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That Time An Interviewer Told Me To Change The Spelling of My Name
“What’s in a name?” asked Shakespeare. Well, a lot, actually, if you have a name like mine…
My surname is spelled differently to how most people in my culture spell it. I think the person that filled in my birth certificate made the mistake and my parents didn’t go about changing it. It’s fine; I like how it’s spelled. Never had anything more than a confused look sent my way when people asked for its spelling.
Until I applied for a job in a financial advisory firm near Liverpool Street Station, Central London. This was after I graduated from Uni and while I was temping at a local call centre. I actually passed a phone interview with the company beforehand; I got the call at work and had to go into the bathroom to speak to them. It must have been good enough because the phone interviewer booked me in for a face-to-face interview at the end of the call. Hooray for me.
The day I had to go in for the interview was dark and wet, so I guess I should have taken that as a sign that it wouldn’t be good day? But the weather on the day I interviewed for the call centre job was similar, so I was secretly hoping it was a good…