Recently my friend Misty and I were having lunch and she mentioned that she’s looking for a new job. She told me her rather plain middle name and asked me if I thought she should use that on job applications. I told her I liked the name Misty but didn’t have a good answer about what would be most effective at landing a new job. Here’s an essay she wrote about living with her name.
I’m thinking about ditching my first name for job applications, and using my middle name instead. The other day I remembered that while I worked briefly at a restaurant back in 2006, the manager asked me if Misty was a nickname. He might have asked before writing out the first paycheck. When I said no, he replied that he thought it might have been my “dancing name.” His name is one of the most common- one that doesn’t register a blip on any snobbiness radar- yep, John. The Social Security website lists the most popular names by decade here. Continue reading