Is it because I’m fat?

[Creeeture]

Been job searching for almost 13 years. I’ve had the odd temp job and one proper job that didn’t work out but never had a proper job since. I get interviews weekly. Always get rejected or no reply at all. I’m on benefits and have been for years.

Only thing I can think of is that I’m obese. I’m 5ft 7in and 19 stone. I can’t think what else could be wrong with me?? I have qualifications to level 2 and some admin experience from temp jobs.
Im applying for admin and retail.

No, I have been hugely fat over the years and still got jobs. Have you asked for feedback from the interviews as I would say it is very unusual to get so many interviews and no job.

Gently, no. I’m about the same size and weight and have worked non stop as an adult, and am now in a very professional role. Maybe you need advice around cv’s as well as interview techniques and practice.

Hi, sorry you are going through this, I know it must be disheartening.

I personally don't believe it is because you are overweight. It is probably down to lack of experience and having to explain a 13 year gap on your CV.

Interviews are very heavily biased towards asking questions about your work experience eg "tell me a time you had to solve a problem at work" or "when have you had to deal with conflict at works".

Employers will also be suspicious of a 13 year gap without a good explanation.

You might want to practice your interview techniques, as what you are doing now is not working. It is the little things imo, firm hand shake, asking them how their day is doing, showing a lot of enthusiasm by asking questions about the role etc.

If you have an interview for Waitrose, for example, research the type of questions they ask so you have some idea in your head.

It might also be an idea to volunteer so you can come up with answers to the interview questions, even working in a charity shop helped me get a job, as I could use examples from my time there.

Good luck.

It won’t directly be because you’re fat, no.

But is being overweight affecting your confidence? Sometimes interviews are about the front we put up as much as anything!

I don't think so, I've been as much as 21 stone and as little as 13 stone and I've progressed my career throughout.

Having said that it may be affecting your confidence which then affects what you apply for and how you perform at interview. So tangentially linked.

I would say it’s more likely to be the fact that you’ve not had a proper job and have gaps in employment history where you haven’t worked. I appreciate this is incredible frustrating as you can’t change that unless someone gives you a chance.

I do think weight plays a part as well though and there have been studies showing unconscious bias against obese women. I suspect people make assumptions about being “fat and lazy” or more likely to have time off sick. When obviously we all know that fat doesn’t equal lazy and skinny people can also be lazy and have health conditions.

I’m bigger than you but have worked for the same employer for over a decade so don’t have experience of job hunting at this size. I’ve moved internally but think it’s easier when people already know you and what you’re capable of.

Best of luck op!

I'd ask for feedback from your recent interviews, that'll help you in finding out if you're lacking in a certain area (confidence, experience etc etc). Once you've got an idea of what you can improve on, it might be worth doing a little bit of volunteering in that area, which will be really positive for you.

Good luck 👍

Fat people are treated less favourably, I've been both fat and slim and notice the difference. However, lots of larger people do work so I doubt that's the main barrier. Do you have health difficulties that explain your long absence from work? Unfortunately disability discrimination is a big issue, but difficult to prove.

“Best” on paper job I had was when I was at my largest, a size 22.

I didn’t last long though because of not so well covered bullying about my size.

I was a nurse in a school, the amount of parents and other staff who made nasty comments within earshot (as they well knew) about how someone like me was bad influence for children, how could I possibly know anything about health at my size, what would I do if I had to run to an incident in the playground if a child was injured (accompanied by the parent doing a waddling impression ).

I lasted two terms.

Like others, I think it might be about confidence.

Have you tried volunteering? That would give you experience and also a way of answering interview questions. If you volunteer in a charity shop, for example, you will gain experience of working on a till, stock taking, dealing with customers etc etc.
You will also need to think of how to explain your 13 year gap. If you can show that for the last 12 months, for example, that you have turned up on time and worked hard in a non-paid role, that will stand you in really good stead.

Good luck

It's entirely possible , I work in retail and need to be super fit and healthy to do my job .

You do need to be fit to do retail, let's face it.

Im not sure why people are saying it wont be weight related, a quick google shows loads of information about obesity and workplace discrimination in the uk. That being said a 13 year enployment gap will also be off putting.

One thing you could do to improve your chances is to get some higher qualifications. Level 2 is only gcse equivalent. Doing a higher level qualification will help by updating your skil set and shows your work ethic.

It’s possible yes. When I was obese (but still felt like a slim person in my mind) I really noticed the difference in how people acted towards me before I’d gained the weight. When I lost it, I again noticed the difference

Plenty of people will say it’s not that but it probably is a combination of lack of continuous work history and your weight. As a previous ex fatty myself size 20 now down to a size 12 I know exactly how you feel and speaking as a recruitment advisor the combination of weight and lack of work history, to me would imply lazy even with my weight history.

Are you doing any online free learning courses? Does the job centre offer any training or volunteer work you could do to pad out your cv? Have you tried LinkedIn? Create a profile, search for jobs and that also do free training courses.

I think attitude can have lots do with it. I have friends who are bigger and go getters but I also friend who is waiting for her life to start when she loses the weight she wants to lose. She thinks everything will be different when she is slimmer.

Homesw33thome she can't have worse social skills than you. Why would you want to make such an unconstructive and mean comment?
OP sometimes people judge on superficial things so being significantly overweight might be a factor but, as other posters have illustrated it won't be the full explanation. If you are confident, positive and know your stuff it won't stand in your way. Perhaps practice interview skills or undertake further study or get some volunteering experience for your CV.

It's a long time to be unemployed. I think you need to widen your search area and look at things warehouse like warehouse work.

Also what have you done to keep your CV fresh? Any volunteering or courses?

Level 2 qualification isn't very much at all really.

In terms of weight, l think unfortunately it will be a factor as rightly/wrongly people do assume fat = unhealthy and increased sickness.

Do you want to loose weight?

An awful lot of fat ppl about these days , me included lol never stopped me getting every job l applied for bar one , do you do your research into what they are wanting , read the job description thoroughly , do you role play practice interviews? l am sorry if that sounds insulting but l found the better prepared you are the more chance you have of getting the job Good luck OP

If you’ve been on benefits for years then you’ll have lost a lot of understanding of the workplace, organisational cultures and values, up to date phrases, buzzwords and concepts, and likely just come across as not quite as up to speed as other candidates who are in work or have been more recently.

Sure, it could be because you’re fat, there’s a current thread running where many overweight posters feel that being fat and judged for it is the reason for most of their problems. But I wouldn’t discount the value of maybe getting some coaching in your interview technique and confidence in interviewing.

@GunsNShips

It won’t directly be because you’re fat, no.

But is being overweight affecting your confidence? Sometimes interviews are about the front we put up as much as anything!

I do wonder if, because this is why you think you aren't getting jobs, that your confidence in general isn't great?

In a way, it'd be good if it WERE because of weight because you can change that. I've noticed I'm not getting nearly the same amount of work since I turned 50. Nothing I can do about that....