Hi all......haven't posted in a long time. Let me get right to the point. I looked on the site for similar topics, but couldn't seem to find one. I am a pastry cook with experience in working in one of the largest and most prestigious hotels on the East Coast for over two years as well as working in a few of the area's top bakeries as an intern. I graduated cullinary school three years ago among the top of my class and can get an excellent recommendation from just about anyone that I have worked with. Over the summer, I decided to leave my job in order to take more classes and travel a little. The chef at my job couldn't hold the position open for me but I thought "That's okay. It shouldn't be too hard to find another gig." It's been almost six months and I can't seem to BUY a job anywhere. I go on interview after interview nad stage after stage with little to no results. I am extremely confident that I interview well and provide clear, concise answers to the questions I am asked. Every stage I have done has been, in my eyes, a success, with the exception of one, which I admit, I really blew the hell out of it, yet I get the feeling that race plays a huge role in my inability to get a job. I am an Black Male in an industry largely populated by not only European Men, but White and Asian women. I get the feeling time and time again that as soon as I hit the door, they take one look at me and say to themselves "This big Black guy can't possibly be any good. No way." I can interview well over the phone, as I am well spoken, so there may not be any indication of my ethnicity over the phone. I have litterally been on interviews at hotels, restaurants, etc. where the chef will come and meet me at the front, see a big black man sitting there and have a weird expression on their face as if they can't beleive I'm the guy they talked to over the phone. It's not like I don't take care of my appearance. I have a closet of very nice suits at my disposal, shower every day, and keep my hair groomed neattly all the time. the only thing I can think of is that since I started working at my last job, I started to grow dreadlocks, which I pay good money to keep clean, healthy and maintained, but why oh whay would that stop me from getting a job? For a beginner in my craft, which I still consider myself to be, I have a pretty strong resume, but no matter what position I go for, I get no love. There can't be THAT many people out there in my city looking for the same job, can there? I have gone to interviews sparked from answering a Craigslist ad that will say something like "Need Pastry Cooks ASAP!!!", go to the interview, do well, and hear "ok. We''l call you next week" and that would be it. I don't have a bad attitude, I'm friendly, and I'm not above doing anything asked of me, but reguardless of how I show that or even say that in interviews, I get passed over time after time only to find out in some instances that a young white woman out frsh out of school has gotten the job, and the fact that she is a bit attractive never seems to hurt. I'm beyond frustrated and have now begun to look for jobs in other industries and it's sad to think that I took money left to me by my mom when she passed away to go to school and get a degree that does me no good now reguardless of how many interviews I get. Why is it so hard for a Black male to get a job in pastry?