In Job Hunt, College Degree Can’t Close Racial Gap

[EpyonXero]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/us...er=rss&emc=rss

December 1, 2009
In Job Hunt, College Degree Can’t Close Racial Gap
By MICHAEL LUO
Johnny R. Williams, 30, would appear to be an unlikely person to have to fret about the impact of race on his job search, with companies like JPMorgan Chase and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago on his résumé.

But after graduating from business school last year and not having much success garnering interviews, he decided to retool his résumé, scrubbing it of any details that might tip off his skin color. His membership, for instance, in the African-American business students association? Deleted.

“If they’re going to X me,” Mr. Williams said, “I’d like to at least get in the door first.”

Similarly, Barry Jabbar Sykes, 37, who has a degree in mathematics from Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta, now uses Barry J. Sykes in his continuing search for an information technology position, even though he has gone by Jabbar his whole life.

“Barry sounds like I could be from Ireland,” he said.

That race remains a serious obstacle in the job market for African-Americans, even those with degrees from respected colleges, may seem to some people a jarring contrast to decades of progress by blacks, culminating in President Obama’s election.

But there is ample evidence that racial inequities remain when it comes to employment. Black joblessness has long far outstripped that of whites. And strikingly, the disparity for the first 10 months of this year, as the recession has dragged on, has been even more pronounced for those with college degrees, compared with those without. Education, it seems, does not level the playing field — in fact, it appears to have made it more uneven.

College-educated black men, especially, have struggled relative to their white counterparts in this downturn, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate for black male college graduates 25 and older in 2009 has been nearly twice that of white male college graduates — 8.4 percent compared with 4.4 percent.

Various academic studies have confirmed that black job seekers have a harder time than whites. A study published several years ago in The American Economic Review titled “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal?” found that applicants with black-sounding names received 50 percent fewer callbacks than those with white-sounding names.

A more recent study, published this year in The Journal of Labor Economics found white, Asian and Hispanic managers tended to hire more whites and fewer blacks than black managers did.

The discrimination is rarely overt, according to interviews with more than two dozen college-educated black job seekers around the country, many of them out of work for months. Instead, those interviewed told subtler stories, referring to surprised looks and offhand comments, interviews that fell apart almost as soon as they began, and the sudden loss of interest from companies after meetings.

Whether or not each case actually involved bias, the possibility has furnished an additional agonizing layer of second-guessing for many as their job searches have dragged on.

“It does weigh on you in the search because you’re wondering, how much is race playing a factor in whether I’m even getting a first call, or whether I’m even getting an in-person interview once they hear my voice and they know I’m probably African-American?” said Terelle Hairston, 25, a graduate of Yale University who has been looking for work since the summer while also trying to get a marketing consulting start-up off the ground. “You even worry that the hiring manager may not be as interested in diversity as the H.R. manager or upper management.”

Mr. Williams recently applied to a Dallas money management firm that had posted a position with top business schools. The hiring manager had seemed ecstatic to hear from him, telling him they had trouble getting people from prestigious business schools to move to the area. Mr. Williams had left New York and moved back in with his parents in Dallas to save money.

But when Mr. Williams later met two men from the firm for lunch, he said they appeared stunned when he strolled up to introduce himself.

“Their eyes kind of hit the ceiling a bit,” he said. “It was kind of quiet for about 45 seconds.”

The company’s interest in him quickly cooled, setting off the inevitable questions in his mind.

Discrimination in many cases may not even be intentional, some job seekers pointed out, but simply a matter of people gravitating toward similar people, casting about for the right “cultural fit,” a buzzword often heard in corporate circles.

There is also the matter of how many jobs, especially higher-level ones, are never even posted and depend on word-of-mouth and informal networks, in many cases leaving blacks at a disadvantage. A recent study published in the academic journal Social Problems found that white males receive substantially more job leads for high-level supervisory positions than women and members of minorities.

Many interviewed, however, wrestled with “pulling the race card,” groping between their cynicism and desire to avoid the stigma that blacks are too quick to claim victimhood. After all, many had gone to good schools and had accomplished résumés. Some had grown up in well-to-do settings, with parents who had raised them never to doubt how high they could climb. Moreover, there is President Obama, perhaps the ultimate embodiment of that belief.

Certainly, they conceded, there are times when their race can be beneficial, particularly with companies that have diversity programs. But many said they sensed that such opportunities had been cut back over the years and even more during the downturn. Others speculated there was now more of a tendency to deem diversity unnecessary after Mr. Obama’s triumph.

In fact, whether Mr. Obama’s election has been good or bad for their job prospects is hotly debated. Several interviewed went so far as to say that they believed there was only so much progress that many in the country could take, and that there was now a backlash against blacks.

“There is resentment toward his presidency among some because of his race,” said Edward Verner, a Morehouse alumnus from New Jersey who was laid off as a regional sales manager and has been able to find only part-time work. “This has affected well-educated, African-American job seekers.”

It is difficult to overstate the degree that they say race permeates nearly every aspect of their job searches, from how early they show up to interviews to the kinds of anecdotes they try to come up with.

“You want to be a nonthreatening, professional black guy,” said Winston Bell, 40, of Cleveland, who has been looking for a job in business development.

He drew an analogy to several prominent black sports broadcasters. “You don’t want to be Stephen A. Smith. You want to be Bryant Gumbel. You don’t even want to be Stuart Scott. You don’t want to be, ‘Booyah.’ ”

Nearly all said they agonized over job applications that asked them whether they would like to identify their race. Most said they usually did not.

[Homeslice]

For the first guy in that article, I don't see what his issue is. With his kind of background, he's going to be applying for Fortune 500, investment banks, etc....and in most of those companies there is a shortage of Black employees. Why hide that you're Black when the HR departments of those companies are actively trying to improve the diversity of their firms?

Also, how are these people dressing for their interview, and what kind of hairstyle are they wearing? I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was professional, but you never know.

[pauldun170]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

For the first guy in that article, I don't see what his issue is. With his kind of background, he's going to be applying for Fortune 500, investment banks, etc....and in most of those companies there is a shortage of Black employees. Why hide that you're Black when the HR departments of those companies are actively trying to improve the diversity of their firms?

Also, how are these people dressing for their interview, and what kind of hairstyle are they wearing? I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was professional, but you never know.

I don't know how it is in other areas of the country as the culture seems to be different there.

Here in NYC, for those looking to build careers at fortune 500 companies its the same standard of dress for all. Hairstyles?
Generic close cut or clean shaven.
For woman, pulled all the way back.

Despite all the diversity bullshit they push everywhere, all the pointless ethics courses and all the rest of the BS.
There are still jokes over names.
There are still assumptions that all black people are like "that guy in mail room" who listens to rap music and talks like a hoodlum.
HR people, who are constantly bombarded with all the legal crap and endless seminars on how to "celebrate diversity" see the "black" sounding names and switch gears. While with the normal sounding names they just focus on the content on the resume and whether it is the right fit for the job, when dealing with potential minorities the focus shifts to the negative. It goes from focusing on the fit of the applicant to the job to thoughts about the last diversity course or procedure review. the applicant becomes associated with any negative feelings generated by having to take "another stupid required course".

It doesn't help that during the commute, if your taking public transportation that you have to deal with the lower rungs of society. then the assumption is all the scruffy white guys are contractors, all the spanish looking guys are illegals and all the black guys are hoodlums.

Those assumptions can sneak up on you if you are going over resumes.

[HurricaneHeather]

I guess it's different in every job market. I work in HR and recently applied for a job in a different department. I thought I had a good shot, but found out that two black women have applied to the same job. I will probably not get that job because of my (lack of) skin color.

[pauldun170]

Originally Posted by HurricaneHeather

I guess it's different in every job market. I work in HR and recently applied for a job in a different department. I thought I had a good shot, but found out that two black women have applied to the same job. I will probably not get that job because of my (lack of) skin color.

Wonder if the Supreme Court ruling on the Connecticut firefighter case comes into play...


Not surprising that your first assumption is going to be that they will get it because of skin color vs one of them might get because she is a better fit for the job

[HurricaneHeather]

Originally Posted by pauldun170

Wonder if the Supreme Court ruling on the Connecticut firefighter case comes into play...


Not surprising that your first assumption is going to be that they will get it because of skin color vs one of them might get because she is a better fit for the job

Yeah, I probably shouldn't assume that. I just see a pattern within my company that leads me to believe that my chances are slim.

[pauldun170]

Originally Posted by HurricaneHeather

Yeah, I probably shouldn't assume that. I just see a pattern within my company that leads me to believe that my chances are slim.

I think another thing that makes it difficult for blacks is the general assumption that in the workplace...they got the job because they are black.

Person A: "We all know how HE got the job (wink wink)"
Person B: "He graduated from Cornell and has his Masters from NYU"
Person A: "We all know how HE got into those schools (wink wink)"


(Black guy approaches)
Person A: Hey how bout those Knicks!!
Black guy: Didn't catch it...heard it was a great game though. Everyone I bump into keeps bringing up basketball games. Well gotta go...have a meeting and all...
(black guy walks away)

Person A: He's nice guy. Totally different from the rest of them
Person B: Shouldn't you be working?

[HurricaneHeather]

Would it make you feel better if I told you there is an old lady in my department that is by far the worst employee ever and she still has a job. We all beleive its because she's old...that's why they won't fire her.

[Apoc]

Boo hoo, they dont like me cuz im black *cry cry*

thats what I got out of that.

[HurricaneHeather]

Originally Posted by pauldun170

I think another thing that makes it difficult for blacks is the general assumption that in the workplace...they got the job because they are black.

Person A: "We all know how HE got the job (wink wink)"
Person B: "He graduated from Cornell and has his Masters from NYU"
Person A: "We all know how HE got into those schools (wink wink)"


(Black guy approaches)
Person A: Hey how bout those Knicks!!
Black guy: Didn't catch it...heard it was a great game though. Everyone I bump into keeps bringing up basketball games. Well gotta go...have a meeting and all...
(black guy walks away)

Person A: He's nice guy. Totally different from the rest of them
Person B: Shouldn't you be working?

Oh and one of the black women who have applied have had racial discrimination complaints againts the company. An HR company with racial discrimination complaints...they like to keep those under raps and a brand new shiny promotion usually makes people shut up for a while.