Madam, – Ruadhán MacCormaic, writes (Home News, May 7th) that an ESRI study shows that job applicants with common Irish names are more likely to be called for interview than those from, say, Africa.
His report reminds me of an experience I had when I was a teacher in a secondary school in the inner city of Dublin. The area had a long list of socio-economic problems, but the drug problem was nothing like it is today.
A pupil of mine, Jimmy, lived in a flats complex, the scene of recent negative publicity. Back then, it had a very decent and settled set of residents. Jimmy was applying for a job and asked me to be one of his two required referees. I agreed as he was a fine student. I checked his application form and noticed that he had not put his true address on it.
I mentioned this to him and he replied that the address he entered was his granny’s in Inchicore as he wouldn’t have a ghost of a chance of getting the job if he put down the real one. Anyway, he said, he stayed in his granny’s place most of the time as he had lots of brothers and sisters and there was not enough room at home.
The ESRI researchers sent two CVs to each of 240 job adverts. This means a maximum total of 480 possible replies. They got some replies.
It is my belief that they would have got no replies had Jimmy’s address been on the CVs. Employers don’t have to explain their recruitment practices and decisions.
An ESRI study on employment and social class rather than employment and nationality would be, to use a word of your reporter, more “groundbreaking”. – Yours, etc,