As it turns out, many businesses and companies are not so keen on hiring someone called Saddam Hussein.
Here’s some good advice: If your father asks to name your child, make sure he doesn’t choose a name of a man who murdered roughly half a million of his fellow countrymen.
This is what happened to a young marine engineer from India. “People are scared to hire me” said the 25-year-old, who has been unable to find a job in the 2 years since his graduation. Despite having done very well in his studies, he has applied to dozens of available positions only to be turned away since the notorious name could cause ‘suspicion’, he way once informed.
A recruitment expert explained the potential issue to Hussein: Should a role require travel abroad, airport security authorities might stall him for unnecessarily longer periods, requiring the company to step in often to pull him out of awkward situations.
Hussein has already legally changed his first name to Sajid but although all his official paperwork reflects the alteration, his Sadaam name haunts him in education certificates which prospective employers demand to see. The process to change those documents has begun, but seems to be moving slowly.
