You can't figure out. You're totally qualified for the positions you've applied for – overqualified half the time.
But no call backs. No interviews. Nothing.
What's going on?
You resume is perfect – compelling, thorough, no typos.
Your cover letter is customized for each role – personable, authentic, confident.
Then it hits you. It's your name. Your first name sounds too different, too Black, too African. Probably because it is African – from Ghana, to be precise, where your grandparents are from.
Your middle name is less threatening. More palatable. More recognizable. More acceptable. More "American."
More "normal."
So with tears in your eyes, and turmoil in your soul, you change your name on your resume and cover letter, and even on your LinkedIn profile.
You apply to the same jobs. You get call backs within a few days, several interviews that go well, and you land a role that is perfect for you.
Except you can't help but wonder what it's going to be like working for a company that didn't want the "African" you.
You're excited to start your new job, eager to do well. But the path it took to get here makes you sad and resentful.
You just hope it doesn't adversely affect your job performance.
And how will you deposit your paychecks?
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