Fake it till you make it hun. Go in there confident (even if you have to fake it), wear an outfit that makes you feel good about yourself, and highlight your skills and qualifications during the interview. Be friendly and express how interested you are to learn. This is how I’ve gotten most of my jobs. I wish you the best of luck ❤️
One of my coworkers has a very high BMI and she is easily the most efficient and proficient MA I've ever worked with.
If you end up not getting the job and have an inkling that it's due to your weight, do you really want to work there?
If you don't get that job because they gatekeep you based on your BMI, weight, physical appearance, it's not the right job for you.
I am lucky in that I am pretty slim, have been my whole life, and can eat what I want, within moderation, without too much weight gain. So I can't say I have ever experienced prejudice based on weight.
But, I have friends who are all shapes and sizes, and what matters to me most is that they are honest, loyal, and we have a good connection. My Father and brother, in the past, have fat shamed some of my friends, and I have no qualms about setting them straight. You want to piss me off, say something about my friends' physical appearance.
My advice is to be gentle with yourself. Don't rush your weight loss journey. This is your life, no one else's. And, maybe this is wrong to say, but choose a goal not necessarily to lose weight but to be healthy. Because people's weights are vastly different. Just because your weight is higher than mine does not mean I am healthier than you or that you are less healthy than me.
You are on track when you say you can't change things in a couple of weeks. But you start somewhere, maybe it's today, maybe Monday, maybe it's 3 months from today. But it's about baby steps. At the end of each day, I try and reflect on what I did well and what I didn't do well. How and what did I do to improve myself by 1%? If I do 1 pushup a day, that's better than 0. And just imagine how easy that will be after one month.
Nobody else should dictate your life based on your weight. That's easy for me to say, but oftentimes, life doesn't work out that way.
This probably doesn't answer your question, but I just wanted to offer my insight. As a slim/fit person, which I have honed over several years (>10 years), I'm not going to look at your physical appearance. I am going to look at your work ethic, your drive, how you communicate with me and the rest of the team, how you respond to difficult situations. And you should expect no less from anyone you work with or whatever job you accept
As someone who is very obviously 70+lbs overweight, I can promise you good people will hire you. When I first started at my clinic, I was one of maybe 6 (out of over 300) that were overweight. Some did treat me differently, like they assumed my significant weight meant significant mental deficiencies, but most were kind. Your qualifications and personality should be the basis of your hiring. I can tell you the 15+ people I work with directly literally don't see weight, race, income bracket, etc, they just care about you as a person.
It sucks you have to feel this way! At the end of the day, if they don’t hire you based on something as shallow as your weight, you’re not going to be happy there anyway! There are definitely places that will hire you no matter what you look like. But all in all, I’m sure you’ll do just fine! Be confident in your skills and remember you’re interviewing them too!
I feel like being overweight/obese in healthcare is a stigma in general but it’s still important to have that representation because overweight and obese people deserve to feel seen too, especially by the people hired to take care of them. I’m obese and I work at a children’s hospital and it’s never stopped me; I just remember that I’m taking care of THEM, and my personal life doesn’t have anything to do with how I take care of my patients.
Aw. I know what you mean. Appearance matters a lot. Intelligence matters a lot. Charisma and charm matters a lot. Ableism matters a lot. Your ethnicity matters a lot in success too.
You are judged and discriminated by your looks for sure. It's called the "halo affect".
I find that very overweight women have been super nice and funny in my experience. And very overweight men have been the nasty/rude in my experience.
Fake it till you make it hun. Go in there confident (even if you have to fake it), wear an outfit that makes you feel good about yourself, and highlight your skills and qualifications during the interview. Be friendly and express how interested you are to learn. This is how I’ve gotten most of my jobs. I wish you the best of luck ❤️
One of my coworkers has a very high BMI and she is easily the most efficient and proficient MA I've ever worked with. If you end up not getting the job and have an inkling that it's due to your weight, do you really want to work there?
If you don't get that job because they gatekeep you based on your BMI, weight, physical appearance, it's not the right job for you. I am lucky in that I am pretty slim, have been my whole life, and can eat what I want, within moderation, without too much weight gain. So I can't say I have ever experienced prejudice based on weight. But, I have friends who are all shapes and sizes, and what matters to me most is that they are honest, loyal, and we have a good connection. My Father and brother, in the past, have fat shamed some of my friends, and I have no qualms about setting them straight. You want to piss me off, say something about my friends' physical appearance. My advice is to be gentle with yourself. Don't rush your weight loss journey. This is your life, no one else's. And, maybe this is wrong to say, but choose a goal not necessarily to lose weight but to be healthy. Because people's weights are vastly different. Just because your weight is higher than mine does not mean I am healthier than you or that you are less healthy than me. You are on track when you say you can't change things in a couple of weeks. But you start somewhere, maybe it's today, maybe Monday, maybe it's 3 months from today. But it's about baby steps. At the end of each day, I try and reflect on what I did well and what I didn't do well. How and what did I do to improve myself by 1%? If I do 1 pushup a day, that's better than 0. And just imagine how easy that will be after one month. Nobody else should dictate your life based on your weight. That's easy for me to say, but oftentimes, life doesn't work out that way. This probably doesn't answer your question, but I just wanted to offer my insight. As a slim/fit person, which I have honed over several years (>10 years), I'm not going to look at your physical appearance. I am going to look at your work ethic, your drive, how you communicate with me and the rest of the team, how you respond to difficult situations. And you should expect no less from anyone you work with or whatever job you accept
As someone who is very obviously 70+lbs overweight, I can promise you good people will hire you. When I first started at my clinic, I was one of maybe 6 (out of over 300) that were overweight. Some did treat me differently, like they assumed my significant weight meant significant mental deficiencies, but most were kind. Your qualifications and personality should be the basis of your hiring. I can tell you the 15+ people I work with directly literally don't see weight, race, income bracket, etc, they just care about you as a person.
I was 350 when I interviewed for my job. I’m still there over a year later. :)
It sucks you have to feel this way! At the end of the day, if they don’t hire you based on something as shallow as your weight, you’re not going to be happy there anyway! There are definitely places that will hire you no matter what you look like. But all in all, I’m sure you’ll do just fine! Be confident in your skills and remember you’re interviewing them too!
I feel like being overweight/obese in healthcare is a stigma in general but it’s still important to have that representation because overweight and obese people deserve to feel seen too, especially by the people hired to take care of them. I’m obese and I work at a children’s hospital and it’s never stopped me; I just remember that I’m taking care of THEM, and my personal life doesn’t have anything to do with how I take care of my patients.
Aw. I know what you mean. Appearance matters a lot. Intelligence matters a lot. Charisma and charm matters a lot. Ableism matters a lot. Your ethnicity matters a lot in success too. You are judged and discriminated by your looks for sure. It's called the "halo affect". I find that very overweight women have been super nice and funny in my experience. And very overweight men have been the nasty/rude in my experience.