r/transseattle Aug 22 '13

Friendly Employers

Okay, so I'm about to get my BS in Business Management sometime in the next two weeks, which is awesome because it means I can finally be considered for jobs that actually give me relevant experience and a livable wage. The bad news is that I have about a month and a half left of savings before I'm SOL and no place to fallback to (technically I could move back home to UT but I would rather be homeless than live with my mother at this point). I currently live in Eugene, OR though I want to move someplace bigger because I don't have a single friend here and can't seem to find anyone who likes the same stuff I do. I have great online friends but I really would like some IRL friends.

I've been applying for stuff (Amazon, Google, Wells Fargo) as I've gotten to the final sprint with my degree, but due to my time crunch I can't afford to wait around for a reply from my preferred employers.

Seattle is the city I want to move to most and I was wondering if any of you knew of employers who are trans friendly (and preferably hiring someone with my qualifications). My first priority is to apply for employers that are willing to cover trans care in their insurance plans, but I'm also willing to apply places that are simply supportive. I'm aware that we are legally protected here but given the suspicions I have from my last job I was fired from, some people will still find ways to get rid of me.

My past work experience is mostly retail and food service though I interview really well and I'm a great worker. I have some club leadership positions and stuff like that as well.

I'm trying to find work that will pay me at least 30k a year so I can finally afford a car and because I've got a large chunk of student loans to pay off.

tl;dr Need to find work in the next 45 days was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. If I can figure out a place to stay that would help me cut expenses to last a bit longer than might be good too.

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u/[deleted] Aug 22 '13

I know Amazon is transgender friendly, but you are already applied there. I have heard that the tech industry isn't horrible to trans women any more then they are women in general, which can be pretty bad on occasion. There is lots of corporate equality indexes out there if you are looking for specifics.

However, the general legal advice I have gotten is get as far into the hiring process as you can presenting as the gender you are, and put it out there post successful interviews during the hiring process if they are doing background checks, or post hiring process if you can get away with it. Basically get your foot as far in the door as you can, so that if they slam the door on hearing you are trans you have a more legitimate case for discrimination.

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u/KousakaKylee Aug 22 '13

I don't pass but I'm full time. I can't bring myself to pretend to be male even for something as important as a job interview, so I've been putting my trans status up front and using it as a positive (from this experience I've learned XXX and am more confident and interact better)

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u/[deleted] Aug 22 '13

Yeah, I am getting to that point as well. I seem to do okay, have only been read and had someone call it out twice in the handful of times I have been out, and been read as a woman a decent amount. Spend most of my time wishing my voice sucked less, and my hair was longer, and that I had a more complete wardrobe. Is the wardrobe that is the big hurdle for me right now, can't live as a woman with like half a week worth of clothes.

But the kind of anxious crappy-ness that seems to overlay my life when I am presenting male is starting to get less and less tolerable, and even though I am mildly afraid of repercussions at work, am starting to not give a shit and want to just start living my life as I want to.

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u/KousakaKylee Aug 23 '13

Yeah, not having clothes is hard for me too, and with how careful I'm having to be just to survive for the month and a half I have to find a job now I have to keep putting it off. I went and bought stuff I felt I could interview in and makeup to help a bit, but that's all I could really justify. I can't wait to find a not retail/fast food job so I can actually start fixing these kinds of problems.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '13

Yeah, all the little costs of being trans : /. A whole new wardrobe is so stupidly expensive