Proof of Concept

[Maddie Secutura]

This is why I apply to positions labeled as entry level so I don't have to compete with people who have years of experience who were recently laid off.  No I need to secure an actual career if I'm ever going to make this work.  I just hate how being TS makes my degree meaningless.

[spacial]

This is why I apply to positions labeled as entry level so I don't have to compete with people who have years of experience who were recently laid off.  No I need to secure an actual career if I'm ever going to make this work.  I just hate how being TS makes my degree meaningless.

The problem here is Maddie, that if you undervalue yourself, an employer will as well.

By all means, apply for entry level positions, preferrably temporary positions, just to get experience.

But evntually, you need to stand up for yourslf. You need to say, this is what I can do.

I will say though, that the most important skill is reliability. Turning up on time, doing your work and being completely honest, especially about mistakes.

That is where you get a really good reputation. And you get paid for your reputation.

As for being transgender, unless you need to work with customers, I suggest you say little or nothing at all.

[K8]

I will say though, that the most important skill is reliability. Turning up on time, doing your work and being completely honest, especially about mistakes.

That is where you get a really good reputation. And you get paid for your reputation.

As for being transgender, unless you need to work with customers, I suggest you say little or nothing at all.

Being TS adds a complication, but you are TS.  It's just a hurdle that non-TS people don't have to jump.  But in most cases it isn't an insurmountable hurdle.  (Many on this forum are gainfully employed.)  Being in the US on a Green Card also adds a hurdle.  Having dark skin used to add a hurdle but perhaps the hurdle is a lot smaller now.  Being a woman can add a hurdle.  Having an accent can add a hurdle.  Lots of people have extra things they have to struggle against because of their background or what they are.

But you got your degree and so have proven that you can work toward a goal.  Getting a decent job is another goal to work toward.  Surgery is yet another.  You have already proven you can work toward what you want, and as you work toward the next goals you will get better at it.

Good luck, Maddie.  You can do it.  It'll just take time and effort and little bit of luck.

- Kate

[regan]

This is why I apply to positions labeled as entry level so I don't have to compete with people who have years of experience who were recently laid off.  No I need to secure an actual career if I'm ever going to make this work.  I just hate how being TS makes my degree meaningless.

What about letters of reccomendation?  The problem is, as far as I can tell, that employers see someone with no experience and, yes, the liability of being transgendered.  It's not right it's not fair, but neither is discarding a resume from Quantavious just becuase he has a name associated with growing up in the ghetto, but it happens all the same.

College professors are a liberal sort to begin with, even engineering professors, at least one of them should be willing to write a letter outlining your skills.  Its no guarantee, but at least it reduces your liability to a company.  Logically speaking, employees are an investment, employers hire people becuase they are betting they will earn the company more revenue then their wages and benefits cost.  A glowing reccomendation letter should hopefully overrule their fears that your being transgendered is going to end up being their liability.

[regan]

Ever heard the term "people know people who can help?"  This is from the notion that if I go to a support group I'll find someone who knows someone else who can help me out with the surgery situation.  I know I don't know anyone like this, so how about the rest of you.  I'm trying to put this issue to rest insomuch as I've at least explored the option of networking.  I figure what better than a site with a much larger pool of people than any local support group?

So do any of you have anyone who has helped you reach your surgery goal or are you, like me, financially on your own?

1.  I know of one person that lived at home, worked as a watress, I think, worked every day and every shift that she could, saved literally every penny and paid for her surgery in about a year.

2.  People have posted websites, for all kinds of financial requests, and have gotten the funds they were looking for.

[tekla]

This is why I apply to positions labeled as entry level so I don't have to compete with people who have years of experience who were recently laid off.

You are kidding yourself if you think that.  Times are as hard as they have ever been for just about everyone under the age of 85.  I know of people with 20+ years of experience running and managing major retail outlets who are desperately trying just to get some seasonal Xmas work.  We were looking for a couple of people who would be willing to come in in January for about a week of work doing some maintenance work in the theater, real light stuff, painting, moving stuff, cleaning (stuff they didn't want to pay union guys to do) and it WAS NOT put on Craigslist, nor advertised anywhere, just word of mouth through the staff, and they have a huge stack applications.  People are desperate.

[spacial]

I have probably missed something and for that I do apologise.

Does your ID read F yet? If not, why tell them? Why do they need to know anything at all?

[tekla]

Because of extreme liability issues almost any and every engineering position is going to do a full and complete background/credit check.

[spacial]

Because of extreme liability issues almost any and every engineering position is going to do a full and complete background/credit check.

Understand.

[tekla]

It's the basic norm, both the production companies I work for run background and credit checks on people applying to be janitors and ushers.

[Maddie Secutura]

I'm getting my current manager to do a letter of recommendation to bolster my standing in the rat race. 

Should I have her put in there have never been any issues related to my background?

[regan]

I'm getting my current manager to do a letter of recommendation to bolster my standing in the rat race. 

Should I have her put in there have never been any issues related to my background?

Your transgender backgroud?  Why call attention to it?  Or rather would you rather be known as the transgender engineer or the engineer who happens to be transgendered?  There are so many ways a potential employer could intrepret a former manager saying "there have been no issues", why have there been no issues?  Did you make it clear you'd sue for every percieved wrong?  Did you abuse the sick policy becuase you were having a bad hair day and looked like the bride of frankenstein?

Ask yourself, would somone with a visible disability ask their manager to do the same thing?

[Maddie Secutura]

Because it's going to be brought to attention when the employer does a background check.  And when they see my background they're going to assume that I am either mentally unstable, an HR nightmare, or a lawsuit waiting to happen.  A good letter of recommendation can put those notions to rest.

[regan]

Because it's going to be brought to attention when the employer does a background check.  And when they see my background they're going to assume that I am either mentally unstable, an HR nightmare, or a lawsuit waiting to happen.  A good letter of recommendation can put those notions to rest.

I absolutely agree with you on that point, however I wouldn't include it in the letter up front.  I would just have a standard letter of reccomendation ready to give to the interviewer.  Usually they're not going to do a background check until after they've made you an offer.  If you alert them up front to the fact that you maybe, possibly, could be a "problem employee" they're going to proceed accordingly.

When it comes time for the background check, there is usually a chance for you to disclose something the background check might uncover.  That would be the time to say something about being transgendered.  If your supervisor is as good of a reference as you feel they are, they will address it as part of your reference check anyways.

[K8]

I think that if your current manager says something about you fitting in well with the team, etc., that would cover whether there were problems with you being TS without specifically mentioning it.

- Kate

[Maddie Secutura]

That sounds like a good way of doing it.  I wasn't going to include the letter along with my resume but it would come in handy to nullify any uncertainty about my ability to fit in. 

[spacial]

These background check which seem to be so ubiquitous in the US, frankly, seem creepy to me.

[tekla]

They are, and don't worry they will be where ever you live next week.  And in a world where so much can be faked and lied about, it's nice to have a way to check it.  I've caught several people lying about having a PhD when I said, hey, lets go over to XXX web site (my secret, sorry) where they have a list of every dissertation accepted by accredited universities.  We give background checks right down to our janitors, which someone told me once was pretty dumb until I pointed out that a janitor has just about every key to the building, and is pretty much unsupervised most of the time.

[spacial]

I have a feeling a lot of this will be covered by the Data Protection Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Protection_Act_1998

[tekla]

Not at all, you're asked to sign a form that says such a check is OK, (it also asks for past names you have lived under).  You don't have to sign it, but you won't get the job without it.