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They are the most common and also the toughest for many candidates.
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Career Reshaped Episode 25: How Your Name Affects Your Career (Yes... It Still Happens)
What if the biggest barrier in your job search wasn’t your skills or experience—but your name?
In this powerful episode of Career Reshaped, Pauline takes a hard look at how names still impact hiring decisions in Australia. It’s a quiet form of bias—one that rarely gets talked about, but shows up in inboxes, interview rooms, and missed opportunities.
Pauline shares real stories from job seekers who were told to change their names just to get a foot in the door. From resumes that got ignored until “Mr.” was added, to candidates advised to adopt more Anglo-sounding identities, the episode reveals the subtle but damaging impact of name-based discrimination.
But this isn’t just a conversation about unfair systems—it’s a reminder that your name, your story, and your identity are not liabilities. They’re strengths. And the right workplace will never ask you to erase them.
🎧 Tune in for a raw and timely conversation about hiring bias, advocacy, and what it really means to build a career without losing yourself along the way.
This Episode Covers:
- Personal Stories of How Names Have Affected Real Job Applications
- The Numbers Behind Name-Based Bias and Reduced Chances at Leadership Roles
- What Racism in Australian Workplaces Really Looks Like According to Surveys
- How Blind Hiring and Real Accountability Can Drive Change
- The Emotional Toll of Changing Your Name Just To Get Noticed
- What Your Rights Are and How Fair Work Can Help if You Experience Bias
- Why It’s Better To Speak Up Early Not Just After Things Go Wrong
- Ways To Use Your Experience To Support Others and Push for Better Systems
Podcast Transcript:
| Time | Transcript |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | imagine being told you got the job because of your name it seems unreal |
| 00:05 | right my name is Pauline and I'm a career coach with My Career Angels and |
| 00:10 | welcome back to our podcast Career Rehaped this is where we talk about |
| 00:15 | everything HR related employment related and how to level up your career in |
| 00:22 | today's market hey it's Natasha and I'm Pauline we're so pumped to bring you |
| 00:28 | even bigger and better stuff this season 2 of Career Reshaped we've got new |
| 00:32 | guests free master classes and all the good vibes you'll only find here so |
| 00:37 | don't forget to hit subscribe follow us on Spotify at Careershaped and check us |
| 00:43 | out on Instagram at my.career.angels now I am talking about |
| 00:49 | stereotypes today and one of the biggest ones is names well what's in a name ask |
| 00:57 | Shakespeare he seems to know but reality is for many professionals in Australia |
| 01:04 | their names dictate their chances of success in gaining employment i would |
| 01:10 | like to share a quick story that I knew someone named Kim and Kim was looking |
| 01:17 | for an entrylevel role right out of university |
| 01:21 | it's important to note that Kim was a male and when he put his resume out |
| 01:26 | there nobody called him as soon as he put the |
| 01:31 | word mister in front of his name then his phone started to ring niti and Amir |
| 01:37 | are both advised to adopt more Anglo-Saxon sounding names names just |
| 01:44 | that improve their chances of getting hired and honestly they are not alone |
| 01:50 | this is not a one-off story and as an experienced recruiter I have come across |
| 01:57 | these stereotype biases and what one will even argue racist |
| 02:05 | situations all the time it's systematic and let's just look at the numbers a |
| 02:12 | study of 12,000 applicants found that candidates |
| 02:16 | with non-English names received far fewer callbacks applicants with ethnic |
| 02:23 | names were 57% less likely to be considered for |
| 02:29 | leadership roles and 45% less likely for entrylevel ones even with qualifications |
| 02:38 | that were identical to someone with an English |
| 02:43 | sounding name this bias isn't just names though no it's about prejudice and |
| 02:50 | assumptions that names trigger and if your name can influence your career |
| 02:56 | opportunities what does that say about the system we've built but the issue |
| 03:03 | runs deeper a survey by Diversity Council Australia found that |
| 03:09 | 88% of Australians believe racism is a problem in the workplace and reports |
| 03:15 | like this show that women of color face racial and gender discrimination as a |
| 03:23 | double burden these biases don't just block promotions they silence potential |
| 03:30 | stall careers and push incredible talent right out of the pipeline before we get |
| 03:37 | into the nitty-gritty of this topic we just wanted to check in and say that if |
| 03:41 | you believe that you need some assistance and that we could help you |
| 03:45 | reach out to us today check out our website join our newsletter we'd love to |
| 03:48 | be in touch we wanted to quickly mention that subscribing to the podcast is the |
| 03:53 | best way to support the show and ensure you never miss an episode it's super |
| 04:00 | easy just click the subscribe button whenever you're listening thanks for |
| 04:04 | tuning in so what needs to change well in the perfect world blind recruitment |
| 04:10 | must become standardized removing names and identifications for from |
| 04:15 | applications just the same way as it is in a VCE year 12 exam there are no names |
| 04:24 | there are no races or sex in that exam just a number now I'm not saying we need |
| 04:30 | to become numbers i'm just saying that we need to remove biases and these are |
| 04:38 | biases that people may not even realize they have there needs to be |
| 04:43 | accountability and this needs to exist in every level from hiring managers to |
| 04:48 | leadership teams because honestly policies on paper don't seem to matter |
| 04:54 | without real action don't erase who you are to fit a broken system your name |
| 05:02 | your background your story they are not liabilities they're your strengths yes |
| 05:09 | the system is flawed but shrinking yourself to survive is not the answer |
| 05:15 | lead with who you are and find a workplace that celebrates that not just |
| 05:20 | accepts it before you tell me that these workplaces do not exist I'm here to tell |
| 05:26 | you that they do there are organizations who value individuals for the |
| 05:33 | individuals that they are and nothing else know your rights and use your voice |
| 05:42 | discrimination isn't just wrong it's illegal if you suspect biases document |
| 05:49 | it speak up advocate for yourself fair work is in place to protect you against |
| 05:58 | these things now a lot of people don't go to fair work to talk about |
| 06:04 | discrimination in the interview process and this does happen this happens all |
| 06:10 | the time this has even happened to me when I was asked very personal religious |
| 06:16 | questions there are legal protections and communities that will stand with you |
| 06:22 | fair work is a legal protection and community that will stand with you it is |
| 06:28 | there for a reason it's important to know that progress happens when people |
| 06:33 | stop staying silent in my entire career I have not seen someone go to fair work |
| 06:41 | from the interview stage that only go to fair work after they've been let go |
| 06:49 | unfairly why wait until your life is miserable in the workplace when you can |
| 06:55 | stop the bullying right in the start so build up speak out and lift others with |
| 07:02 | you whether you're applying for jobs or already inside the system you have |
| 07:07 | influence mentor others challenge broken hiring practices join communities like |
| 07:14 | Career Resape that fight for equity notjust |
| 07:20 | equality this is why I'm doing this podcast to talk about this and just |
| 07:25 | start the voice out there to change a broken system representation is power so |
| 07:36 | show up and show what's possible at Career Res we believe in empowering |
| 07:42 | professionals to break barriers not change their names your name is woven |
| 07:50 | into your history identity traditions cultural values and beliefs your |
| 07:57 | ancestors your blood is in that name and you were not given a name by mistake it |
| 08:06 | was thoughtful and shapes and creates your identity by changing that you |
| 08:12 | change who you are and you change all of what that name represents and stands |
| 08:19 | which is you as a side note I can tell you right now that I do not like the |
| 08:23 | name Pauline but I'm not changing it forever and ever i will be Pauline and |
| 08:29 | that has nothing to do with employment it simply is i don't like it but I was |
| 08:32 | named after my greatg grandmother and there is respect and honor in that at |
| 08:39 | Career Res we do offer resources support and a growing community committed to |
| 08:44 | inclusion so subscribe for more stories that matter and follow my career angels |
| 08:49 | on Instagram to stay connected every day I share new content that will help build |
| 08:56 | your career and if you have roadblocks in your current career whether it's |
| 09:04 | finding a job or getting that promotion please reach out we are here |
| 09:11 | to help and to guide and to knock down those |
| 09:16 | roadblocks we can reshape the narrative and build a workforce that reflects all |
| 09:22 | of us cuz that is our mission and that is what we want to do we want to empower |
| 09:29 | guide you and support you like your little mentors holding your hand all the |
| 09:35 | way you don't have to do it alone see you next week |
Other episodes you might be interested in:
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