I’m in a posting mood. Let’s talk careers. I would really like to get a discussion going.

Do you think your weight affects your job?

 Passed up for promotion.
 Not taken seriously.
 Physically not able to do the job.
 Discriminated against.
 Made fun of.

I think in my case, it’s not as severe as others. I think for me, it would be not taken seriously and not promoted.

I want to know what everyone thinks.

I think my weight affecting my job is more in my own head than anything. I always feel left out that i can't go shopping at lunch with the girls that go to the skinny stores.

I have to agree with what you said there. I think my lack of self-confidence shows up in everyday things. I act shy. It probably shows up on my interviews. I'm still in an entry-level position. I want to have my own desk. I am tired of sharing a desk.

I definitely believe in "weightism."

I applied for many jobs and was turned down left and right- and I honestly think part of it was my weight. I'd have wonderful interviews- two hours plus- then not get the job- and it'd be like WHY did they have me meet so many people if they weren't interested?

It drove me NUTS.

Luckily I got the job I have now- and I am working on the weight loss still because pretty much everyone here is THIN- it's annoying lol.

I'm the youngest (by far) and the biggest person in my department. Everyone is very thin. Talk about feeling like the ugly duckling.

Well I have a feeling I havent gotten a few jobs due to my weight....I have had the same story of having great interviews and no call back. Also its sometimes hard for me to get my job done when we are having an event and I am running up and down stairs to get things and having to put up heavy tables and such, and its so embarassing to be out of breath. THEN there is the dress.....I just dont have the cute clothes I used to b/c of my weight, and I sure as heck cant wear heels to work and try to walk all this weight around on stilts! But I do love my job now and they hired me despite of my weight, so it will only get better from here!

I think my issues are more from my insecurities that are caused by my weight.
sometimes i worry that interviewers will look at my size and think i'm incapable or not what they had in mind, i think that is more my paranoia than something that is real.

Aw I'm sorry you feel that way Sapphire- it's funny for me I don't wear makeup and stuff like I used to at work because I work out during my lunch- but I don't care anymore lol. I barely even fix my hair more than a ponytail! lol.

two of my last 3 jobs, i was hired long distance. so it was phone interviews only. which i prefer. b/c then i KNOW weight is not a factor.

the 2nd of my last 3 jobs was a local hire. i interviewed for the job in person and exceeded all of the qualifications. and was passed up. i heard from friends who already worked there that it was because the hiring manager only liked to hire pretty thin girls, regardless of their experience level.

i heard this from several different people - and there was even a discussion among some employees of that company at a dinner party - where they wondered aloud if the reason that i wasn't hired was because of my weight. b/c they all knew i was overqualified and would have been an asset to the team. everyone seemed to think that was a big factor in the hiring manager's decision. (neither i nor the hiring manager attended this dinner party).

almost a year later, he hired me, and didn't even have me do an interview b/c of the interview i had already gone through. but the only reason he hired me then was a lot of people were jumping ship (the contract was ending and it wasn't clear if it would be renewed) so i was hired to finish out the contract then stay on if i wanted to. he needed someone to quickly fill a position b/c there were so many people leaving.

but allllll the other girls he hired after he hired me were super cute perky pretty thin girls and many of them had ZERO experience. completely unqualified, then were just trained on the job.

so i really think it depends on the hiring manager. but even if the situation is not as blatant, i still feel appearance/weight comes into play. i'm sure it affects starting salary, too.

i just need to get my extra weight off so that when i'm ready to move to my next postion, i will know that at least weight is not a factor in the hiring decisions.

I know that one of the many motivating factors in loosing weight this time was that I knew I was going to have to move and job hunt within the year. My boyfriend and I were moving and I was terrified to interview for jobs at 270 pounds. I had lost a lot of my -normally abundant- confidence. Well, I'm not at goal yet, but I'm closer to ME. I had some good job offers that would put me at a desk most of the day but I took a job in retail management so I would be on my feet all day. Sitting to long hurts my back, and I easily burn hundreds of calories running around all day.

Hi all,

I have never posted on this part of the site, but I am 30something, so I hope it's ok.

I personally don't feel like I have been discriminated against, and I am much larger than you all (but working on changing that). I am tall, so perhaps I pull it off. OK, probably not.

I think I sabotage myself though. I hate taking a job that involved travel. I will be traveling in February for my job, and I greatly fear it. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but it is. At some point, I hope to have lost enough weight (and have traveled at this size) that it will make me more confident knowing I can do what I need to for my job.

Just my two cents.

Angie

I don't think it has affected my job, but I do think it has an effect on the social aspect of the job. I know I have lost only 30 something pounds on my ticker, but in the last 5 years it is more like 80 pounds. I have noticed now that younger people are being more social to me. It's kind of weird. And sometimes I feel like it's all in my head. I do know that my real friends have always been the same.

replying to realist -

i will have to travel (some) for my job, haven't had to yet but it's coming late spring or summer. i am hoping i can drop some more pounds before the first long international flight...

i am tall, too (but not as tall as you, realist - i'm 5'10") so not only do i feel crammed into the seat b/c my butt is so big, but i also have the leg room issue. (i do fit into the seats, but on some planes the seats are smaller and the seat belt fastens but i almost use the entire belt. i hate when i get stuck in a middle seat with people on either side of me, it makes for a most uncomfortable flight).

how do you handle the leg room issue at your height? my knees are always almost touching the seat in front of me (and jammed up next to it when the person in front of me is reclining). it seems rarer and rarer for me to be able to get a bulk head seat or an exit row seat, but when i do i really appreciate it. i just always wonder how people who are taller than me do it? b/c at my height it is very uncomfortable. they need to have options for people who are tall, b/c the legroom only seems adequate for people who are shorter than 5'8". and it seems very difficult to get those bulk head/exit row seats anymore.

what are your thoughts on the subject? i know there is a tall club and that it is discussed on their website... it's a real issue that is ignored by the airlines.