Mar 16 2009
The Wait is Over - Job Hunting When You’re Overweight
As we have been discussing, it is harder to get the job offer when you are overweight. Hiring managers are going to be secretly concerned about a few things, but only some of them will be directly relevant to the job.
If you are a sales representative and will be going out to meet with customers, they may be concerned about presenting a good image. Certainly, you could not be expecting a gym or fitness company to hire you to sell their services.
That being one exception, more often than not, what will be working against you are subtle erroneous stereotypes about overweight people - laziness, sloppiness, poor health, etc. You cannot prevent them from thinking what they want to think, but you can present the picture of a healthy, enthusiastic, poised and articulate job candidate who takes pride in herself and her capabilities.
Once you get to express who you are and what great things you have done in the past, the smarter managers will listen and give the respect you deserve. And as far as the others - the not-so-smart people - you are better off without them.
Be bold, strong, positive and maybe a little sassy. Try it and let me know how it goes.
