first position in my resume and that being in a foreign country, eliminate me in the first few seconds. I have a hard time believing that but after sending out hundreds of resumes and not getting a single call I am starting to think maybe there is something to it. I can't do anything about my name but I am seriously thinking about changing the experience section of my resume and putting Washington D.C. as my last job location rather than the country I physically worked in. What do you think? Do you eliminate anyone for these kind of reasons or am I just being silly?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ladyvictoria
Hi everyone,
I have a question for HR people, recruiters or hiring managers. I have been looking for a permanent job for a long time now and I am really frustrated. I have a good resume but I only got a single interview within the last two years. I am currently working as a temp and one of my coworkers suggested that I may not be getting any calls because of my foreign name. I have been in the US for the last 25 years. I went to high school, college and law school in the US and all of my work experience with the exception of my last job is in the US. My last job was with the US State Department and I was stationed overseas. My friend thinks hiring managers probably look at my name and the first position in my resume and that being in a foreign country, eliminate me in the first few seconds. I have a hard time believing that but after sending out hundreds of resumes and not getting a single call I am starting to think maybe there is something to it. I can't do anything about my name but I am seriously thinking about changing the experience section of my resume and putting Washington D.C. as my last job location rather than the country I physically worked in. What do you think? Do you eliminate anyone for these kind of reasons or am I just being silly?
I would post Washington, DC as that is where your employer (US State Dept) is headquartered. Although your physical work location was in Country A, it is not the company's headquarters so it would be appropriate to use DC as the location.
I would post Washington, DC as that is where your employer (US State Dept) is headquartered. Although your physical work location was in Country A, it is not the company's headquarters so it would be appropriate to use DC as the location.
Yup, that's right. I've had the same problem from working overseas but at least I have a totally American name.
(just for grins give them the D.C. address for the diplomatic pouch )
Your friend is incorrect. By putting down complete info, such as your high school/college, plus the portion of your job history that is domestic, it would be easy to see that you are eligible to work in the US.
As a hiring manager, I would have no issues with that, or a 'foreign name'.
Do what I used to do: at the top of the resume have a heading or a sentence in your mission statement that reads something like "I am legally eligible to work in the United States and have done so since . . ." My resume has a lot of experience that I gained overseas AND I have a weird foreign name too. Put the assurance that you are a US citizen or green card holder right upfront where they can't miss it.
Thanks everyone. I will change my job location to D.C. I'll still mention it somewhere in the paragraph where I worked but it won't be prominent.
LOL, Azoria, giving the address for the diplomatic pouch is an excellent idea. Did you also work for the US government??
I wouldn't eliminate someone for having worked overseas, but I would eliminate them if I thought they were still overseas and thus not available for either an interview or to start work immediately. So if I were you I'd use Washington DC as the location of your employer and then explain in the accomplishments or cover letter where you were posted, along with an explanation in the cover letter that you are currently stateside and ready and available for work.
As for your name....a name would probably only give me cause if I thought I couldn't pronounce it. Most applicants that I see in this situation add a nickname to their resume. For example: Jîr´i "John" Nemec. Of course this is a nickname they typically answer to conversationally as well, its not just something they put on their resume. But this is a melting pot so foreign names aren't that uncommon, even among American-born. I too have a foreign name, from a country that I've never been to and my family has no ties to--my parents just liked the name and gave it to me. It's not so uncommon that a name alone would give most people pause.
Thanks everyone. I will change my job location to D.C. I'll still mention it somewhere in the paragraph where I worked but it won't be prominent.
LOL, Azoria, giving the address for the diplomatic pouch is an excellent idea. Did you also work for the US government??
Yes....in a roundabout way. I was what is known in the business as a 'trailing spouse'.
I'm dying of curiosity here~because nobody in their right mind leaves the Dept. of State/Foreign Service~did you cash in on a government retirement or get fed up with the insanity?
Changing foreign posts every two years is a major drilling, I could never do it for an entire career. And the people I saw who did, rarely managed to remain sane to the end.
Azoria, I ended up with a State department job in a roundabout way too. After passing the bar in NJ, I decided to do something different and looked for a job overseas. US Embassy was looking for an American Attorney to do work with International Child Abduction cases in Turkey and since it is my birth country I applied and got it. I worked there 3 years and had to come back to NJ 2 years ago because I am taking care of my elderly parents. You're right, you have to be crazy to leave the Dept. of State but sometimes you have no choice. If I came back to D.C., I think I would have an easier time getting a job. But there aren't that many federal jobs in NJ. Intellectually and emotionally, it was the best job I ever had and leaving it was the second worst mistake I made in my career (first one was my decision to go to law school but that's a different thread ). Coming back, I didn't think I would have a problem - I have extensive work experience in business and experience in international and immigration law. So I thought I would have an edge. Oh boy was I ever wrong. Going into 3rd year and I am still looking. I try not to get bitter but it is difficult. I truly don't know what I am doing wrong and it frustrates me. I have so many skills and such diverse, interesting experiences and so much to offer yet I can't even get an interview. Go figure.
I too am in immigrant, I have a very foreign name... I legally changed it to the English translation. Don't really have an problem finding interviews.
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)
). Coming back, I didn't think I would have a problem - I have extensive work experience in business and experience in international and immigration law. So I thought I would have an edge. Oh boy was I ever wrong. Going into 3rd year and I am still looking. I try not to get bitter but it is difficult. I truly don't know what I am doing wrong and it frustrates me. I have so many skills and such diverse, interesting experiences and so much to offer yet I can't even get an interview. Go figure.
