Yesterday I had two job interviews, my first since I began transitioning. Both were for customer service positions, one at a call center the other in a place where I would interact with customers face to face on a daily basis. Both interviews went very well and I've been selected to move to the next step in the hiring process by both companies.
Honestly I was terrified to go to either interview, especially the one where I'd be dealing with customers face to face. I had no idea how I would be treated, or how the interviewer would react. I seriously wondered if a company would be willing to put me, a transwoman in a position where I would be selling to their customers. The answer was shocking. I had applied for a part-time hourly sales position. The person interviewing me told me that given my experience (twenty years in sales) that he felt I'd be better off in a full time commissioned sales position, because the pay is substantially higher. Less than ten percent of their employees work in commissioned positions. I was worried that they wouldn't want to hire someone like me, and they seem to be willing to put me in the top ten percent of their sales force right from the start.
All in all both interviews were pleasant experiences. I didn't sense any discomfort from either interviewer. Both saw me as a woman and neither seemed to give it a second thought. Now I sit and wait for my application and resume to move up the chain at both companies. Hopefully I will hear something from one or both of them by early next week.
