In 2009, Faheem left his accounting career in one of Pakistan’s largest banks to finish a master’s degree at the University of South Australia, a level of qualification he already has in his home country of Pakistan.
After graduating, it took him three years to find a steady job. He applied to hundreds of accounting jobs but never received any correspondence back to inform him whether or not he advanced in the recruitment process, despite his professional experience. He adjusted his Resume and even paid people to help him.
“I was very motivated, spending three to four hours on one job application. I kept applying but no response,” Faheem said.
He eventually started to suspect that the continuous rejections were not related to his education or his professional experience.
“Someone suggested, “why don’t you just change [your] name?”” Faheem said.
After changing his name to a more anglo-celtic sounding one he started receiving more responses from recruiters.
“As soon as I went by Samuel I started getting calls, some initial interviews and face-to-face interviews,” Faheem said.
“It was a sense of losing your identity, just to get some opportunities, which shouldn’t be based on the name or colour, or the race. It should be based on the skills”.
Abbir Dib, in her third year of her journalism degree, applied for a scholarship through Media Diversity Australia. She says the playing field isn’t always level for her chosen field and that has made her a hard worker.
“I just felt like everything in life has to be earned with blood, sweat and tears,” Abbir told Insight.
Although being the successful applicant, she approached her internship with apprehension. She felt embarrassed and ashamed of the way she got in because she didn’t want anyone to think she hadn’t earned her spot.
“One of my colleagues at the time found out what the scholarship was and essentially had a go at me and told me that I’m stealing jobs from other people,” Abbir said.
Despite the negativity Abbir received, she believes these scholarships are vital to some people who may struggle to get their foot in the door.
“It’s important to have a diversity of thought, not just in politics. Socioeconomic status, race, gender, I think that’s very important,” Abbir said.
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