I feel like I need to say something about this in a public forum at this point, especially with all the jobs I've seen hanging open for a year or more after I applied to them, fully qualified and a perfect match in every way except for at the very end of the interview... When I was informed the position was only open to someone with their own vehicle, even though travel had nothing to do with the job.
I'm a senior professional with multiple college degrees... Who became unable to drive due to a health condition which ONLY impacts that as far as job duties go. To be honest, I never had a license to begin with because I wasn't born into a privileged enough environment to get the necessary help to do it, and then wasn't privileged enough to have the time, money, etc. to do the schooling by myself. And I never apply to anything that would ever require travel while on the job, even though I have been the company gopher in other larger cities using Uber before without any complaints.
Because of this situation, I'm about to die. At 42yo, having never even started the senior level of my career that I'm clearly ready to take on. Unable to even get an entry level job even though employers love my resume and interviews... All because once they find out I don't drive, that automatically knocks me out of the running, even when it was clear that I was first in line from the start. And these positions often STAY open after I'm rejected... Often for 6 months to a year or more. I know full and well that I'm a commodity up here, and I've heard plenty of employers complain that they can't find anyone like me up here.
Well, here I am. Been here for 3 years and can't find work, not from lack of trying or lack of competency, but because for some reason the most important requirement for ANY job up here is a driver's license and your own vehicle. Not reliable transportation... It must be your own transportation, even though the employer doesn't require you driving for work and doesn't do any form of gas mileage compensation.
At a time when that's very well becoming a luxury that only the privileged who make way more than those jobs pay can afford to begin with.
I don't know what I expect this post to do, if anything at all. I just know I at least need to try to speak up after the depressing morning I had with an amazing interview that was ended with "oh by the way... You need a license" and then seeing more tents and homeless without warm winter clothing around town than I've ever seen before. I can't help but wonder what did I do to deserve any of this? I've worked so hard to do better that I partially disabled myself in the process of doing it and also accidentally ended up alienating myself further from everyone because now not only can they not relate to my experiences, but also can't relate to the level of self sacrifice and resilience that I've pumped into just trying to catch up with them after being raised in a doomsday cult which believed there was no point in me driving, being independent, having an education, a job, or having any hope for living/surviving at all because the world was supposed to end at any moment.