Unusually spelled names on CVs

CamillaRhodes

Hi y'all, I'd like some advice. My partner, who is Serbian, is moving over to Ireland to be with me (yay!) We realise this is a really sh*tty time to be job-hunting from scratch in this country, but what can we do.

A lovely helpful person here on boards.ie who has gone through similar has suggested that, when her husband moved over, he found he got better responses to his CV when he anglicised the spelling of his name.

My partner's name is not written phonetically and looks a bit difficult to pronounce to non-Serbian readers (though in fact it's pronounced quite easily).

I'd love some advice from those of you familiar with recruiting - should he anglicise his name, e.g. write it how it's pronounced phonetically, or indeed try to make it sound more like a 'western' name somehow? Or would this seem dishonest and would it be difficult if he was offered a job to subsequently tell HR that his name was actually spelled differently, or a different name altogether?

Thanks for any guidance, cheers!

Berty

Personally I don't agree with changing any aspect of your heritage in order to get a "JOB".

However, I am not in the same position as I am Irish so I may not appreciate it as much.

The Chinese are great with changing their names because, honestly for me, I would never be able to pronounce them otherwise/write their names. There are a lot of Chinese over here called Pat/Paddy.

3DataModem

As much as it pains me to say it, making the name more phonetic will help in the application process. While we like to think otherwise, the recruitment process is inherently prejudiced and any edge you can give yourself is of benefit.

Best of luck.

CamillaRhodes

Thanks for the replies. This is what my boardsie mate told me, if you think of a recruiter with 10 CVs in front of her/him, all of them equally qualified, one of which s/he doesn't have a clue how to pronounce the applicant's name. Who do you think s/he's gonna call first, Paddy or the unpronounceable foreigner?

It's not a question of giving up his heritage, Berty, he'll still be very much Serbian He just needs a job!

Probably no harm telling you what his real name is so you can give guidance - it's Ljubiša. That's pronounced "Lubisha". Do you think this phonetic spelling is anglicised enough or should be going for 'Paddy'?

3DataModem

Lubisha looks fine to me.

Cavehill Red

I'd have thought there was very little chance of a non-EU national with no residency entitlement getting a job in Ireland at this time, whether they doctor their cv or not, to be honest.

mikemac

I sure talk to a lot of people call John when I call some call center in India;)
The example you've given seems fine

Does your partner have a skill or qualification as they are not from the EU?
They'll need a work permit

Good info here
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/migrant-workers/employment-permits/work_permits

CamillaRhodes

Hey, thanks again for the replies.

Though he is from outside the EU, he has the right to live and work here (spouse visa). Don't worry about that

He has a BSc from a really good university in London and 9 years experience working in Serbia, but in a field where he's unlikely to find work here in Ireland (human rights) and he's ready for a change anyway, so he'll be applying for language-related jobs and/or non-profit stuff and/or pretty much anything, he's completely flexible.

What does anyone else think of him putting "Lubisha" on the CV, and then correcting the spelling if offered a job?

mikemac

Tbh my first name is as Gaelige and most Irish people can't pronounce it or spell it. And it's an incredibly common name. Ah well

tenchi-fan

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

What does anyone else think of him putting "Lubisha" on the CV, and then correcting the spelling if offered a job?

Definitely.

If not Lubisha perhaps a more English sounding name. How about Larry or Louis

Jim2007

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

What does anyone else think of him putting "Lubisha" on the CV, and then correcting the spelling if offered a job?

A definite "no no" in my book, I have had two people from Africa do the same thing and in both cases the offers were withdrawn, one had even put in his first day on the job. Sorry to have to say it, but someone from that part of the world, going under a different name makes people uncomfortable at best.

Why not simply put: Ljubiša (pronounced "Lubisha") on the CV? That is what I've seen most often on CVs from Eastern Europeans..

Good luck with that,

Jim.

Cavehill Red

He should apply under whatever name it says on his passport. Anything else will raise alarm bells once HR want banking details, identity proof, etc.

Jumpy

Jim2007 wrote: »

A definite "no no" in my book, I have had two people from Africa do the same thing and in both cases the offers were withdrawn, one had even put in his first day on the job. Sorry to have to say it, but someone from that part of the world, going under a different name makes people uncomfortable at best.

Why not simply put: Ljubiša (pronounced "Lubisha") on the CV? That is what I've seen most often on CVs from Eastern Europeans..

Good luck with that,

Jim.

If the offers were withdrawn due to phonetic changes to their name, then that is despicable. However if they had changed their names completely then that of course looks dodgy.

CamillaRhodes

Super, thanks for the replies, this is really what I was hoping to discover - if there's even only one recruiter in ten who thinks it's dodgy to put a different version of his name (which I gotta be honest, I think I would find a bit dodgy too) then I wouldn't want him to do it.

That said, I remember reading about a test where a woman applied for jobs with the exact same CV, some applications with the name Vicki and others with Victoria*. I know it's not quite the same situation, but I was feeling if there was a variation on his name which wasn't quite changing his name but rather making it more readable and akin to a shortening of a name rather than changing...

What about "Luba"? His mum calls him this, it's a common nickname for Ljubisa in Serbia - akin to Jim rather than James. Surely no recruiter would be concerned if someone had Jim on their CV and James on their documents?

(Though, being honest, is the eastern european thing gonna put recruiters' paranoia haunches up?)

(*In the test, they found that posher names get more responses than more colloquial nicknames. There's something similar in Freakonomics too... This is totally off topic, I just realised my comment above about Vicki/Victoria didn't make much sense

mikemac

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

(Though, being honest, is the eastern european thing gonna put recruiters' paranoia haunches up?)

Shouldn't

But make it clear that he has a work permit as employers don't want extra hassle or having to contact government departments when they could easily hire an Irish person or even someone from the EU

CamillaRhodes

feelingstressed wrote: »

make it clear that he has a work permit

For sure

tibuk

I sure talk to a lot of people call John when I call some call center in India
The example you've given seems fine

They are using the same name to make You feel like talking to the same person he he.

RATM

Id just put the Ljubisa (pronounced Lubishca) on the CV- that way he's being up front, allowing the recruiter to be able to pronounce it and avoiding the potential problems of 'name changes' later on.

Cat Melodeon

I'd write the full name as it should be and then add how it is pronounced in square brackets:

Name: Ljubiša Babić I]pr. Lubisha Babitch[/I

CamillaRhodes

Done and done. Thanks guys

Xiney

Maybe, if he hasn't had much luck in a few months, you could put Ljubiša "Luba" Babić or Ljubiša "Louis" Babić.

Many people Anglicize (or otherwise adapt them to the local culture) when integrating. I changed my last name to my husband's because it's Irish. And when people call me "Christina" which is so much more common here, I don't correct them.

wratch

As he is Serbian he might as well write his name in Cyrillic (Љубиша Бабић) LOL

I'd use Lubisa Babic.

I'm Serbian too and never had or wanted to spell my name differently, although my first name is pronounced the same all around the world (TnX Mom )

Good luck

Black Swan

Know of a lad that Americanized his given name from Hasim to Sam. He seemed to think that it made a difference in terms of employment.

Ash.J.Williams

Berty wrote: »

Personally I don't agree with changing any aspect of your heritage in order to get a "JOB".

Martin Sheen's biggest regret!!

tatli_lokma

Hey Camilla,

english version of the spelling in your case would be fine. I think its perfectly understandable given the fact that some of the characters are not in the english language.

It also depends on what jobs he is are applying to - small companies, retail, hotels - I would go with perhaps Luba. This is because of the barrier his actual name can cause - such as pronunciation, and also some smaller places like to feel that although you are foreign, you have assimilated - easiest way to do this is give your familiar deminutive of your name.
If he is applying to larger companies or better yet multi-lingual, then the correct form of his name, but beside it the phonetic version.

In our experience it did make a difference - we put his english diminutive version in brackets his proper name. Again as some of the characters are pronounced totally differently I think it was acceptable. having said that, there was a relationship between his 'nickname' and his actual name - we didn't pick some random Oirish name!

I don't think there is any problem with proof of identity being an issue - my 'full' name is double barrelled, but I have never put this on my CV as I don't use it. I think most people understand that not everyone uses their formal name, and once its not totally different (such as Paddy! lol ) then there is nothing that would set alarm bells ringing.

Best of luck with the job hunting! let us know how he gets on!

oh and, first line of the CV - before anything else - full permission to work and reside in Ireland (stamp 4 spousal visa)
It is worth making it 100% clear - it shouldn't matter, but a spousal visa stamp 4 is more favourably looked upon, as some companies know that this will not require them to give any sponsorship or help to renew it. This I know from experience in my own work place, where several applicants were not considered because the HR manager knew that on a yearly basis they would have to assist in renewing their stamp 4. They went with people who had a permanent status or who were EU. Rightly or wrongly, thats the way it is in some places (unfortunately).

Cat Melodeon

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

He has a BSc from a really good university in London and 9 years experience working in Serbia, but in a field where he's unlikely to find work here in Ireland (human rights) and he's ready for a change anyway, so he'll be applying for language-related jobs and/or non-profit stuff and/or pretty much anything, he's completely flexible.

Make sure he checks out this website for jobs if he's not aware of it already:

http://www.activelink.ie/community-exchange

Most of the current not-for-profit and human rights related positions are listed on there, updated weekly.

ergonomics

I was applying for jobs earlier this year using the Irish version of my name. I had been applying for two or three months without a single interview or rejection. I changed the name on my CV to my English name and within hours I had interviews.

tenchi-fan

ergonomics wrote: »

I was applying for jobs earlier this year using the Irish version of my name. I had been applying for two or three months without a single interview or rejection. I changed the name on my CV to my English name and within hours I had interviews.

Employers are usually no-nonsense, business-minded people. If they see someone spelling their name in Irish they call shenanigans.

pow wow

tenchi-fan wrote: »

Employers are usually no-nonsense, business-minded people. If they see someone spelling their name in Irish they call shenanigans.

What kinda shenanigans? If the job's in Ireland these employers would be able to tell themselves (or have an employee who could) what the English version of the name is so I'm not sure what you think they'd be trying to hide...?

In any case to the OP, plenty of payroll software can't handle non-standard characters so he may well end up being 'Lubisha' at work anyway Best of luck with the job hunting.

CamillaRhodes

Hey guys, just checked in on this thread again and saw there are even more great, helpful responses - cheers! Plenty of food for thought.

(esp thanks to you too, Cincikchick!)

echosound

I'd go with "Luba" as the shortened form of his name, don't see why on earth this would raise alarm bells with any employers if he get a job and hands in official documents with his full-length name on them Would be the same as an Anthony going by Tony, or Jonathon going by Jon IMO.

My husband has gone by his second name since birth, all his official documents such as birth cert and passport are "x y surname", he goes by "y surname", and it's never been a problem at all anywhere - banks, college, work, etc. Virtually no-one has ever questioned it, and if they do, it's easily explained.

best of luck to himself with the jobhunt