What's Wrong with Being an Immigrant?

I graduated with a business degree from McGill University and wasn’t able to get a job in Marketing, my field of study. It took me a while to recognize and then to also accept at a deep level that there is a lot of bias against recent immigrants, especially those with hard-to-pronounce names. 

My first ‘aha’ moment (except it was a loaded with disappointment version in this case) came when I removed “Russian” and “Ukrainian” from the list of languages on my resume, as well as erased all of my work experience and academic achievements that had taken place “back home.” Instantaneously I started receiving at least some phone calls from prospective employers. 

Working in recruitment has of course opened my eyes to shameless biases in the workplace and blatant discrimination in the hiring process coming even from some of the city’s most prominent companies. One of my direct bosses at the time told me that he moved resumes of people with hard-to-pronounce names to the end of his calling list. Once he finally figured out the origin of my death stare, he reassured me that this rule did not apply to someone like me. 

I had a client who wondered why I kept sending her people who were “not from here.” Still naive, I re-assured her that they were indeed “from here” and were highly qualified for the role she was looking to fill. My client clarified that she was hoping that I had some people with local names in my database. Once she finally figured out the origin of my silence, she reassured me that this would have never applied to someone like me. 

I had a client tell me that she didn’t like hiring people who were not originally “from here” because there was always a risk that they would decide to return to their country of origin. Once she noticed my awkward discomfort, she reassured me that she was referring to people who were not like me. 

I’ve heard this so many times now: “...but Marina, I’m not talking about someone like you.” Well, let me challenge you on that. How in the world do you know whether someone is like me or not when all you know is their (likely hard to pronounce) name? How do you know that they are not actually better than me? And what makes you assume that hiring someone who is indeed not like me - or you, for that matter - will not make your team stronger? 

The year is 2018, and while our gut may tell us that “times have changed,” I can assure you one thing: the same biases that I unfortunately faced during my own job search remain fully prominent today. Whether you are a hiring manager, a HR professional or a stand-alone member of a team, take time to audit your company’s hiring practices. Notice gaps, question common practices, and speak up: if your company’s culture has an inherent bias built into it, purposely or not, people will eventually notice. It is up to you to notice first, make a change, and modernize your perspectives. Incredible talent with hard-to-pronounce names is out there, and they are worth hiring. They might be just like me. They might be better than me.