How to deal with racism not allowing me to get a job?

Question

i live in hawthorne california, mostly mexicans and african americans.

im filipino myself, and have applied for many jobs as i can at the age of 15.

i understand i cant work at certain places due to age, but i tried fast food, and my friend is mexican, and we applied to jack in the box, and its 100% mexican employees, and manager too.

he was 14 and im 15.

we both applied and he got the job instead of me, even though my application looked better than his.

im not saying mexicans are racist.

im not generalizing.

im just asking how can i deal with this?

Answer 1

Learn.

Everyone is a bit or a lot racist

Answer 2

this is a situation where I would talk to a legal aid lawyer or the ACLU or some other local organization at a law school that will help you sue the company. Most people in this country throw the word "racism" around without even knowing what it really means. You were potentially racially discriminated against, which is different from racism. I assume that the lawyer will get in touch with the company headquarters and they will **** themselves when they look at what is going on and fall all over themselves to fire the manager and the regional management because it could get expensive for them. There is also Fox News.... the would eat this **** up!

You should make this a good experience for you. And if things like this are allowed, they will happen to others and will get worse.

Answer 3

Welcome to America, as long as you are a traditional "minority" you get special treatment. As a white guy in a mostly filipino/mexican town in NorCal, I get NO breaks from anyone here!

Answer 4

File a complaint with the dept of labor is what you do,dude

Answer 5

Dude, it's hard to get a job when your under 16.. I was the only one of my friends that managed to get a job that young and that's only because I was volunteering somewhere and had great references from my volunteer job.

Employers can hire whoever they think will be the best fit. In a fast food environment, you work really close to other people. He may have decided your friend was the best fit because of similarity on background, or, perhaps his interview went a lot better then yours did. If you were the only applicant and he refused to hire you based on race, then you might have a case. I'm sure plenty of Mexicans get passed over for jobs too. I can tell you plenty of women get passed over for warehouse and distribution center jobs. My place of employment got in trouble for having an 'agility' test that wasn't at all reflective of the job being done and pretty much guaranteed women couldn't pass. They had to lift a 50 lb box 6.8 feet into the air. Based on the average womans height of 5' 4" MOST women couldn't reach high enough even if they could lift the weight. They got into trouble for it because there is no point at all in the job where you actually have to do that task and it was determined to be a way to keep women out of the job. When you encounter real prejudice, then you can call a lawyer and get a place like that in trouble for it. Unfortunately though, there's no way to prove that was racism, that was just someone getting the best fit for the job.

If you really want to get a job, go volunteer somewhere and be regular there. Go volunteer at your local library, do a great job, show up when you say you will.. After a few months, ask if one of them will be a reference for you. At 16 years old, I was the youngest full time county employee with full benefits. I got a special waiver to work full time. Volunteering can really pay off. Not only do you give back to your community, but, it can give you a great reference to get a good first job.

Of course, if you slack off and don't do anything while your there because your not getting paid, no one will give you a good reference. If you work hard when your working for free, employers are more likely to think you'll work hard when you're getting paid for it.

Answer 6

What makes you think you didn't get the job because of race?  It may have been for some other reason.  Didn't you ask the hiring manager why you weren't chosen?  In the future, a good way to ask is like this:  "Okay, I understand that I am not being hired.  But may I ask you a favor?  It would be helpful to me in the future when I apply for the next job, if you could help me understand why I didn't get this one.  I would really appreciate it."  The manager probably will give you some advice that will help you.  Blaming race is always an easy excuse but I would bet race had nothing to do with it.

Answer 7

Welcome to the U.S. Nothing is fair and everyone is deep down racist-even thought people won't admit it. You have to be cute and look good also-(this is even sicker) I am sorry but you should be given an equal chance just like everybody else! That sucks, I 'm sorry-Just keep trying, talk to people you know that already have jobs and see if they are hiring or need anybody. Keep applying-approach them with a smile and dress nice and you will eventually land a job! Good Luck!

Answer 8

You're not saying...?  You should.  Always tell the truth.  Always speak out against racism.  It is not acceptable anywhere anytime by anyone.

Do you have a work permit, since you are underage?  Go to the state dept of labor & file a discrimination complaint against J-i-t-B.  Go to the federal DOL and do likewise.  Is your friend here illegally or legally?  Anybody at the J-i-t-B you know to be an immigration-law violator?  Then call ICE and report them for hiring illegals.

Answer 9

Move from the place to where you can get a job..we can't do anything unless they realize..

Answer 10

speaking as  teenage fillipino, i can understand ur frustration. i dont get jobs in white dominated fields such working at the mall. but there are two solutions. if you speak good spanish, let the manager know. he might have taken u for another kind of asian which is why he didnt hire u. since the staff is spanish speaking, he didnt want u if u couldnt keep up. the other way is to find another job. its not worth it to bring it to court. find a job that doesnt require much.

Answer 11

just wondering.. can they even tell you apart from your friend? if not lie on ur application and say ur mexican. Lol. they gunna do a blood test? LOL

Answer 12

I have a business:

Have Blacks,LEGAL Mexicans and Whites.

I hire based on who I feel will do the job best.

My best maintenance person years back was a L*****n to prove my point.

Fast food here in Arizona is made up on a lot of Mexican people, but I do not feel it is a race issue.

Just keep applying.

Racism in not being hired is tough. Does it happen? I think so for all races.

Is it fair/ No!

To deal with it. Suck it in. Grow up. When you do grow up, always be a fair person.

Answer 13

If you can prove it, or have a case that's provable, then you can file a complaint. Make sure that the only reason you were not hired was because of your ethnicity. You'll need to show how you were much more qualified but not hired.

Careful, though. This may cause tension in the relationship you have with your friend if he thinks you're trying to best him.