Quote from: EmilyRyan on July 15, 2016, 09:41:55 PM
What happens to people are just unable to get a job no matter what they do and how motivate they are??
Here are the three main paths I've seen in such people.
- They become beggers
- Their family takes care of them
- They follow their dreams and do what they want, becoming self-employed
Like much of life, the outcome depends more than you'd think on how you react to the uncontrollable circumstances in which you find yourself. I know it's hard to stay motivated, but sometimes you need to just keep plowing through even when you really have no motivation, because you know that once things finally work out, it'll probably have all been worth it.
Here are a couple quick tips I've come across online:
- Proofread your resume out loud; it's easier to hear grammar errors than when you read it silently. Also, make sure to spend a split second looking at each word before moving to the next; I've caught a few homophones and typos this way.
- Hand in your resume to the HR person/hiring manager in person; this makes you seem more of a "go-getter" (although don't put "go-getter" on your resume, it's an overused buzzword that communicates very little meaning). It may also give you a chance to have an chat or even on-the-spot interview with that person
- Network. I hate doing it, but it is definitely a great way to land a job. If a current employee recommends you, it makes the people doing the hiring much more confident in your, because you are much less of an unknown now (and mystery is often equated to risk, which is often avoided like the plague)
If you don't quite pass clearly as either male or female, you may
want need to make some changes to fit more clearly into one of those claustrophobic and unfriendly boxes, at least until you get hired. I don't wish to do this myself (I'm hoping to try growing my hair out a bit, and it's currently in the horrible messy bed-head stage), but it may be necessary, and it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I'd rather have a job and be able to save up money for a future transition (if that's the route I end up taking) than have no money while stagnating halfway through the transition due to the lack of money.
Also, just a word of advice that may or may not be helpful to you; I find it's something of which I often need to remind myself. Don't let yourself get stuck in a routine, where you just send out resumes robotically. Use your brain! Get creative! Look at things in a way that you've never done before!
When you look at things from a different perspective, it becomes much easier to differentiate yourself from other potential employees. This, I imagine, is particularly crucial for the sort of jobs to which you seem to be applying. I mean no offense when I say this, but for the "low/entry level/non-skill level job" market you say you're looking at, I imagine this is especially important. I can see a hiring manager poring over dozens of applications, thinking that all the applicants seem like decent, nice people, all of whom would be competent but seeing nothing to bring one or two applicants to the top of the pool. I could see the hiring manager sort of just doing "eenie meenie minie moe" (or however that's spelled) and randomly selecting one.
However, you can use this to your advantage as well. If the other applications are unremarkable, it should be possible to distinguish yourself as (one of) the best applicant(s). This is where your creativity must come in! I don't know what part of your transition you are in (if you're in one), but you may be able to subtly use this to your advantage (I probably wouldn't mention it explicitly, of course). For example, if you grew up hanging around mostly with boys, but now you mostly spend time with women, you might be able to say something like "very experienced and/or comfortable interacting with men and women". (I know that that is very binary and some of you may not like it, but it shouldn't tip off the hiring manager that you're not a cisgender person, which I assume you wish to avoid, at least until after being hired.)
One last tip: if you can, it may be hugely beneficial for you to spend some time at the places where you hope to apply, in order to identify some issue/problem/inefficiency of the workplace. That way, should you get an interview, you could mention, "I noticed you seem to be having some trouble with X. Have you thought about doing Y or Z to resolve it?" Be sure to think this out, though, is it could be a bit awkward if they say, "Yes, we tried that, but to no avail." Or you could find something that they seem to have no idea could even be improved, and point it out to them. Of course, you should ideally be able to offer up one or two potential solutions here as well. Don't just tell them that they're not seeing something wrong without trying to help them.
I hope some of that helps! And I wish you the best of luck!