Opinions on interviewers perceptions

Melaniep101

Hi all

I wondered if I could ask your opinions on a subject I've been wondering about of late.

I am currently employed but have been applying for other roles to further my career. A couple of weeks ago, I went for a face to face interview with a direct competitor having got through a phone interview OK. I think I interviewed really well, demonstrated a lot of insight into the industry and showed my capabilities and results to the person interviewing me. I was relaxed, friendly, answered questions intelligently, and tailored my responses around the particular company/role. I finally got some feedback today to say that they had chosen another applicant, but wanted to keep me on file for the future.

I'm now wondering what I could have done to improve on the interview, and I'm really struggling! I am worried that my appearance may have been a factor as I am overweight (quit smoking 7 months ago and have put on a fair bit), and perhaps they were looking for someone who would "look the part" (it was a sales role).

I'm not going down the discrimination path or anything, but more that, if my weight/appearance is a deciding factor on whether I get a job or not, I need to take my weight loss more seriously.

Has anyone else felt that they were judged on looks/appearance rather than capabilities? Or if you are in the position to interview candidates, do peoples appearances affect whether you would be prepared to employ them or not?

Thanks in advance.

RancidM

Melaniep101 wrote: »

if you are in the position to interview candidates, do peoples appearances affect whether you would be prepared to employ them or not?

Certainly.

However concerning your sales related role.
having been involved with some very large sales team's i find that sales people come in all shapes and sizes, the one thing all the decent sales people seem to share is a look of confidence.

being over weight dost mean you will be a bad sales person.
but letting the weight detract from a outwardly confident look will not help at all.

trailingspouse

The first few seconds of an interview are key - and feelings about candidates are very subjective. After all, the people interviewing you are only human, and they have their own preferences/hang-ups and outlook on life.

I'd been looking for work for a while, and was getting plenty of interviews but not getting the jobs. I asked a trusted manager to give me a 'practice' interview. One of her main comments to me afterwards was that I was very skinny and that any women on the interviewing panel might well hate me on sight!! I adjusted the way I dressed, going for an outfit that made me look a bit wider - got the next job I went for. Don't know if the outfit had anything to do with it, or if a general feeling that I'd done everything I could do just gave me extra confidence.

All I can suggest is that you fix anything that you know needs fixing, that way you walk through the door projecting the maximum amount of confidence.

Big_Tree

Being overweight can give the impression of no self-control and laziness...

In an interview try to steer the interview towards the interviewer talking about themselves......how quickly they progressed in the company....how the company has changed since they started......

People love to talk about themselves, it strokes their ego...

rhammer

I used to interview for sales consultants in a call centre. Being completely honest weight would not have been a factor in my decision process as it was a telesales role. If it were a face to face role I don't think that would have made much difference either. However, we did once employ an administration assistant who was dangerously overweight (I am no doctor but she can only be described as being morbidly obese). She was lovely lady but we had to adapt the job role to suit her - for example after the first few days she refused to take collect and deliver the post to the sorting office because the 3 minute walk was too much for her. She was also absent a lot so did not make the trial period. After that I interviewed a few similar candidates and I didn't take them on because of it - not very proud of it but just being honest.

It might be too late now but I would have asked why they chose the other applicant. They may not always give you the honest truth but, for all you know, it could have been an internal applicant with many years experience at the company. So I wouldn't worry too much about it - especially as it was only your first face to face interview.


Sometimes when I was interviewing the decision would go down to the smallest detail if we had two candidates that we could not decide between - I remember one candidate was chosen because they lived within walking distance from the office and the other lived 10 miles and would need to rely on public transport. We came to the conclusion that the candidate who lived within walking distance would be on time more often and able to come to work if there was snow in the winter (something we used to have problems with). So it really could be anything!

lulu650

Melaniep101 wrote: »

...Or if you are in the position to interview candidates, do peoples appearances affect whether you would be prepared to employ them or not?

Hi Melanie, I've been on several interview panels as a prospective work colleague rather than management. We're a fairly large company with a customer focus and we have set questions to ask with a marking criteria. Appearances don't come into the marking but I am aware that I mark higher for people I'm impressed by. I tend to look for enthusiasm, eye contact, knowledge, self awareness......just generally someone I would like to work with!
Appearances do matter because we're all human and go through a mental checklist in summing someone up quickly. My pet hates are tattoos and rings anywhere than on fingers or ears. If someone was obese I would wonder how fit they were overall and also wonder about their absence record. That initial caution can easily be overturned as the interview progresses.
That said, there are three of us on a panel and we are always in agreement with the final top two. Appearance would not have a bearing on that final decision and would not form part of our discussion.
I've always been pleased with the final choice applicant. And we don't say to someone we will keep their details on file if we have no intention of keeping their details on file.
Hope that helps

Melaniep101

Thank you everyone for your replies, seems like the general consensus is that being overweight isn't necessarily a deciding factor. I'm going to knuckle down and get some weight off though, as I know I will feel better for it! I am a confident person regardless of being overweight, and having been a successful salesperson for the last 16 years, I'm confident in my abilities so not sure whether that was the problem in this case.

The long and short of it is, it's much much tougher to get a job these days! And if looking better will help my chances and make me healthier, it's a no brainer.

Thanks once again folks for the wonderful, constructive replies.