What's my name? I forget

So most of my friends know me by the name my parents gave me: LaKeshia. I was never a big fan of it, but after 30 years I was finally accepting the name (see the story on my name here). That is until I became unemployed last year.

You always hear stories of people with ethnic names not getting jobs. I thought this was not so true anymore. We elected a man named Barack Obama, the least American name of any president. We've evolved, I thought, people are creating all types of unique names for their children.


I thought my resume would speak for itself, I had the education, the experience and I never considered racism would take place based on a name. After being unemployed for six months, I began to wonder what I was doing wrong. I wasn't even getting called in for interviews. I was beginning to contemplate my future in the PR and marketing business and began to wonder if I would have to go back to school to find another career field.

I decided to send out resumes using my first initial, middle name and last name: L. Lynn Haliburton. I sent this batch of resumes everywhere, hitting virtually all PR firms in Michigan and other states where I considered moving. I began receiving calls right away. Even from a company that I had previously applied with when they had an open position. Within a month of using Lynn, I found a job and had several interviews. Six months later, I still receive the occasional call because they were so impressed with my resume they "kept it on file."

Now my only problem is, I don't know what to call myself sometimes. A lot of people are used to calling me LaKeshia or Keshia. So they look at me crazy when I introduce myself as Lynn. But honestly, I don't care what you call me, as long as you don't judge my by my name.