Morning Brew - 🦃 Turkey Week

Before you were born, your parents probably spent months, or maybe even years, carefully selecting your name. Your name will likely be spoken in rooms that you’ll never enter...and it’s one of the first things that a recruiter or hiring manager sees when reviewing any of your job applications. A recent Vogue piece by Editorial Assistant Aiyana Ishmael dived into a sadly common trend: people of color changing or shortening their names in professional settings to avoid mispronunciations and discrimination.

But this kind of behavior doesn’t just occur in corporate settings. One woman interviewed by Ishmael named Ayanda Thusi reported experiencing this exact phenomenon when applying to work at a popular clothing chain as a teen. Despite submitting what she thought was a strong application, she only heard back after submitting an application under her middle name, Kristen. “The fact that I was able to get the job when I changed my name did a number on me because I knew [my application] had nothing to do with my work ethic or potential,” Thusi remarked in the piece. Others shared stories of shortening their names or going by more masculine names, all to avoid discrimination while applying to jobs.

As someone who’s experienced mispronunciations and misspellings of my first name since my grade-school days, I’m highly aware of the challenges that having a unique name can bring. While I’ve never changed my name on a job application, in the past I’ve been wary of listing identifying information such as my ethnicity and gender on applications out of fear that I may be automatically cut out of the running based on my answers.

Overall, the idea of possibly experiencing discrimination because of your name shows that there’s more work to be done when it comes to equatizing the hiring process and being more inclusive in the way that we approach different cultures in the workplace. Have you ever gone by a different name at work? Or have you experienced what you believe to be name discrimination? Let me know by hitting reply.

The grand Thanksgiving dinner hasn’t made a comeback just yet, but here are some tips and tricks to cut stress for you and your guests.

• We all know the powerful vibes a good bouquet can add to a home. Head to your local grocery store or TJ’s and use these tips to make your store-bought bouquet look like it was arranged by a florist. And remember, ARTC (always remove the cellophane).
• TikTok nonna @brunchwithbabs just blew our minds with this hack for taking the chaos out of Thanksgiving ingredient prep.
• If you can’t remember where to put your forks (to the left), use this pic for reference.
• Save yourself many trips to and from your router and set up a wi-fi QR code so that guests can scan their way onto the web.
• Contrary to popular belief, your Thanksgiving morning doesn’t have to be spent cooking all of your dishes. Use this guide to start prepping your mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and homemade stock as early as today.

Read: As much as we would like to believe that TikTok is to blame for ridiculous internet challenges, two reporters found that there are no direct links to many of the challenges the app has been called out for promoting.

Listen: After I may or may not have spent my entire weekend listening to Adele’s 30, “I Drink Wine” has emerged as an early favorite.

Watch: Follow Squid Game’s star HoYeon Jung around Seoul, Korea, and hear about how the show’s popularity has quickly changed her career and her life.

Your hot chocolate will be anything but basic with these fun additions.

• Impress your friends and family at your next movie night or holiday get together with a charcuterie board filled with their hot chocolate favorites.
• Skip the bland grocery store marshmallows and go for some uniquely shaped gourmet marshmallows.
• Delicious syrups aren’t just for your Starbucks order. This set will let you add a squeeze of caramel, chocolate, or white chocolate flavor to your beverage.
• Add a world of chocolatey flavor to your cup with these adorably decorated snowman bombs.
• And if you don’t have a sweet tooth (???), pick up this hot chocolate-scented mug candle instead.