What are your thoughts on how to change your name at work? If you changed your last name when you got married — or switched to a new name for any other reason, such as divorce — how did you let coworkers and other colleagues know? What did you do about your social media profiles?
Being called the wrong name at work can be embarrassing, frustrating, and — eventually — infuriating. We haven’t talked about the wrong name problem in quite a while, so let’s have a discussion today. (By the way, we’ve also addressed changing your name (or not) when you get married (and divorced), gender-neutral name problems, and hyphenated names in email addresses.) First of all, as someone with the … Read More about How to Handle Being Called the Wrong Name at Work
What IS the convention on hyphenated names and email addresses? Does it matter if you have a long, unwieldy email address? We’ve talked about how to choose a last name (as well as name change after divorce), but never about email addresses and names, and Reader E wonders… I was wondering if you have any … Read More about Hyphenated Names and Email Addresses
What should working women do when they get married — take their husband’s last name, create a new last name, or keep their maiden name? What factors matter? Reader E wonders. I have a question about maiden names vs. married names. I am currently in law school and am planning an engagement sometime in the … Read More about Choosing a Last Name
When do you call work associates by their last name (such as Ms. Griffin), or by another title (such as Attorney Griffin)? Do you have a preference how work associates refer to you — and how do you communicate that? Does calling someone else “Ms. Griffin” make you look young? I’ve gotten a number of … Read More about That’s Ms. Griffin To You: When To Use Last Names
By the time I started working in BigLaw, I’d had about seven jobs before that. For four of those jobs, my bosses were women; the other jobs (lifeguarding and two fashion magazines) were, well, not exactly testosterone-fueled environments. Everyone had called me by my first name, and we generally enjoyed a collegial atmosphere. However, when … Read More about This is Griffin, Reporting…
If you have an old nickname, how do you get coworkers to stop using it? Reader B wonders about just this problem… I am interested in advice regarding nicknames in the office. I started working in my office straight out of college at around 22. I was a very young looking 22 year old with … Read More about How to Get Rid of Old Nicknames
A reader wondered: what is the best way to change your professional name after divorce?
Reader M has a question about gender-neutral names… I am a new practicing attorney with a gender-neutral name. I’ve been in practice since October (4 months) and have already received at least 10 correspondences addressed to “Mr. Last Name.” Aside from making a phone call to the offending party and changing the footer in my … Read More about Dear Sir: The Problem with Gender Neutral Names
Update: We still stand by this discussion of the importance of not being called the wrong name — but you may want to check out our more recent discussion on how to handle being called the wrong name at work. It stinks to be called the wrong name — but what if it’s your colleague … Read More about The Importance of … Not Being Called the Wrong Name
