Should a new female graduate use their middle name when job hunting? Could it makes her "appear" to be married/divorced?

[germaine2626]

Originally Posted by germaine2626

Good point.

I just realized that she only uses her middle initial on her business cards. So it is probably best to use the same name every place.

Originally Posted by MPowering1

Except you indicated there were some questions about whether or not she's married, right?

She normally used all three names on job applications and on her resume and other places, but by accident only used her middle initial on her business cards because she just filled in their standard form when she ordered the cards.

A few weeks ago she was asked some "odd questions" at two different interviews which made her think that they were hinting around to see if she had children (because, she speculated that they thought that she was married or divorced due to her middle name being a "last name"). I spoke to her earlier today and she decided to keep everything the same and use first name, middle initial and last name, on her business cards, applications, resume, Linked In, everything job related.

She said that maybe it wasn't a problem, but just in case it was better to avoid it in this tough job market.

PS. She is single without any children.

[GiantRutgersfan]

I think she should just use first and last name. No need to make things more complicated then that if there's not a reason to do so.

[move4ward]

Originally Posted by germaine2626

Hello,
I am helping my niece, who just graduated from college with job hunting by mentoring, proofreading cover letters, giving her tips, etc.

She usually uses all three of her names and her middle name is a last name (it is very common in my extended family to use a parents or grandparents last name as a middle name). It would be something like this Mary Smith Johnson (not her really name).

With the job market so tight is there any problem, one way or the other, with her using all three names? I know that employers aren't supposed to ask but she has had a few odd questions in the past which made her think that they were hinting around to see if she was married or divorced and if she had children. But, that may have happened even is she only used her middle initial.

So what is better, Mary S. Johnson, Mary Smith Johnson or it really doesn't matter at all?

Thank you for your input.

New research studies show that people with 3 names have a 2% unemployment rate. It's certainly not true, but names do have an impact on job hunting. It's not what you think, though.

I have only found a few research studies on names and the impact on interviews. The "white" names were 50% more likely to get interviews than the same resume with a "black" name.

http://www.nber.org/digest/sep03/w9873.html\

Job applicants with white names needed to send about 10 resumes to get one callback; those with African-American names needed to send around 15 resumes to get one callback. This would suggest either employer prejudice or employer perception that race signals lower productivity.

The 50 percent gap in callback rates is statistically very significant, Bertrand and Mullainathan note...

[joe from dayton]

Originally Posted by RoadWarrior12

O.v.e.r.t.h.i.n.k.i.n.g

Agreed. There are also plenty of single, never-been-married women with children as well. *IF* a company is truly concerned about hiring a woman with children, playing hide the middle name isn't going to accomplish anything.