Professional and Fat
 

Hello,

I was just wondering if there were any professionals out there with a weight problem. You see I am graduating this semester with a Bachelor’s in Accounting. I told one of my professors that I think my weight might be a problem. He said I was right. That all the accounting firms are looking for the "young and the restless." So what do you think? Do I have a shot? I'm just wondering what some of your experiences have been with interviews. I would think the first thing an interviewer would think is that I don’t fit the professional image. Also what in the world to I wear to work? I really confused because the skinny styles in bigger sizes just don't work for me. Thanks!!!

Jennifer

I have a BSc in Computer Science. It has definitely hurt me in my career.

I work in politics, and I am hoping my weight loss will help me in the future. We'll see.

I'm a teacher, I don't feel like it's hurt my career. The kids even say i'm the best dressed woman in town! You can get nice clothes that are very professional looking! It just takes a little more looking that's all!

I also just recently graduated with an Accounting degree and am waiting to go to public for just this reason. I have a great internal accounting position with a small company, and had no problem landing that position. However, I would like to go Big 4, and do believe that my size would interfere since it is an outwardly facing role where you go to clients all the time (I want to do audit). I also want to be able to travel for work and I am too big to fit in an airplane seat. That is why I have chosen to take a year off in between and stay with my company and try to get down to around 250 before I make the transition.

One thing I would say is that although being overweight can make it more difficult, it doesn't mean you can't overcome it. There is a lot to the way you hold yourself, your posture and your demeanor. If you come across as professional and confidant, people won't notice your size as much.

I'm a college professor, and I don't think it has hurt me. But it IS something I frequently think about (how do my students perceive me?) When I was interviewing I deliberately chose to wear a suit to all my interviews -- it's not something everyone HAS to do in my field, but I figured I needed to look the part EVEN more than a thin person.

Now on the job, I try not to dress too "down" but I don't feel I can dress as casually as some of my colleagues...

So, will your weight hurt? Maybe. But I don't think that's an automatic. But for interviews, think about being as professional as possible. You didn't say how much you weigh or what size you wear...

Edited to add: I just read Nancy's quote and absolutely agree with her last paragraph!

I think my weight has held me back at times. And yes, I think it effected the results of a few interviews, but I have had a professional career for about 7 years now and overweight for the entire period.

I think it depends on the field and interviewers and office. Our office is pretty open minded on who we hire we want them to be professional (heavy or not it is more about personality and drive), but at the end of the day it is very clique (like high school and the interrelationship vary based on size).

As for career outfits. I wear a lot of suits (Fashion Bug, Hetchs, and even a few from Macy's) I watch for sales, by things one at a time. A lot of "classic" pieces, but some funky blazers or blouses to show my style. I also have a bunch a separtes that are very professional and wear them on office days as well (I always try to wear a suit to client meetings).

It is hard in offices, but it is about you and your performance at the end of the day. I have proved myself at an office now for about 4 years and there is still mention of the people I replaced (for various reasons) and at times it hurts - it is a huge pressure point of mine.

Any way keep your attitude positve. You can do it!!

I held various area-management positions for quite a few years, and can't say my weight was ever an issue since I was promoted several times (and even head-hunted) during this period. I wasn't just starting out on a career though, and already had a proven track record which I guess was more important to them than how fat I was.

I took great care in choosing what I wore to interviews because I wanted to the recruiters to remember exactly who the best choice was! :p Despite my preference for solid black, I never wore it, choosing instead suits of shocking pink and black small-checks, or orange and navy thin-stripes. (All much more flattering than they sound!). Once hired, I went back to my other clothes. :)

I've done a bit of recruitment myself since then, and we utilised a well-known points system when we interviewed. Aside from experience/knowledge, applicants were marked down for wearing "dull" clothing (plain black, grey, navy), not smiling, and not tying up long hair. They were marked up for the more obvious stuff such as being animated, maintaining eye contact, and having prior knowledge of the company. There was no marking associated with a person's size, although other places may vary, I guess.

Good luck with your career, Jennifer.

Thank you so much!
 

Hearing about all your experiences is priceless. I have overcome obstacles including a learning disability to be where I am. At this point I am thinking VERY hard about a masters in accounting. To get a Master’s I will only need another 32 hours, which will probably take 3 semesters. So I am going to make it my goal to lose 100 pounds in 18 months. I sure hope that is not too much to ask for.


Thanks for the clothing and interview tips. I always thought they wanted us to wear dull clothes for business especially accounting. It is great to know that I will not have a hard time finding a job in the private sector. That is a huge relief. You have all been so helpful and given me so much hope today. :D

Midwife I do need an internship badly to have something to put on my application to Grad. School. By the way I had midwifes for both of my pregnancies and ended up with to c-sections. If I have another I will still choose a midwife, they give great care.

I'll share my only tangentially related "worst interview ever" story, because it's one of the few rare times in my life I actually said the witty comeback I'd been thinking of.

I dropped out of the PhD program when I was 22 because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the degree, and was tired of being poor all the time. It was rather sudden, the dropping out, so I had to find a job fast. I got a job working in a white collar sweat shop, basically, doing data entry. Dress code was very casual and you needed to be comfortable because it was a horrid place to work.

So anyway, I was interviewing for a 'real job' at the same time, doing horrendously long days between interviewing and working long hours. I got called in last minute for an interview. I only had a couple hours of notice, I didn't have anything clean, so I went in 'business casual' attire -- no jeans, but not very dressed up. No makeup either. It was a hectic day.

I went through the interview okay. Truth be told, I was probably underqualified anyway. The man was pleasant the whole time. At the end he shook my hand, and said, "It's a shame you couldn't look a little nicer for the interview."

Now, I knew I was too casual, but it really couldn't be helped. The company was pretty inflexible on when I could interview, and it was a 'now or never' thing. Still, even if I was underdressed, the guy could've been a little more polite about it. It's not like I was interviewing for service industry where I'd be out in front of customers anyway.

But, this was the one time in my life I actually had a witty comeback! It took a second or two, but I came back with: "It's a shame you couldn't have learned a little more tact in dealing with people."

Needless to say, I didn't get the job. :P

I'm a lawyer, and I do think it's affected me. I have a fantatic academic record and got a lot of interviews when I left university. Almost every job I applied for wanted to see me. But I only got two offers, from two firms where I'd done work experience. They got to see me for longer than just the interview, so got to know that I was good, rather than just looking and seeing fat. I could be wrong, it could just be that I don't come over well in person, or I get scared at interviews, but I put it down to being fat.

Whether that was right or wrong, it has affected me, because I've since become rather scared of going for another job in case the same happens again. So whether it was because I was fat or because it was for completely unrelated reasons, my own fears that it was because I was fat were what were holding me back. Does that make sense?

Interestingly, in the job I'm in at the moment (where I've been pretty much my whole career, within the same firm as where I started), my boss is also on the big side. She lost a fair amount of weight on Atkins a couple of years ago, then got pregnant and put it back on. She never lost what I've lost, but has also been through the whole thing and has been really supportive.

A number of years ago I applied for a position that I didn't get, but when the number one choice didn't show up for work, I got the job because I was the second choice and had lots of experience. Several months into the job, I somehow found the notes from the interviews and read mine--it said, "Not great appearance." It was pretty offensive, but I don't know if it was about my weight or because at the time I interviewed, I was ill and had a fever of 102. I think it was my weight, but I guess I'll never know--they did promote me within three months so I guess in the end what you can do outweighs your appearance. It's just getting people to see that initially.

In my experiences my weight hasn't hurt me once I got in the door. Whether it has getting in the door I will never truly know but I suspect it has. I just don't believe I make as good an impression as I would slimmer. Maybe my own biases or even just a truth because my confidence is lower due to my weight.

Good luck - I'm sure you will find a great position.

I found this to be true as well. I've only gotten one job via direct interview (my first "real" job). The remainder were contract assignments where I was eventually hired. I've been with my current company for 6 years. I started as an administrative assistant and have worked my way up to an IT business analyst, so my weight has definitely not been an issue thus far. And I can say that my company has an excellent culture of diversity.

I am a lawyer in what we call a "city" firm in England (basically a firm that focuses on corporate law - no family, criminal, private client etc), and have found my weight absolutely no obstacle - I attended the same assesment days, took the same tests and went to the same interviews as everyone else and was offered numerous positions. Once I got the job I was told that over 600 people had applied for each of the positions available and I am sure that they can't all have been fat. I think that as long as you make an effort to look professional (i.e. well groomed, pressed suit, clean shoes, good nails, clean hair) and are confident then you stand as good a chance as anyone else. Remember that you are going to be applying for jobs that are extremely popular and so firms can be incredibly picky but ultimately firms need people who will be good at their jobs, not look good to the clients. How you speak (accent, choice of words etc) and how you conduct and carry yourself is far more important than your appearance.

I'm really surprised to hear about all of the people who feel that their weight has effected their ability to get jobs and absolutely staggered to find out that people have seen notes about their interviews that refer to their appearance or conducted interviews where appearance formed part of the criteria. Aside from it being immoral to decide someones ability for a job based on their appearance (not if they are applying for a job as a model or something or if there are genuine health and safety reasons why their weight could be a concern) IT IS ILLEGAL. Aside from in very limited circumstances you can't turn someone down for a job based on them having a certain colour skin, a certain type of hair, a particular eye colour etc and in the same way you can't turn them down because of their weight.

I think being over weight does hurt us in the corporate world....but thats JMHO. I've worked in the pharmaceutical industry for almost 20 years now and I have been treated differently with weight gain and weight loss. I've also seen heavier people being treated differently on interviews which is very sad.

Over weight or not, if your going on an interview (don't care what job its for), dress to the max, wear a suit, carry a brief case (even if there's nothing inside it, it still looks impressive) and look your best b/c that DOES make a difference. The first thing they see walking in the door is YOU and not your resume...so impress impress impress.

Always carry yourself well and hold your head up b/c the person interviewing you can see if you are confident in yourself and thats what they want.

Good luck to everyone entering the workforce.

I think extra weight hurts you in all walks of life..........

Really Geat Thread...Im finishing my junior year of my Undergraduate Degree and I think about this all the time. I KNOW appearance matters internally and externally in many ways though I know all the stereotypes people have about overweight people are not true in my case or even in most overweight people's cases (well maybe the one about low- self esteem) But Im certainly not lazy or unintelligent and I don't have a poor attendance record at work in fact I usually beat my boss to the office and stay late frequently even though I have a two hour commute. I think I'm a naturally hard worker especially when I like what I do, but I do wonder sometimes if I'm sometimes over compensating for my size or appearence and I wonder if people who don't see me in action really see the stereotypes.

I got my masters as a psychotherapist and my thinking was who was going to hire me to help people, when I obviously have issues of my own.
6 interviews, 5 job offers .. took awhile for them all to come, but they did.

i just went through this , this month. ok so im in school fulltime so im trying to find a part time job near by. i have serioulsy applied at like 20 places now and nothing. its weird cuz when i was at my prime and healthy and fit when i would apply at the mall i ALWAYS would get hired on the spot no interview that's if they were hiring. now its like i push and push with the resume and everything. i honestly think my weight has something do to with it. :(

I just thought I'd chime in here too :) I also work in a professional environment in a competitive field. Though I at times feel self conscious about my weight (not so much now that I'm losing instead of gaining) I like to think that I never let that come between me and my job (I lack in the significant other category...and am highly convinced that I lack any sort of biological clock so my work is what I have) .... I like to think that my drive, passion, intelligence, personality and over all 'business balls' show through more than my extra pounds. I've completed my masters degree and am proud to say that I work in my field in the city I want to be in. At this point too I've noticed that almost no one in my office eats healthy, some are overweight some aren't but either way I've turned into the healthiest eater...to the point where I almost sometimes feel I get jabbed at for not eating out with everyone every day like I used to.

I'm not gonna lie and say I don't look forward to the day where I can rock a suit and sassy heels and be able to walk into a room with a commanding presence...but just cause my waistline isn't there yet doesn't mean I'll let anyone hold me back professionally.

my opinions...#1 don't let extra pounds hold you back...if you want something then go and get it. #2 if you feel that you legit have been turned down for a position specifically because of your weight then that is flat out discrimination end of story #3 don't get discouraged.... It took me 2 years of waiting tables and being half way through a masters degree to get my foot in the door...not to mention hundreds of resumes, placement agencies, interviews etc. and even then my job started as part time 3 days a week... I then worked my way into a full time position and now I have applied for my bosses job...who got promoted (wish me luck) once the ball gets rolling things can really pick up!

I don't feel that my weight was a factor in me not getting a job sooner since really my thin friends also had the same problem seeking employment once we finished undergrad...and some are still looking! I just think in my case its a tough field and market, especially where I live, and it took some extra time to find a job that really fit. I may have walked in to all my interviews overweight...but I did it in a really good looking suit with my nails done and my hair and makeup perfect with tasteful accessories carrying myself well with lots of confidence. I had all my eggs organized and in one basket, had done my research on the company I was interviewing with and was well spoken and polite... so I was presentable and showed that I could be on the front lines. I'm thankful that I've never experienced the discrimination that some of you have mentioned...but really if I ever even so much witness any sort of discrimination in my workplace I'd treat it the same as when I see any sort of discrimination in my daily life... I'd speak up that it is wrong..and I'm pretty loud :D

Good luck NESunshine! Let us know how it goes with the promotion.

I work in technology, and it's typically a male-dominated field. I am overweight, but I'm not so much fat as I am large. I'm 5'11" and not a small-framed woman. I think this has actually helped me, because I'm attractive but not viewed as a sexpot, but I'm also not considered that fat. I present well, I can hold my own in any group of people, and I project confidence (even when I'm shaking in my suit) ... fake it till you make it! Eye contact, smiles, good posture, and a good handshake work wonders.

For interviews, I wear black, brown, or blue pantsuits, usually with a colorful blouse/shell. I carry a leather folder/portfolio with copies of my resume (or other pertinent documents), a pen, and some paper. I also wear my hair back, keep the fingernails filed and painted clear, and keep the shoes buffed. If you're mid-weight-loss, make sure your suit fits well. Get it tailored or get another one if it's too big.

For a long time I was an overqualified administrative assistant trying to move into a technical position. It's hard to break out of the administrative track, so needless to say I went on a TON of interviews and learned quite a bit about how to sell myself, first impressions, and what are typical interview questions. Now I think of interviews as a fun challenge, and I don't fear going on new interviews if I ever need to again (I have a job that I truly love right now).

I have my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I feel that my wt. never kept me from finding full-time employment. But, I do think I was passed over for Day Shift jobs because of my past obesity. It seemed that the thinner RN's with less experience were first to be promoted and to have the shift of their choice. Of course the administration always said that others were moved quicker to day shift, because they needed "the older, more experiences nurses there at night when fewer help was available".