Should I get an Anglo name?

[ReganM]

-copy pasted from my reddit post-

So I'm Asian, and my name is Chinese. My name consists of three "names" with my last name at the end. I prefer to go by my "middle" name, but at school and on basically every thing else, I've written my "full" name. I've been doing so for 17 years.

So this year I'm in Year 12, and next year I'm (hopefully) going to uni and (hopefully) will find a job. I think I would like to get myself an "anglo" first name. It's not that I'm not proud of my Chinese heritage, I damn am, it's just that I feel outside of my immediate area, people judge me by my name and immediately assume I don't speak English pretty well, and I think this may affect my future job prospects. I think having an Anglo first name might remove that prejudice.

(My reasoning behind this is while I'm a perfectly capable person, and my resume says so (ie. I at least don't have an convictions on my resume, LOL), I've been resume dropping for 2 years (at places which say "HIRING JUNIOR WORKERS etc etc"), which fit my description perfectly well. And I STILL haven't had an interview, let alone a job. And I would really like a job. I have no work experience, but I don't think that's really a major factor since I've seen many of friends get part time jobs without it.)

Ahh, I've started ranting. Anyway, I would like to change my name.

Should I do this? I was also wondering if I could just like, write down an anglo name in brackets beside my Chinese name when signing up for things, would that still be acceptable or would I have to actually go all the way and change my name with the authorities or whoever is in charge of it?

I could also just switch to using my "middle" Chinese name as my first name. :|

~~~

What do you think ATARnotes? i know most of you guys are asian.

PS. I'm a girl.

[pi]

In terms of getting a job, I think a change in name may actually work. I think there have been studies in the US where they have found that many employers are inherently (maybe even accidentally or subconsciously) racist, I'll try and find a link later, but it seemed pretty legit, something on "institutional racism".

EDIT: Just a mini-hijack, is there any reason why indians/lankans never seem to change their names? Even though a name like Subramaniam or Venkataramana is pretty long and inconvenient...

[JinXi]

I feel you. The chances that someone pronounces my name right on the 1st go is zero to none. It gets pretty annoying at times. On a side note, having an uncommon name does impact on your confidence level. There are times that I simply do not speak in lectures as I seriously can't be bothered telling the entire lecture how to pronounce my name, and probably failing in doing so... apart from that, I have no problems with my name.

[LOVEPHYSICS]

It's not easy being a minority. I don't think you would need to go to the authorities and change your name the legitimate way, unless you want your Anglo name to be registered on your passport, medicare/bank cards or other important documents. I go by an Anglo first name (not legit), though some of my friends do prefer/enjoy calling me by my asian name. In terms of jobs and stuff, the only way to completely wipe off any possible 'racism' is to change your surname as well. Though, if you do have a christian first name, the general  perception is that you can at least speak decent English. I think its fine to get an Anglo name if you think that it can help you in your career in the future. Being firstly an Asian, and then a Chinese, I do feel for you. Best of luck!

[ninwa]

Ahaha I actually read your post on reddit as well. Weird to see it repeated here.

As an Asian who has an "Anglo" name (my parents changed it so it is actually my legal name, and my Chinese name is my middle name), I don't feel that it has made any real difference. Your last name will always identify you as Asian (unless you change that too).

But I did read in the paper about some highly-qualified Sudanese guy who sent off resumes to the same place under his name and under a made-up "white" name, and the white name got a lot more interviews. Racism is still present in this country, unfortunately.

I've also had trouble in the past finding jobs at places like Maccas and Target but I would say that's partly because so many people apply to them. Also, I think they prefer younger workers so they can pay them less.
... or maybe I'm just naive/in denial?

The job I'm at now is very diverse (ethnicity-wise), so maybe you just need to wait for a position to open up in a non-discriminatory place. (Do you really want to work around judgemental bogans anyway?)

Anglo name in brackets next to Asian name just screams "fob trying to fit in". Either change completely or don't. Might just be me though.

Have you considered tutoring or something just to get some work experience on your resume?

[appianway]

I'm white, so this might not be the perspective that you're looking for... but I did go to a school which was almost entirely asian...

... if you've got good credentials, and you present well at an interview, I don't see too many reasons why an employer wouldn't consider you on the same level of someoneone else with the same credentials of a different ethnicity (unless they're a bigot, which to be fair, can include people of any race). I have plentyyyy of friends who hold multiple jobs and go by their chinese names. One option is to place an Anglo name in brackets, if there's an anglo name which is similar to your chinese name (just to make it easier for people to pronounce?). When I did go for interviews last year, I noticed most fast food type places and most shopping centres were quite ethnically diverse - about half of my interviewers weren't anglo.

If you're looking for a job, in any case, cast your net wide: I applied for about 20 jobs last year and had decent credentials, and only received a handful of interview offers. I ended up doing data entry for a group where only one worker was born in Australia - you'll find that a lot of people will care more about how you do the job than where your ancestors lived.

Oh, and to reiterate what ninwa said - I too had trouble finding a job at places like that, and I'm a white female who did have a bit of work experience. It's not all about race. 

[Eriny]

Getting a job in high school is always tricky unless you're applying as a Christmas Casual. It generally helps to know someone. I haven't applied to any fast food places, but for big stores and such, you need to both fill out the online application AND visit the manager in-store AND happen to be applying at the right time when they're looking for someone. Even then, it isn't guaranteed. Smaller places tend to be a bit easier, but only if they're looking.

As for the anglo name thing, I feel bad about it but often it is actually much easier for me (a white person) to remember and pronounce anglo names. In addition, the anglo people I know who have gone over to China for an exchange have tended to adopt a Chinese variation of their name, particularly if their name has sounds that don't really exist in Chinese. I don't know if this is right or wrong, but if nothing else it can be more convenient.

[ReganM]

@ninwa: Lool! I thought the demographic here would be more likely to have similar views to me.

Anyway, thanks everyone on the advice.

The thing is, my "middle" name is just one syllable and entirely pronounceable, and I'm fairly sure it would sound feminine to anyone reading it. My last name is also one syllable.

I guess I shouldn't be so let down by the crappy job finding results, but in the long term, I was thinking that if it means I get great jobs and jobs I would actually enjoy doing, maybe it's not so bad.

I might just go with an unofficial English name, eg. "My name is Alex (Kong-san) Chan", on a resume...? How about that?

[bangbros]

roflol, they can still tell if you're asian at the interview, so if they didn't want asians i don't think you'd make it any further

[giveup]

I have not read the other responses.

I'm Caucasian, with what could be considered a foreign name. As I see it, this is a huge let down in job applications and I can definitely see an Asian name being responsible for not getting an interview...

If you feel comfortable with your middle-name and are addressed by it then it shouldn't be a big deal to change it to your first name... I can imagine it being a pain to get all the legal stuff for it though.

[s...]

I have a name(chinese pin-yin) that sounds redicuously like 'sushi', so it sucks when people say my name wrong.

why don't you just change your last name?
One of my family friends(asian) did this, and the employers couldn't tell what his background was. (he was offered a lot more jobs, too) 
OR: just say that you prefer being called by your 'anglo'/'asian' name, but your real name is 'wxyz'


s.

[Russ]

-copy pasted from my reddit post-

Absol is my favourite pokemon of the new generation as well