4 tips on job hunting for trans people

Unfortunately, we still live in a world where navigating your career as a trans person will be met with discrimination. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that trans people experienced twice the amount of unemployment as their cisgender counterparts. Ryan Sallas, author of "Second Son: Transitioning Toward My Destiny, Love and Life," remembers having a job offered taken away after they discovered he was trans. "The hiring manager Googled my name, and based on what was found, they changed the job description," he says. "I could have pursued legal action, but I chose not to. The issue is greater than not receiving the job. Filing for legal action would have made the matter public record. Some people don't want to be outed in that way. It's hard for anybody to find employment these days, but job seeking for anybody who is transgender seems to be particularly tricky."

Here are a few tips to help make that job search a little bit easier:

1. Go to an LGBT+ job fair or networking night

myGwork lists countless LGBT+ networking events on our site, head over to the events page and look one up in your city. You can meet face-to-face trans-inclusive companies, establish contacts, and identify roles you might be interested in.

2. Use your own personal network

Talk to friends, former colleagues, friends of friends! Get the word out there that you’re looking for a job and see what comes back to you. If it’s through a friendly face you can ask if they’d see any problem with your application and get them to put in a good word for you.

3. Research before you apply

Study up on any companies you might be interested in. Go to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (an annual report on LGBT-friendly organisations) and see where they rank. Ask your trans friends as well, see if they know anything about the company you’re applying to and how trans-friendly it is.

4. Be prepared to disclose that you are trans

Some job applications require you to put your legal name, which some trans people might have not yet changed. Other job applications may request a background check that will require paperwork. Claire Farley, associate director of economic development for the San Francisco LGBT Center, wants you to remember that “an application is a legal document, and if what you report doesn’t match with what an employer finds, they could let you go." She recommends writing your first initial and then your surname on applications, that way you don’t have to disclose your birth gender.

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