What's In a Name?

Apparently more than we give credit.

A job seeker in Canada did an unscientific but still revealing test - applying to 5 jobs under both his real name - Rajiv Prasad and the other Roger Pritchard.

The result - Roger got 3 out of 5 responses - and Rajiv - NONE.

This is not as surprising as perhaps it first seems according to a number of other studies conducted more intensely in other countries with equally startling results according to a recent article in the Globe & Mail by Jeff Reitz.

This underlines the importance of building your brand and reputation way beyond the reliance on getting your next job through the traditional channels and approaches. We continually hear the general figures of 75-80% of all jobs are filled through networking - this now includes such measures as employee referrals and more formal referral processes - so what else are you doing to ensure that your name carries more weight?

Posted by Paul Copcutt