I was on r/namenerds, and someone was asking “What do people mean when they say a name will sound “unprofessional” on a resume?” The answer? WELLLL….
So…when HR managers pass over a resumé with a unique/”weird” sounding name—ex. Princess, Babygirl, etc, do they assume the person picked it themselves? Because 99.999999% (number I made up) of the time, they don’t. If anything, it’s more like poor judgement on the parents than the potential interviewee.
And in some occasions, the name might seem “new” and “weird” but is probably an old, ethnic name.
Right. You might not be able to take a surgeon named Buddy seriously. But when Buddy is the best surgeon in the facility and you need life-saving surgery ASAP, are you really going to reject him because he has a weird name??
(Copypasted comment below:)
Look at it this way:
You are hiring a babysitter for your children. Are you more likely to choose Margaret or Crystal for the position? Assuming you haven’t met them, and are going off a similar resume of ‘no professional experience, but I have watched my younger sibling(s)!’
You are choosing a doctor. Are you more likely to choose Dr. Jack Harrison, or Dr. Jadartha Agarwal
Typically, people like names that are familiar to them. Even if you don’t care, others will let that subconscious bias influence them.
u/Positive-Court
You have to remember…most people don’t actually pick their own names.
(Although I don’t understand the hate against Crystal. 🤷♀️)
Also for some people, names are like our identities, so it’s not like we can just change it. (Heck, I hate my name, but I don’t think I could find one that sounds like “me”.)
