finding a job

[JeanneVictoria 55]

We must have been exceptionally lucky as Wael has had no problems with his name. Got his job 2 wks after arriving in the states. I was surprised to see how many people actually know how to pronounce it!

[ya falaha! 0]

Wael isn't a "threatening" name like Mohamed or Usama. Also, many ppl may not even know it's an Arabic name. My sons' names are also "non-threatening" and not blatantly Arab sounding either. Many ppl ask what the origin of their names are.

[100% Al Ahly Fan 53]

Wael isn't a "threatening" name like Mohamed or Usama. Also, many ppl may not even know it's an Arabic name. My sons' names are also "non-threatening" and not blatantly Arab sounding either. Many ppl ask what the origin of their names are.

Being born and mostly raised her in the U.S, I've always used my FULL MENA name I was born with. I, too, feel Sharifah is fairly "non-threatening", but threatening or not, I've never had a problem as far as using my name for anything (at least to my knowledge). I also don't have the Arab accent that many times goes with the MENA names.

I really believe that in addition to many places of business here in the U.S. sometimes having problems with MENA names (or different names in general), I think they also take accent into consideration. The stronger the accent the less likely the person will be hired for a certain type of job. Also where you live makes a difference. I think living in a bigr city vs. a small town can make all the difference for a newly arrived foreigner.

Now this doesn't make it okay and no, it's not fair, not right....but it happens. Ya just have to keep on pushing on! I wish all of you and your spouses the best. I'm sure I will be posting all about Ahmed's job hunts when he finally gets here, so I really appreciated reading about all the concerns and issues that can possibly arise.

[ya falaha! 0]

I agree. My husband's accent is fairly thick, of course, so that may have a lot to do with his having a hard time finding work. His name is Mohamed and I think it hurts him in some ways but he would never change it to please anyone else. He may change his mind in the future depending on how desperate he becomes for work.

Wael isn't a "threatening" name like Mohamed or Usama. Also, many ppl may not even know it's an Arabic name. My sons' names are also "non-threatening" and not blatantly Arab sounding either. Many ppl ask what the origin of their names are.

Being born and mostly raised her in the U.S, I've always used my FULL MENA name I was born with. I, too, feel Sharifah is fairly "non-threatening", but threatening or not, I've never had a problem as far as using my name for anything (at least to my knowledge). I also don't have the Arab accent that many times goes with the MENA names.

I really believe that in addition to many places of business here in the U.S. sometimes having problems with MENA names (or different names in general), I think they also take accent into consideration. The stronger the accent the less likely the person will be hired for a certain type of job. Also where you live makes a difference. I think living in a bigr city vs. a small town can make all the difference for a newly arrived foreigner.

Now this doesn't make it okay and no, it's not fair, not right....but it happens. Ya just have to keep on pushing on! I wish all of you and your spouses the best. I'm sure I will be posting all about Ahmed's job hunts when he finally gets here, so I really appreciated reading about all the concerns and issues that can possibly arise.

Edited October 8, 2009 by Astarte

[Staashi 371]

I have a good friend who I work with that is a Mohammed but he goes by Mo. Go figure.

[ya falaha! 0]

My brother calls my husband "Mo"...he's the only one allowed to call him that. The husband is too shy to tell him he doesn't like to be called "Mo".

I have a good friend who I work with that is a Mohammed but he goes by Mo. Go figure.

[doodlebugg 10]

Has anyone actually tried "Americanizing" their or their SO's name and found it to make a difference?

i'm just curious... i think about it sometimes myself.

Back when my husband was looking for a job I suggested that he change from Usama to Sam. A guy who lives in our town from Syria is really Usama but people only know him as Sam. Anyhoo he said no way Usama is my name and if God wants I will get a job. Luckily he didn't have that much of a problem since there's good transportation here and plenty of restaurants nearby and in Boston but I still wonder what changing his name would have done for him. I kind of think that the amount of work experience in the US has more to do with the decision than the name on the resume but I guess it's kind of important to get them to pull it out of a pile first.

[brnidokiegurl 0]

They are usually pretty much against changing the names, jobs and times are hard now...this is Ahmeds second. Most actually dont know what our style of work is. Ahmed was used to owning his own store and being the boss. If he was ready to open he would if he needed to close he would and no one pushing him to do quotas in a set amt of time. He seems to be adjusting to this one very well, the first one was very racist towards him, this one everyone seems to be decent and his boss tell him all they time hes doing good, so he tries just that much more. He will get his first ck in the morning so he will be on cloud 9, until he starts seeing some of the bills (hes going to help with) ha but anyway if he hadnt gotten this one a friend of a friend (Moroccan) he had connection that after he got the drivers lic he was to talk with him. These friends of friends can usually get them in contact with others that help. This man we had never met but met him thru a man that fixed computers that knew him and had ahmed to call him, come to find out this man has been here like 20 years, is a teacher and has many connections. So just look for these connections, they are there.

[milimelo 4,505]

I'll just say that in the firm I work in one of the big bosses is called Mouhamed but everyone calls him Mike. Don't know his background but I do know he is Mike.

[Amoon 0]

My husband is Raad Mohammad...can't really do too much with that. My question would be if you filled out an application with a "nickname" and then you were actually hired and presented your SS card and what not, and it was different...can you get in trouble for that??

[morocco4ever 63]

My husband is Raad Mohammad...can't really do too much with that. My question would be if you filled out an application with a "nickname" and then you were actually hired and presented your SS card and what not, and it was different...can you get in trouble for that??

Just call him Bob.

There is nothing wrong with using a nickname at work. But HR will need to know the legal name for payroll information. So the employment application is fine, but all other forms with his legal name.

[Amoon 0]

My husband is Raad Mohammad...can't really do too much with that. My question would be if you filled out an application with a "nickname" and then you were actually hired and presented your SS card and what not, and it was different...can you get in trouble for that??

Just call him Bob.

There is nothing wrong with using a nickname at work. But HR will need to know the legal name for payroll information. So the employment application is fine, but all other forms with his legal name.

Haha...Bob...My dad actually calls him Bobby because he went deer hunting with him a couple of weeks ago for the first time and my hubby couldn't sit still..he kept "Bobbing" his head around and so my dad started calling him Bobby. He also calls him Rodriguez sometimes because Americans pronounce his name like Rod. Pretty funny.

So you couldn't be accused of "falsifying documents" if you put a nickname on your employment application?