Do you need to change your name to get a job in Norway?

What is your name?
Do you like your name? Do people have trouble pronouncing your name in another country?
Does it bother you?
For some immigrants, it doesn’t matter how others pronounce their name.
For me, it does.
I’ve read once that “your name is the sweetest sound you’ll ever hear”. My name is my identity.

My name is Juliana.
Some Norwegians call me Iuliana. With an I instead of J. It’s easier for them.
I didn’t know it mattered to me until one day I went to a shop to pick up my purchase and the attendant said my name exactly how they do in Brazil. I was shocked. Tears came to my eyes. A wave of love and joy surrounded me.
What a feeling! Of course! The attendant was from Portugal.

A few months later, at a rehearsal for a theatre play, my friend asked me: -Is your name Iuliana or Djuliana (like in English J as in “Jeans”)? Whatever, I answered.

-No, I really want to know how to pronounce your name correctly.
Then I said: -None. It’s Juliana.
Guro tried her best. It came out more like Djuliana.
It meant so much to me!! That she cared. That she tried. It doesn’t matter if Norwegians can pronounce the J like in Portuguese. What matters to me is that they try.
From that day on, I decided to teach everyone how to pronounce my name, at work and everywhere else.
Yesterday, one adult said Iuliana, talking about me. The children ran to correct her. -This is not her name! Her name is Djuliana.

Soooo cute!!

I’m not the only one.
Children care a lot about their names and some of them have actually corrected me when I said them wrongly. In Norwegian, there’s Maria and Marie, Helena and Helene, the last e is pronounced between a and e. Not a strong e. They care. They correct me. 🙂

There’s a boy whose name is a foreign name. When I met him at school, I read his name and I called him. He looked amazed and surprised. He said I was the only one who could pronounce it as it is. Years later, whenever we meet, he smiles at me and says to his friends:

-She is so kind.

FACTS ABOUT NAME X JOB IN NORWAY

A couple of years ago, I read an article on Stavanger Aftenblad with testimonials from foreigners saying that they have had tried to get job interviews in Norway for years. When they changed their last names to a Norwegian name, they got interviews and a job.

A study done by the Institute for Social Research (Institut for Samfunnsforskning – ISF) in 2012 shows that the probability of being called for a job interview is reduced by 25% if the applicant has a foreign name compared to a Norwegian name with identical qualifications.

At the language center, we discussed that theme with our teacher.

I have a friend who has changed her name to Lili so that Norwegians can pronounce it. She comes from Asia.

Though Norwegians have no problem pronouncing my last name Linares, I do use my Norwegian last name Øverland (my last name after I got married) on job applications. It seems that when people don’t know you, having a last name that sounds familiar can make a difference. I’m reluctant to think it’s because of prejudice.

Honestly, I believe that: more than a name, to get a good job anywhere, you need good qualifications, to be proactive, to show that you are the right person for the job.

Would you like to know more about getting prepared for a job interview in Norway? Check my other post here.

So, are you like me and the children? Or would you change your name and feel good about it?
🥰🙃

I’d love to read your experience and feelings.