Question:
Any HR people out there with answers

People talk about employment descrimination of the morbidly obese, but when I was MO I had no trouble getting a job. I am a very experienced bookkeeper. With all of the qualifications anyone could wish for, but I can't get a job. I just got turned down for a temp to perm job at 40% less salary than I was earning, and a lot less responsibility. I am 60 years old, so I don't mind toning down the stress level and the money. I do need benefits. I get the interviews but not the job. I know the weight loss sometimes make us look older, but is there a personality change that could cause my interviews to fail. How is it possible that I was treated better MO than thinner.    — faybay (posted on December 22, 2002)

December 22, 2002
Fay, there is alot of age discrimination out there, and that may be what you are facing. You mention that you look oldeer than when you were MO. Contact www.aarp.org for more info on age discrimination. Good luck.
   — Cindy R.

December 22, 2002
Fay, you don't say when the last time you looked for a job, but with the economy going the way it has been recently, that could be part of the problem also. I know that about 4 years ago, we couldn't hire tech workers for a pretty specific job. The state of Colorado just wasn't paying enough. Now we have way more applicants than we would have jobs for in the next 5 years at least. That's not to say that you aren't being discriminated against because of your age, but it may just be the economy.
   — garw

December 22, 2002
I was out of work last year at this time of year. I couldn't get a job to save my life. All of a sudden, in March, I was getting call backs and job offers like crazy. I have a friend who experienced the same thing. I think more hiring happens in the beginning of the year and the opposite at the end of the year. Don't give up and good luck!
   — Julie S.

December 22, 2002
I was truely hoping for a magic answer, but I guess there isn't one. Thanks anyway.
   — faybay

December 26, 2002
I don't think it's the obese, it's the age. Even though companies are not supposed to do that, they all do. I was looking for a job a few years ago and felt that my weight was my biggest reason why I didn't get jobs. Unfortunately, it's a company market and not an employee market. What I mean by that is because there are so many people unemployed, the market for them is very good. They can be choosy. I was recently unemployed for 6 months. I went on interview after interview and nothing came of it. I just started with a wonderful company and a position that I love and more money to boot! Go to a temporary agency and start from there. Good luck!
   — dolphins94