Did you know that 35% of LGB people have experienced discrimination when applying for jobs? This number goes up to a whopping 61% when they are transgender too. In fact, this issue is so bad that it is estimated almost 30% of homeless people are LGBT. This is despite anti-discrimination legislation.
If you are an LGBT youth looking for an entry-level job, these stats can be quite off-putting. However, we can assure you that there are jobs out there for you. You just need to look a little bit harder than others (unfortunately).
On this page, we’re going to look at the importance of entry-level jobs, give some quick tips on finding a job, and, ultimately, provide you with a few ideas on entry-level roles that may best suit an LGBT youth.
Entry Level Jobs For LGBT Youth
The Importance of Entry-Level Jobs For LGBT Youth
As we said, LGBT youth find it notoriously difficult to find jobs. Getting an entry-level job, particularly in this economy is tough enough. Getting an entry-level job when seemingly the whole world wants to discriminate against you (despite laws against it), is even tougher.
This is why it is so nice that there are so many companies out there that have taken a stand and made a big push toward LGBT youth recruitment. In fact, many major towns and cities around the Western world have started to introduce initiatives that should help LGBT youth find work a little bit easier.
Of course, there are benefits to getting an entry-level job beyond this too. For example, an entry-level job often paves the way toward better jobs in the future. All experience that you pick up is absolutely vital! Most people probably wouldn’t turn their noses up at the bit of extra money they’ll be earning due to their job too!
Finding Entry-Level Jobs For LGBT Youth
So, before we give you a couple of suggestions for entry-level jobs, we want to give you a very quick overview of the things that you should be focusing on when you are searching for an LGBT entry-level job.
What Are Your Interests?
Now, for many people, an entry-level job is a way to make money. Obviously, you can’t expect to be making the big bucks in an entry-level job (particularly in the US), but you should be able to make some cash. We suggest that you look a little bit beyond this.
We like to see entry-level jobs as a step towards your ultimate career goal. When you take an entry-level job, you have the ability to:
Gain experience
Get on the career ladder with certain companies.
Build up a contact list.
So, a decent entry-level job can give you a leg-up on your career. Therefore, we highly recommend that you try to aim for entry-level jobs in your chosen career field, whatever that may be. This means that when you do go searching for a ‘better’ job in the future, you’ll have the experience that puts you ahead of many other candidates.
We know that this is something that won’t always be possible, particularly in smaller towns and cities, but you may as well give it a go. If you have to take an unrelated job, that’s fine. It is not as good, but every little bit of experience is going to help when you are aiming towards your ultimate career.
Does The Role Need To Be LGBT-Focused?
As we said before, not all LGBT-friendly roles are going to be LGBT-focused jobs. They’re just jobs. Jobs where you can feel as if you are in a highly accepting environment.
So, you really need to think about which one of these is more important for you:
Working to benefit LGBT community members.
Working in an LGBT-friendly environment where you feel safe.
For the vast majority of people, the latter is going to be the most important. While it is nice to get an entry-level job where you can help benefit LGBT people, those jobs are few and far between. A lot of people don’t really have long-term aspirations in those career fields either.
Of course, go down the route that you feel the most comfortable with. This is your job, after all.
LGBT Youth Researching Work
Ask Friends & Family For Job Recommendations
In our experience, one of the quickest routes into an entry-level job is to ask friends and family members for job recommendations. This could provide you with an in-route.
You may want to pay special attention to what your LGBT friends say. If they are working at a company and are happy being there, then ask if there are any entry-level jobs available.
Search Dedicated LGBT Job Boards
One of the great things about living in this more accepting era is the sheer number of websites that have popped up that cater especially to LGBT job seekers. You may want to check out a few of them, because you know that if a company lists their roles there, then they have already demonstrated that they are LGBT-friendly.
Do bear in mind that you don’t really get much in the way of entry-level jobs on these sites (unless your local area is running an initiative), but you will find a few. If anything, you’ll at least find the names of a few companies that you know will cater to LGBT people. You can then reach out to them directly to see if they have any entry-level roles that may be appealing to you.
Research the Company
Remember, when seeking out a job, you should always research the company. Have a look at reviews online, find people that work for the business, etc Remember, just because a company claims to be LGBT-friendly, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is. The reviews from employees on places like Glassdoor will tell you everything that you need to know.
The Ideal Entry-Level Jobs For LGBT Youth
Honestly, most standard entry-level jobs should be fine for LGBT youth. The vast majority of places are now highly accepting of others, so any role should be fine. If a role seems interesting to you, then go for it! However, as you can imagine, LGBT youth tend to gravitate toward certain roles. We want to highlight them in this section. These are the jobs that may have a positive impact on other members of the LGBT community.
Youth Mentor
This can potentially provide a route towards becoming a youth counselor (although, you’ll need a degree for that).
When you were younger, you may have had difficulty coming out to people. You may not have had the support network that you wanted to have. Working as a youth mentor provides other people who are in the same position as you with the support that they need.
These jobs are perfect for the LGBT youth as an entry-level job, as any places (normally charities) that have youth mentoring services are looking for people who can talk at the same level as the people who need help.
Charity Worker
Why not look into LGBT charities? There are plenty of them around nowadays, and many of them are looking for people that can assist with fundraising, or perhaps provide certain services for the charity.
These jobs don’t necessarily pay all that well (some pay at all), but they do provide a great amount of experience that you can use when you are searching for future jobs.
LGBT Youth Work
Events Organizer
LGBT events are on the rise, and this means that there are now a lot of event organizers who work on them. Why not seek out a role with an event organizer? This has the potential to be a massive business in the future, and it is an exceedingly fun role to jump into!
Support Helplines
We suppose that this may tie into the youth mentorship entry-level jobs, but with many support help lines, you can work at home. The hours may also be a little bit easier to fit around your schedule, which can be ideal when you are studying.
Support helplines do just what they say on the tin. You’ll be talking to people that need help. Some of the top support help lines for LGBT youth are those that deal with suicide prevention, or advice on coming out.
Again, these are entry-level jobs that may not pay huge amounts of cash, but they can provide you with a great amount of experience that can lead to future jobs. Trust us, potential employers love it when they see this sort of thing on a resume.
Final Thoughts
It can be incredibly tough to find entry-level jobs for LGBT youth. These people often have the toughest time finding roles that are suitable for them. Thankfully, with so many LGBT-focused job boards out there, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find companies that are LGBT-friendly. At that point, it is just a case of reaching out to them and explaining why you may be a good fit. Who knows, you may get lucky and score the entry-level job of your dreams!
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