My Native Name Denied Me Job Opportunities in the UK- Nigerian Man Says

• A Nigerian man has said he only got a job in the United Kingdom after he removed his native name from his CV
• According to Inein Victor Garrick, efforts to land a job became unsuccessful every time prospective employers see his Nigerian name
• But Nigerians have argued that it was demeaning for one to forsake their native name in a foreign land because of a job

A Nigerian man named Inein Victor Garrick was unable to land a job in the UK until he removed "Inein" from his CV.

The man said prospective employers found it hard to pronounce his first name. This was a barrier to his job hunting efforts, so he had to do away with it.

Several applications were turned down due to native name

Garrick said several applications he submitted never made it to the last stage due to the name barrier. His words:

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“I never seemed to get past the first application stages even though on paper, I had all the necessary requirements for at least an interview. In addition, the few calls I had, the recruiters had an issue in saying my first name correctly.⁣ I started using Victor’s as first name due to the barriers I faced whilst applying to jobs after university.⁣"

He got a job after he started using "Victor"

Garrick, 34, who is a graduate of South Wales University in the UK said he got multiple invitations for an interview the moment the native name was removed from his CV. He told Mirror UK.:

“The moment I changed to my middle name Victor, on my CV, within a week, I had multiple calls for interviews.”⁣

Nigerians react to the story

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When the story was reshared on Instagram by @guardiannigeria, some Nigerians who saw it quickly bared their minds as follows:

@1_gogetter commented:

"Yes, sometimes if ur name does not look like a name of a native, it ll hiddering you. There is some big truth to what he is saying. Many people have done the strategy and got many calls afterwards."

@tun_bab said:

"This is nonsense!!!!! I have my full Yoruba names on my CV. I have been working in the UK for more than a decade as a Project Management consultant. He should work on his CV, not his name."

@ittyokopide remarked:

"This is very disturbing to read!"

See the post below:

I sought opportunities abroad because Nigeria rejected me

Meanwhile Legit.ng has previously reported that a Nigerian man gave reasons why he relocated to Europe.

According to the man named Ifeanyi Obi he received several rejections at home before he decided to seek greener pastures abroad.

Ifeanyi is currently an associate professor in Europe.

Source: Legit.ng