I've been getting a steady trickle of, "Hey, you look pretty awesome" e-mails of late in my inbox about my next job. Thing is, I can't go into my next job as a guy. I currently have the last job that will know me as a male because I can't do my next team service if I have to tamp down who I am.
I've only come out in the last month but already I know I can't go back into the closet. How am I supposed to tell these recruiters that, "Oh by the way despite my LinkedIn profile I'm a woman and prefer to be called my name"? If a company is inclined to discriminate against me I don't I want to work for them, but I want my next job on my merits too. I don't want to meet a quota or make a prospective employer not trust me because I came out (like I'm looking for special treatment or some such thing). Really all I want to know is, "If I come work for you can I expect to have female pronouns used on me and will you call me by my name?"
So, how do I reply to some of these e-mails tomorrow?
Can't you take things forward up to them basically offering you the job - on your past merits - and then tell them that you will be transitioning?
Quote from: Steffi on February 22, 2012, 10:40:25 PM
Can't you take things forward up to them basically offering you the job - on your past merits - and then tell them that you will be transitioning?
If you can do this, it's best. It's not dishonest (I teach ethics...I've thought long and hard about this).
Seems off to "surprise" them that late on in the process. Oh well, at least its something to go on as I make some responses this morning.
Keep em' coming though.
Quote from: Misato33 on February 23, 2012, 06:35:39 AM
Seems off to "surprise" them that late on in the process. Oh well, at least its something to go on as I make some responses this morning.
Keep em' coming though.
With the rampant discrimination, what choice do we have? In many jurisdictions, it's legal to discriminate based on gender identity/expression. In others, where it's illegal, it's nearly impossible to prove that one has been discriminated against (by not getting a job), because companies can cover their assess so easily ("Oh, s/he's a good candidate, but we found someone we think will be a little bit better").
I'm not letting myself get hung up the discrimination issue. Legal or illegal I don't even care. If an employer is so intolerant that they would discriminate against me for being trans I don't see how I'd be happy in that culture. I mean, that environment is kind of what I'm coming from and my greatest fear is having to wedge myself back into it once I get my Masters Degree.