Job Hunting as a Trans Guy/Person
Okay so the initial plan with this was to do a post every week buuuut the past two weeks have kind… vanished? So this is a bit late but I think it’s still pretty important to put out there.
I’ve recently realized that I seriously need to get a job. Like I have no money. So employment is a thing that is required in my life, and so the job hunt began. I’ve been using Indeed.com to find jobs because it’s quick, it’s easy and it has a handy little app so I can do job hunting wherever I am and I can be notified if any of my applications actually come to anything. Now, you may be wondering: “Lucas, why haven’t you tried finding a job before? You knew you’d start running out of money eventually!” Well, my friends, I have a very simple one-word answer for that.
Fear.
Yeah. I was scared shitless by the idea of getting a job. Not only for the usual ‘ah crap this means I’m actually adulting’ stuff, but also because my bank account and my ID are not currently in my name, so I would have to immediately out myself to my (prospective) employer. I’m finally on my way to getting my bank account sorted so it IS in my name, but my ID is gonna have to wait until I have a job and therefore have the money to pay out for a new ID.
Of course, legally, outing myself as a trans person shouldn’t give me any issues. Employers CANNOT turn me away on the basis of me being trans/LGBTQ+ or anything like that. However… transphobia is still pretty big in the UK, and there are certain things that may make an employer less keen to hire a trans person even if they aren’t transphobic. So here’s a list of all the shit that goes through my head when I’m looking at jobs, which should hopefully act as a guide to anyone job hunting — but also specifically help LGBTQ+ folx get a decent job:
1 — Is it a job I can see myself doing? There’s a lot of jobs advertised on places like Indeed, and not all of them are suited to everyone. For example, I have seen a metric fuck-ton of jobs as hotel staff in the various Travelodges here in Liverpool, but there is no way in hell that I’m doing that. It’s bad enough that I live in student digs where I risk hearing people shagging, I’m not putting myself through that for work too by working in a hotel. I also avoid jobs in retail because I do not have the attention span to be sat on a till or stocking shelves all day. My go to jobs are fast food and bar/wait staff, because they’re simple enough that I shouldn’t have an issue learning what I need to do, but varied enough that I’m not going to want to yeet myself out the window. If the job passes this first check, I move on to step two.
2 — Does the company have a good reputation overall? This can be anything from is it owned by an asshole (yes I’m looking at you, Spoons), to do they give a damn about their workers, to do people actually like working there and/or being a patron of this company? If they have a shitty reputation overall (again, looking at you Spoons) it’s safe to say that it should be lower down on the list of jobs to consider applying for (I say this despite the fact that I am considering applying for a job at a local Spoons, purely because of №1).
3 — Does the company have a good reputation for inclusivity and diversity in its staff? This is the kicker for job hunting as an LGBTQ+ person. If a company has a bad reputation on this point, chances are your life will be hell if your coworkers find out that you’re LGBTQ+. Indeed has a useful tool that lets you see reviews of the company from employees. If there’s an issue with discrimination, that’s where you’ll probably find the info about it. In other cases, google is your best friend. Again, companies legally CANNOT turn someone away on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, but it’s always safest to avoid a company that would do that if it was legal.
4 — What is my personal risk level with this job? This can come hand in hand with the last one, because if it’s a supportive and diverse company the likelihood of you being in any danger from your colleagues is significantly reduced, and the likelihood of patrons compromising your safety is also reduced. But that’s not the only thing to think about. It’s also thinking about the risk when you’re travelling to and from work (is it in a rough area, will it be at night etc etc), and the kind of situations you’ll have to deal with in that job. For example, in a fast food restaurant on a day shift, you’ll probably get the occassional grump that’s a bit of an asshole but usually things would go pretty smooth. But working as a bartender in a night club or something? You’re dealing with drunk patrons, who may be more inclined to be violent if they’re intoxicated and you try to cut them off. It’s also likely that patrons will be a lot more inappropriate towards you — especially if you’re feminine presenting (intoxication + society’s tendency to objectify and sexualize feminine presenting humans = bad juju). In short, a bar is a lot more risky than a Maccies. Always evaluate the risks of a job, and whether you think you can handle that realistically.
5 — Is it practical for me to actually get to and from this job? I made the mistake of applying for a job at the other end of the city on a bus route that isn’t 24hrs. It would have been an absolute bitch to get to and from work there, so I’m kinda thankful I didn’t get it. ALWAYS take into account your transportation and likely travel times/routes, especially if — like me — you rely on crappy public transport.
That’s pretty much it for the generic stuff, but there’s a few other things that I personally keep in mind. Is it going to be a problem for me to change my details as and when I need to? Are my medical appointments for my transition going to be a pain? And of course the age old “Am I going to actually cope with having a job or am I going to have a series of slow mental breakdowns that I don’t notice are happening until I’m already considering unaliving myself?” which is always a fun question to ask because I don’t know the damn answer. Hopefully not having mental breakdowns but then again this is me…. what is mental health?
That’s for another post though. Sorry again for this one being so late, I swear I am actually committed to keeping this up. Wish me luck with the job hunt!
