Is your accent a problem here?
 

Hi Y'all

Been in Atlanta since March. In a job since August but not my trade (PR/Comms) and looking around now.

Had five interviews in the past month, didn't land any of them and while my qualifications and experience seem to fit, something isn't quite landing.

My wife suggests it might be my strong-ish North Eastern accent, which whilst charming in the UK, is a different kettle of fish in the US, particularly the South.

Has anybody else ran into trouble with their accent here? (unusual I know because you'd think we spoke the same language but all the same).

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

Funny you should post this!!

Today I was calling a client and this old biddy answered the phone, I had to explain over and over who I was. where I was from and she said to me "I am sorry I don't understand anything you are saying" :huh:"you need to learn a better phone technique":frown:................not the best quote to make to a woman who has taught and trained folk on phone etiquette in sales and marketing and won awards for outstanding customer service training.............if I had not been on a sales call I would of told the old goat to turn her F..IN hearing aid up and not be so bloody rude. :lol:

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

Defo no party invites for you now. :lol:

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I don't think it is your accent that is the problem, it could just be because you are a 'foreigner', there are so many people out of work here right now, lots of competition from very well qualified natives that have been born and bred here, i'm not saying that you are being discrimanated against as such, just that it's perfectly reasonable to me (as a Brit) that if they have a lot of applicants for one job, why wouldn't they offer it to a USC instead of you?

No offense meant, and this is just my humble opinion, it could be something completely different...Good luck with your job hunt :thumbup:

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

Im also in ATL and worryingly get told most days that my accent makes me sound intelligent..........:blink:

However I am having no luck finding a new job!! I also think its more to do with the complete lack of employment opportunitys here in ATL and us being foreigners more than we just talk funny!!

How are you liking it here apart from the lack of interviews??

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

GA has over a 10 percent unemployment rate, one of the higher ones in the country.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

It's probably the market and there's just better contenders local so I'd not worry about it...and you can mock people who can't understand you... :D

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

What others have said, the economy is in the shitter.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak3zVvKmtoE

It's no problem up here, lad - Calm Down!:thumbsup:

Jim

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

You beat me to it! :lol::lol:

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I don't tink it's so much your accent, but more that you're accent is foreign. The Southerners are people that tend to look out for their own first especially. At least that's my experience as a "goddamn Yankee" visiting the South :p but no I would say it's because you don't sound like any sort of American, and you are competing with USCs for the jobs

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

It may well be your accent, normally I don't have a problem but occasionaly I come accross someone who, when I open my mouth, I can just see the shutters come down and I may as well be talking Swahilli.
Then I have to repeat myself, substitute words, draw pictures etc.
If you have one of these as an interviewer good luck!

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I don't have one.
They do.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

:lol::thumbsup::lol:

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

My accent is pretty mild by Scottish standards, and I live in cosmopolitan California, so I have to say I have no problems at all.

Significantly, I think the Californian ladies approve, which is absolutely fine by me. :thumbup:

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I feel for you there, that must be very frustrating! As an American, I've never had a problem being understood in the UK or New Zealand. Maybe that's because American accents are pretty familiar due to movies, etc. ?

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I find Americans talk slower and enunciate better.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I think so too. Sometimes I get lost watching TV dramas on BBC America. Like in Torchwood Rhys's accent lost me sometimes. Luckily my girlfriend sounds a little posh so I don't have an issue understanding her.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

Yeah couple the accent and speed up the speech and drop a letter here or there and it gets very difficult for Americans that are not used to any accent other than their own to understand someone.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I will admit that in rural Ireland I asked someone to repeat themselves three times, then thanked them and left, with no idea what they'd said!

I found the Glasgow accent the hardest to understand on our last trip. Not impossible by any means, but I had to listen closely.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I took my wife to Edinburgh for the military tattoo in 1999 we camped in Musselburgh about 6 miles from the centre of Edinburgh.

When I went into the campsite office to get a couple of pitches for 2 nights, the site owner and myself resorted to sign langauge and hand gestures because we couldn't understand a word the other was saying.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I'd never really thought about this before - but I'm sure that as well as region of the country (cosmopolitan vs. clannish/xenophobic) another important variable is employment field. I'm an academic librarian, working in universities or colleges... I think being an obvious foreigner, sounding and/or looking foreign, is a positive asset to being offered a job in academia.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

Posh...that's funny...we always get that comment when we meet Americans. 'Where are you from? I love your accent...you sound so posh'.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I love when they ask me if I am scottish :ohmy:nothing wrong with that except I am from Norfolk :lol:

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I hate it when they ask me if I'm German.

When they say 'where are you from' I always say New Jersey. :lol:

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

Yes dim buggers I say CA,.... the best is the orientals, when they say 'where you from, you have accent"... reply 'oh and you don't" :rolleyes:

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

:lol:

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I work in a call centre in Pensacola Florida, I have a very neutral accent, I'm from Cardiff but just have a general accent, you wouldn't think I was Welsh but then it's not obviously an English accent either.

A lot of my callers think I'm Australian like the Geico gecko (LOL hilarious), I then proceed to talk in an Australian accent so they can see the big difference.

I can understand most accents in the US apart from the real southern strong accent in MS and LA and also black men who put on this ghetto accent (as my wife says) and use a lot of slang and don't pronounce words properly, ask = axe, four = foe, nine = nigh there are more but I'm not perfect either just gotta get used it. But everyone is very polite which is nice!

When someone doesn't understand me, they just say - sir, first time this happend I thought they wanted to say something.

I get a lot of compliments about how clear I speak and how it's nice to hear an accent that anybody can understand.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

oh I know my accents, I now the difference between the different regions. I used to not know, but I know several different accents, and the difference between normal speech and posh :p unlike most Americans

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

You know Americans who use the word 'posh'?

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

That's what I wondered! :lol:

Thinking New Joisey might be a little more upmarket than I thought! heheheh

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

Me three!

It would be more likely that an American would say, "You sound so upper class" or "Your accent makes you sound upper crust". I don't know anyone but British people who use the word posh! :)

My husband has a terrible time in any type of drive through restaurant...even after almost six years here his level of exasperation trying to get a Filet-O-Fish is palpable.

When he first visited we went to a local Chinese restaurant run by a Chinese born family---he placed his order and the waitress looked at him, looked at me, and said, "what he say?" :)

~SecretGarden

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

Posh.

Powsh (long 'o') or pawsh (like 'awww').

discuss.


ooh wait, while you're here, can "scone" be settled too?
skohn or skohwn?

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I'm a awwwww prononuncer.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

London pronunciation is posh, hard o, not long ooo porsche (pawwsh) :)

Same with scone, London pronunciation is s-con not scoown. Except in northern England and Scotland where it is deffo scoooowne.
My mother says schowan.
As in "d' yees want a schowan an a schlab a' buthher?"

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

At my last job the powers that be wanted me to do all the intercom announcements :o needless to say my site manager was spitting feathers when she was teased about sounding like a WalMart announcer when filling in for me :lol:

As much as everybody else liked me :) she was always on my case and it got to the point that I had to pack the job in :(

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I used to have the same problem, I now order in my Kermit the frog impression and it works every time.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

Oh and I forgot about 'water/wadder'. I now have a picture on my phone of a bottle of mineral water to show to waiters/waitresses when I am ordering without my husband around to translate.

I can actually say it the American way but get embarassed.:o

Does anyone else start to speak much posher (that word again) when asked to repeat yourself?

Instead of trying to repeat the word in a more American way I just start sounding like the Queen.

What is that about?

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

I just slow my speech right down, and sound a right pratt.

Re: Is your accent a problem here?
 

Well, start mocking me then!

Half of your posts make absolutely no sense to me. :lol: