Job hunting is hard enough, but job hunting while trans is often a uniquely daunting and emotionally exhausting task. Our #HireTransNOW initiative attempts to make finding a job in Chicago a little bit easier.
How?
We are working to develop a list of Chicago employers ready support the trans community in a bigger way--by making a commitment to hiring transgender staff.
What are employers committing to exactly?
Participating organizations commit to making a good-faith effort to hire a qualified trans-identified job candidate for one of their open positions within a year of accepting the #HireTransNOW challenge.
Will this ensure a participating employer will hire me?
No. We encourage participating employers to hire whichever job candidate is most qualified for their open position. Additionally, we do not disclose the gender identities of prospective job applicants. However, within this initiative we work to increase organizations' openness, willingness, and/or interest in hiring transgender staff, and conversely decrease the likelihood that bias AGAINST transgender job candidates will interfere with hiring a qualified job candidate.
What if I do not want employers to know that I am trans?
We do not "out" our job candidate's (i.e. disclose their trans identities to participating organizations). Instead, we encourage our prospective job candidates to decide ahead of time whether or not they want to be "out" to the organization. If a job candidate is certain they do not want an organization to know about their trans identity, they should feel no pressure to disclose their identity to the organization. Transgender individuals who are living stealth are welcome to simply use #HireTransNOW as a way of flagging which employers in Chicago are making an effort to be more trans-inclusive.
How will they know I'm applying to the position through #HireTransNOW?
Since we do not "out" our job candidates, this will be up to the job candidate to share. If you are comfortable naming your connection to #HireTransNOW and sharing your identity as a transgender person then there are likely a number of opportunities in which you can mention how you learned about the position and why you're interested in applying (beyond being a qualified candidate!) from your initial contact through the interview process. If you'd prefer not to disclose that you're transgender, but still want to mention your awareness and appreciation of the organization's participation in #HireTransNOW, you may simply state that as a point of values alignment between yourself and the organization.
Are participating organizations knowledgeable about creating an inclusive workplace for transgender staff?
Some organizations are and some organizations are not.
The primary aim of #HireTransNOW is to increase employment of transgender folks in Chicago. While we encourage all participating organizations to Get Trained to learn how to create a trans-inclusive experience for transgender staff, customers, clients, and patients, participation in our Get Trained initiative and/or certain educational prerequisites are not mandatory for participation in #HireTransNOW.
To learn more about Get Trained click here.