this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2025
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chapotraphouse

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this isnt going to be very well written or coherent but:

look, I'm not trying to be the classic reactionary STEM grad who feels entitled to a high-paid tech position because I stumbled through three years of lectures. I'm not that. I've done a couple of years since graduating in hospitality work and that was generally horrible/couldn't get enough hours to pay rent/got misgendered whenever my bosses were having a bad day. Now that sector is in big trouble too so there aren't any jobs going, even if i could stomach going back into it. And apparently chef's work is a black mark on your CV and a lot of employers will write you off based on that anyway?

people say "networking is more important than qualifications". Well, that's great, but as someone who comes from a working class family, I have no idea how to do that, and never knew it was necessary until after the period I was apparently given the greatest opportunity to do it (university). and now it's like, what, am I just supposed to message people on LinkedIn out of the blue begging for work? with no experience? Where do I even begin with that?

I would love to work on the railways or in local government or something but I don't hear anything back from those roles. My best asset is that I spent 2 years setting up a tenant union in a major city, but apparently that's not good enough to even get an interview for support worker role at a charity that literally supports tenants and homeless people. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Every time I get close to a job, it always ends the same way - interview, feel like I did well, get a call back a couple of days later saying "thanks but somebody else had more experience". My experience was literally on my CV, if it wasn't enough then don't waste my time calling me in to interview!

thanks for reading

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[–] MLRL_Commie@hexbear.net 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

My honest advice, make up some lie about what you're passionate about and how you got where you are to sell to people. I am involved in engineering companies and just made up a lie I've been repeating since graduation about having some long term goal of making the next generation of mobility possible through cost efficient personal flight equipment. I weave it into a story about not being sure what to study but wanting to make the world better through it, and then coming to this job to hopefully get closer to the goal in some minute way. It involves enough belief (fake, to be clear) in a profit driven technological solution to many problems that managers think I'm driven and willing to do anything to get us further or some bullshit. And I try to say it all with a lofty tone like I know it's hard and I'm not gonna ever really do it, but with a "please let me be exploited by you to learn a bit more to get my goal" tint. For you, Id even add something about how you weren't willing to settle for less and so did some in between jobs for a while, but now see some path forward in small steps at "insteek company you apply to"

Idk how much of my success comes outta that, but I grew up very working class and in the middle of nowhere without any concept of this corporate shit and this got me through all the bullshit.

But please don't think that I think this is your whole solution. It's a shit world and there's no real one trick, especially you being trans and all the struggles pushed into you for being yourself. I'm just trying to add my little bit of what I feel like has helped a cis guy.

[–] revolut1917@hexbear.net 6 points 1 day ago (3 children)

that's inspirational lying, i really need to up my game. I'm always stumped when it comes to the "why do you want this job?" sort of questions. I just want to make rent lol.

[–] infuziSporg@hexbear.net 4 points 21 hours ago

You can be particularly drawn to the industry, and you can see it as an opportunity for self-development and for putting yourself to good practical use.

I put those reasons down most of the time. I don't mention that I learn everything that I can from a place and then leave.

[–] MLRL_Commie@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago

I get it, definitely. I don't give a fuck about most of the shit I've done, so this story that I keep telling to everyone gets me through it. I tell it so much it starts to feel real sometimes lol. Only my trusted colleagues get the real answers