Working harder for the win.
I’m preparing to look for a job, so I go searching on “plus size clothes for interviews” and I come across this ehow article “How to Dress for a Job Interview if You Are a Plus-Sized Woman.”
In the article the #2 suggestion is:
Dress even dressier than the average candidate. Never look sloppy or mismatched for an interview. A suit, dress with jacket or formal pantsuit will give you that serious candidate edge. While it is true that the rules for interview attire have relaxed in recent years, for the larger woman, it is best to retain formality. Since others will be dressed more casually, you will appear even more serious and dedicated than the others.
As a woman that has spent most of her life working in IT, I’m used to being a minority in my field. The idea of having to live up to a higher standard than my colleagues is old hat. So, I read this paragraph with resignation.
I don’t have the energy to get mad at something I’m pretty sure is valid advice. When going to an interview, I have to make a better impression than my thinner counterparts. It’s not fair or right but I’m pretty sure it’s true.
The good news is that I interview well because I’m self-assured. The bad news is that we’re in a sucky economy and anything extra standing in my way is not good. And that’s forgetting I’m a woman with health problems.
Really, the part that frustrates me about that suggestion is how to make it happen. It takes money to buy professional clothes. I’ve already scoured the local thrift shops and found some clothes that kinda work but there is still the lingering doubt that I’m not going to be professional enough.
Maybe I should be more pissed off about this extra work I have to do, instead of just whining about money I don’t have, but I’m going through a divorce so I’m trying to focus my energy on other things.
While I fully agree on thr frustration at having to dress extra professional because we’re large, lest we not forget that we always had to work twice as hard at making a good impression because we’re female. not fair but so true
Is there a Dress for Success organization in your area? That is a charitable group that collects gently worn business clothes to distribute to women in situations like yours. Alternately, do you know anyone your size - borrowing clothes is an idea that thinner women seem to have all the time.
Good luck in your job search!
You are so right. I am also job searching after having been self employed for the past 2.5 years, and am infinitely nervous precisely because of the reasons you have listed.
Apart from the drama of tring to find a plus size clothing company that feels big women have a right to professional looking office attire, there is the definite fact that I will have to work triply hard to impress with my attitude and personality than, say, your average thin girl.
I guess they would rather look at a thin girl behind the desk than a fat one.
But having said that, I believe there are more people out there who have the ability to look past the outer layer (fat, thin or otherwise) and see the person inside, than we realise. And I interview well, too, because I fake it initially lol. You know the impact personality has on an interview. It can make or break it!
Go get em’ and good luck xxxx
I feel for you-I would not want to be having to find a job in this economy. And it is true that ridiculous stumbling blocks caused by stigma are thrown out for anyone who is not a white male, particularly a white male between about 25 and 40. I am a white male, a few years over 40, educated, but I have some strikes against me. I am openly gay and I have a heavy build. I don’t qualify as a “flamer” but I enjoy being somewhat flamboyant and dressing in bright colors. I certainly have to tone down my personality and love for color, and sadly I do see a truism that a larger person does have to do more to be taken seriously, because of the ridiculous idea that all heavy people are out of control of their eating habits and therefore their lives. Women have always had to do twice as much as men to be taken half as seriously, and as a gay man who is “out” I have found that I have to behave in a more serious manner than my straight colleagues to be taken seriously. Stigma is everywhere and sadly it ain’t going away anytime soon. But with people like you speaking out, it takes a big hit! Good luck on the job interviews!
Elizabeth, I’m crossing my fingers for you so much!
While law might, one the whole, not be as male-dominated as IT is, my specialty area is certainly feeling like a “guys only” club. I decided from day one I was never going to be seen in a skirt at work- part of that was because I was a couple years younger than their average applicant, part of it is my true and honest hatred of quotas (and my desire to at least fit in with the majority in mode of dress) and part of it is due to some nasty experiences during university internships. The problem was, my wardrobe did not include a tailored pantsuit. I had my two business ensembles, but both were with skirts.
I rented my first “interview suit”. I had it quick-tailored to me (just a couple loose stitches), and felt like I looked a lot better than had I bought a quick-and-dirty solution at a store I could afford at that time. So that’s another way to go- rent a suit, then have a good tailor put in a few easy-to-take-out stitches (they sometimes do that right at the rental).
I envy you your self-confidence- I go into interviews a nervous wreck. Once I’m actually under pressure I somehow turn calm and collected and sarcastic, but my first interview I was so frazzled I actually can’t remember at all what the questions were.
Good luck! I hope you find your ideal outfit- and even if it’s not quite ideal, I know you will wow them just like you wow us with your posts
That completely sucks. I’m so glad I’m not searching for a job right now. My wife went through the same thing while she was working and contemplating switching jobs. She didn’t even put in an effort because she knew her body would count as a strike against her (not to mention the money/fashion problem).
It’s posts like this that remind me of how far we have yet to go in making social justice and equality a reality for all people.
Peace,
Shannon
I’m trying to find a job and this is what I go through. It isn’t bad enough to be demoralized by being broke and having a brand new neurological diagnosis, I have to fight the alleged stigma of my size, too? There are days when I really, truly think that living in a box has to be at least EASIER than all this …
For seven months last year I was applying for jobs and went on interviews and nobody hired me. This was the private sector mind you. The only place I was accepted was through the State of Maryland and this is a temp job that will end in May so I will have to do this all over again and hope that someone will realize that this 300+ 35 year-old, college-educated woman can be just as good an office assistant as the younger and thinner woman.
This article is nothing new to me—I always try to look my best when interviewing because the first thing prospective employers will see is how large I am and I’m aware that we are perceived as lazier and not as concerned about our appearance.