Getting my first job as full-time... Suggestions?

[itsxandrea]

Hey everyonee

HUGE worry of mine has finally come ... getting my first job as I'm full-time (and pre-op).
I'm concerned because, I *know* it's harder statistically for a trans person to get a job and because the job market in the US isn't great anyway. I am very qualified and have a good resume, but, also I know I may not be taken too seriously if someone doesn't agree with me being trans.

Here's my PROS and CONS list ... taking this into consideration (or even beyond it), does anyone have any advice on how to get their first job being full-time?  Or maybe some fields which I may have better luck in than others?

THE PROS:
- I live in Boston, Massachusetts... I can't think of a more liberal area to find a job as a transgendered person
- My voice is 500% passable (it's the only thing I feel very confident about), so I feel a phone interview or maybe even sitting across from the interviewer, they won't have a very obvious red flag to discriminate.
- I have a lot of work history but it's through my own company that I was doing for about 5 years. I also have a great degree. So, they won't find me as a different name anywhere before.

THE CONS:
- My birth certificate is in New Hampshire, which, from what I've researched, I cannot have my gender marker changed until I have SRS. So, if they do a background check, they'll know.
- My interests and degrees are in finance and economics, which are very conservative fields. I almost feel I'm going to have to look for a new job field because I'm going to be turned down quite a bit, unless there's someone open-minded on the opposite side of the interview table.


Thank-youuu!

[mintra]

I can't give you any advice since I live in a conservative city and I have a constant pressure to keep my trans issue a secret so I won't lose my job (I'm a post-op). but I know how you feel and I just want to wish you good luck. I'm sure there'll be other girls or guys here who know better and will chime in eventually.

[tgchar21]

- My birth certificate is in New Hampshire, which, from what I've researched, I cannot have my gender marker changed until I have SRS. So, if they do a background check, they'll know.

Actually, your birth certificate probably won't be an issue with a typical background check (now if you were going for a government security clearance, where they investigate you back to birth, that would be a different story). Assuming you've got all your education, work history, applicable certifications/licenses, and references updated to indicate your new name (if you don't you'll have to explain that or else it will bounce back saying you never worked or attended school there if they check) the most likely ways you'd be outed are 1) If they do a criminal records check and you have any history under your old name (that hasn't been removed) you'd have to mention that or they'll accuse you of trying to conceal that history, and 2) If they pull your credit report it will probably show your old name; exceptions would be if you transitioned very young before ever having any credit (or before you immigrated to the U.S.), or in some cases if it's been a long time (at least a decade or so) since you changed your name it may (but no guarantee that it will) drop off (it looks like in your case none of those exceptions would apply). If they run a "Social Security number trace" your old name (and even non-legal-name aliases you've used on applicable documents!) will also probably show up unless you've changed the number (generally very hard to do legally) or the youth/immigrant exceptions to what I said for credit reports applies. (I know about the youth exception because I know someone who was adopted as a child whose pre-adoption name doesn't show up on a trace even though the SSN never changed; since the trace is a compilation of records by private companies and not the SSA, it's typically based on names you've used to apply for a job, rent a house under, obtain credit, etc.)

I have a "flowchart" where you can get a hint on whether or not you'd need to out yourself via your former name in cases like this.

[Zumbagirl]

Hey everyonee

HUGE worry of mine has finally come ... getting my first job as I'm full-time (and pre-op).
I'm concerned because, I *know* it's harder statistically for a trans person to get a job and because the job market in the US isn't great anyway. I am very qualified and have a good resume, but, also I know I may not be taken too seriously if someone doesn't agree with me being trans.

THE PROS:
- I live in Boston, Massachusetts... I can't think of a more liberal area to find a job as a transgendered person
- My voice is 500% passable (it's the only thing I feel very confident about), so I feel a phone interview or maybe even sitting across from the interviewer, they won't have a very obvious red flag to discriminate.
- I have a lot of work history but it's through my own company that I was doing for about 5 years. I also have a great degree. So, they won't find me as a different name anywhere before.
Thank-youuu!

Here are a few things I did. When I went to come out to an employer I was fired from my job and found myself looking for a new one. Of course I had no work history but I did have a valid court ordered name change. I went to my former employers, including the one who fired me, and showed them the court order and asked them to change my name for employment purposes. No one objected or said boo. I figured it took some kahunas to go back to an employer who just canned me for transitioning on the job and asking them to update my personnel file but they did it no questions.

In fact, in the end, the action of going back turned out to be just the thing I needed. I come from the world of engineering and there are not many women engineers out there. Long story short, I have an excellent set of references and a former manager who liked me a lot gave me an employment tip and 2 weeks later I as back in the work force. Yes it was a monetary drop of 50%, but hell I was working and my transition didn't die off in the process. It took me a few years to get back to where I was.

I will say this, that the longer I live full time, the more I am caught off guard with places where I forgot to change my name. Some minor detail somewhere and 8 years later I get the "I see  Mr So and so in the records, not {me}?". MOst of the time they assume it's an ex husband, which suits me fine.

I wouldn't worry about background checks. A few years ago I was working for a defense contractor and had to go through the whole giant background check stuff. They collectected tons of material, but not much interest in my name change. The absolute lucky part is that I actually got to see and read the results of my background check. It never said anything about other names, or anything like that. It showed pages of criminal record searches (clean what I expected), college education verification (my degree was still in my old name at that time but showed in my new name on the background check).

Most of the time I think background checks are looking for education validation, prior salary information, and making sure you don't have a prior criminal record. I'm assuming that you have already done a court ordererd name change and changed your social security info and your drivers license. If I recall when I did my change at social seurity I got my new ID card in a week or so.

For the new job I believe that you can have your social security card with your new name and your drivers license for your form I-9 and you should be fine.

Hope that helps!