[llampx]

It is thanks to racist attitudes like this that I changed my name from an Indian one to an American-sounding one. And whaddaya know, my callbacks shot way up.

I'm not cheating anyone, just trying to do an honest job, but attitudes like this hold minorities back. Because when you say this about an entire nationality so freely, what do you think about blacks? What about Chinese? What about Mexicans? It is much more politically incorrect to hold stereotypical views of visible minorities who have fought and are fighting for their rights in American society. Indians? Too many people feel free to shit on them both on anonymous forums as well as in popular culture.

[throwaway082729]

I've the Indianest sounding name possible and I can get 10 jobs in a month. Maybe, just maybe, it's because of your skills and experience?

[llampx]

Good on you mate. Is it possible that we have had different experiences and have applied to different companies at different times? I've worked a lot in the Midwest in the medium-sized sector where there was a definite stereotype of Indians, and it was not a positive one.

Someone who is applying to Google in current_year is obviously in a different position. Not to mention other variables like a degree from Stanford etc, or being born in the US etc.

Obviously I am not saying that having an Americanized name is a requirement. I'm just saying that in the absence of other redeeming factors (I am no genius and have no patents to my name) it was a speedbump in the early selection process.

[Wintereise]

If you're willing to hustle/keep at it, yep, the name isn't much of a problem.

Having the Americanized name instantly lowers the difficulty though. Anecdotal, but I've seen this myself as well.

[Wintereise]

> It is thanks to racist attitudes like this that I changed my name from an Indian one to an American-sounding one. And whaddaya know, my callbacks shot way up.

Ah, brings tears to my eyes :)

It's amazing how true this is (applies to most minority groups). With my native name, a lot of companies don't even seem interested in sparing a second look.

With the Americanized version, I've had no problems at all landing interviews (and getting hired!).

[beerlord]

You should be doing this anyway as part of your integration into the culture. East Asians are smart - they name their children Jason Wu, Lucy Wang, Winson Ho from birth.

[dragonwriter]

> East Asians are smart - they name their children Jason Wu, Lucy Wang, Winson Ho from birth.

Most examples I know of that actually have both a westernized and a non-Westernized name, and quite a number that I've known who used the Westernized name primarily in public as children now use the non-Westernized name as adults.

(Also, a few that I know that use Westernized names have stereotypically Black Westernized names, which retains the advantage in parsing/pronunciation of Westernized names in general, but not the social advantages of stereotypically White names.)