hard to pronounce asian name - name change for legal hiring? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I see your point. And yeah, you're right that 40+ biglaw partners are probably more tolerant. Then again (and I'm not trying to dispute your point, just wondering what you think), my current-generation peers are the ones I will be working with as time goes by. I would hope they'd judge less as they get more experience through life, rather than cast a bad shadow. I personally don't care about these things much at all (again, why I haven't changed my name). There definitely exists a pressure to assimilate with an Americanized name, though. I think I know just one other person who never changed her name, and hers isn't terribly difficult to pronounce. I don't care if I FEEL behind the curve, but if I actually AM behind it in some way, that would, to put it delicately, suck.

Hopefully your current peers will be actual adults by the time you work with them and not petulant children. But in any case they won't be the ones making hiring decisions (at least not initially) so it's not like it'll hurt your chances.

Let us hope. Thanks for all your advice. It's definitely a weird phenomenon that East Asians in particular change their names so often. Meh, I'm not much for sociology. Hopefully everyone will get over it. I suppose it's mainly a first-impression issue that I have to live with. I won't lie though, it gets progressively more annoying the older I am. Young kids can be super tolerant when you're all they know. I grew up in a really wealthy white neighborhood, so perhaps that's why I was so out of touch for so long about this issue.

[bk1]

Let us hope. Thanks for all your advice. It's definitely a weird phenomenon that East Asians in particular change their names so often. Meh, I'm not much for sociology. Hopefully everyone will get over it. I suppose it's mainly a first-impression issue that I have to live with. I won't lie though, it gets progressively more annoying the older I am. Young kids can be super tolerant when you're all they know. I grew up in a really wealthy white neighborhood, so perhaps that's why I was so out of touch for so long about this issue.

Luckily for you, it's mostly wealthy whites that run law firms.

[de5igual]

No. And is anyone's first name Nguyen?

--ImageRemoved--

Both the shooter (Nguyễn Ngọc Loan) and the shootee (Nguyễn Văn Lém).

For Asian names, the last name (family name) is always first.

Shit.

half-breed fail?

[bk1]

half-breed fail?

[rad lulz]

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[de5igual]

half-breed fail?

brah u mad I'm 6'1"?

yah...

[de5igual]

OP...why not just use your initials? E.g., Zhaojin Li = Z.J. Li

[Rotor]

Wouldn't changing your name for your resume create a disconnect between that and your transcript? That may be more confusing than putting a nickname or westernization in parentheses between your real first and family names?

[dandoe123]

just out of curiosity, why now? why didn't you change your name at an earlier age? i would think people are much crueler when they are younger, no?

if you've made it this far in life with so much success, i personally think you'd be fine. i actually think it'd make things a bit more difficult if you were to change your name now. for instance, if a hiring manager were to contact your references and ask for their opinion of "amy", they might be a bit confused considering they've probably only known you as your "hard to pronounce asian name".

just my two cents.

[Anonymous User]

OP...why not just use your initials? E.g., Zhaojin Li = Z.J. Li

My name doesn't have good-looking enough letters for that.

[rad lulz]

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[Anonymous User]

just out of curiosity, why now? why didn't you change your name at an earlier age? i would think people are much crueler when they are younger, no?

if you've made it this far in life with so much success, i personally think you'd be fine. i actually think it'd make things a bit more difficult if you were to change your name now. for instance, if a hiring manager were to contact your references and ask for their opinion of "amy", they might be a bit confused considering they've probably only known you as your "hard to pronounce asian name".

just my two cents.

You're right. That's why I am squicked out about changing this late in the game. It's not exactly easy to have people know you by different names that sound nothing alike.

I didn't change early in life because I grew up in a place that was super super liberal and wealthy and I was one of maybe three Asian people. I was probably more seen as the non-millionaire more than the weird Asian kid. Unfortunately, college gave me a bit of a reality shock Asian-wise.

[DallasCowboy]

what's in a name?

[PDaddy]

Let me guess: Nguyen

Maybe my California-ness is showing but this isn't that hard to pronounce.

I have zero clue how to pronounce it.

I have heard that name pronounced: "New-Yin" and "Gwin". I have always wanted to know as well.

[lonerider]

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[lonerider]

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[Anonymous User]

Not the OP

I feel like it's hard for people to understand what it's like if you haven't been in that situation. I am also an Asian female who originally had a name that was not only difficult to pronounce, but it was gender-ambiguous as well. It was very annoying to get phone calls or mail addressed to Mr. my name. Although, perhaps being perceived as a male could be helpful for hiring.

If it's just about legal hiring, I'd say don't do it. Not because a name is really that big of a deal and merits that much attachment (after all, every one of my married friends changed their names), but because it's could be a huge administrative hassle. I changed my name to avoid awkwardness in people being surprised to see a girl when they expected a guy, or having people constantly mispronounce my name or ask how to pronounce it and proceed to try 10 times and keep asking is that right? It was never right. Or having people say that's so exotic, what does it mean/what nationality are you? And it's like 1) how would I know and 2) it's none of your damn business random person I'm meeting for the first time (true story: I've been asked my national origin in hiring situations because of my name). Or can you speak X language (no) when did you move to the US (never, I was born here and have never been to that country so please don't ask me what it's like because you'd know as well as I would). It's just super annoying.

But if you had a ton of documents in your name now and needed to explain in each situation that you had a legal name change, that could be annoying too because you'd have to explain why. And for me, having to explain myself to other people is the whole reason I changed it in the first place. I just wanted to be left alone and treated normally rather than be interrogated.

If you haven't graduated college yet, this could still be a good time to change it. That way you name on all your diplomas will match the name you're presenting to employers. I changed mine a couple months before graduating high school so that it would be on all documents from then on. But other than the awkwardness factor of explaining the name change, it's easy to get your medical records listed under the new name, social security cards, etc.

Do you have a middle name that would work better?

[lonerider]

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[Anonymous User]

When I see a name I don't recognize, I am curious about where it comes from and I will ask about it. I don't understand why that would bother people, but on the other hand if they didn't want to talk about it I won't press it.

I can't speak for everyone, but it really does bother me. It made me feel like I was an object on display, not like a regular person. Someone else similar situated would go through an introduction and normal small talk would proceed. Whereas I was expected to have to explain my life history to a stranger. These things are personal and I do think it's a type of privilege if you've never had to experience being treated as an exotic thing rather than a person. It can make a person very self-conscious and puts someone on the spot when they'd rather just chat about the weather or something benign like you'd do with any other person. Since I've changed my name, I don't have to go through the interrogation when I meet someone new, and it's been such a relief. Also, some of those situations were in employment or housing where it's impermissible to ask about national origin, and asking about my name allowed them to do so, but I didn't want to refuse to answer because I really wanted the job. It's more difficult than you would know.

[dingbat]

Just grow a thick skin.
I have a hard to pronounce name that is quite similar to a very conventional name.
I've never had a problem with hiring or anything. If someone calls me by the conventional name, I correct them, but I let slight mispronounciations slide

[Anonymous User]

A lot of this depends on your region I think. In the Southeast here, many of my Asian friends have changed their names, and my wife is thinking about it (she has a very simple, easy to pronounce, but definitely foreign name). Only you can answer this though, OP. It is a hassle to change everything, but if you are really feeling that annoyed by this, you should just change it now. It will only get to be MORE of a hassle the longer you leave it.

[Borhas]

Should you? If you don't mind disgracing your family and going through the hassle then go for it. I recommend a thoroughly American name like Jessie Cheeseburger.

[concurrent fork]

Z.J.

If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

underrated.

Also, OP: no need to legally change your name, but "going by" an American name is quite common in your situation. I disagree with those suggesting you should avoid this as a matter of principle. It just facilitates communication and makes it easier for people, for ex, to write you emails. Many Westerners adopt Chinese versions of their name while living in China as well.

[newyorker88]

Having a white name increases your chances of getting a promotion at work.

[Guchster]

Z.J.

If you have to ask, you can't afford it.