Brief Hiatus but Now I'm Back

Give us the skinny in the losers lounge.
(Anything off topic)

Brief Hiatus but Now I'm Back

Postby mellowmom » February 17th, 2007, 12:49 pm

Been kind of hit and miss lately, and I know it's been affecting my "compliance" to the program. Good news is, no weight gain...bad news is, no weight loss.

Also been stressing out over a "job" search. I had worked for 25 years with the same company until '05 when it started turning all "dark" and "corporate" and I was being systematically pushed out the door for younger, cheaper, and dare I say it, thinner labor. I was in outside sales, and while my accounts didn't seem to have any issues with my size, apparently my new boss did and he slowly stripped my account list and demoted me to inside. I'd reached "retirement" age so in July I opted to quit and take up with a company that would allow me to "work from home".

Between my pension and telecommuting position I was making ends meet, but these past 6 months things started to go south and I determined that I needed to get back into a 9 to 5 routine with a company that paid regularly and offered benefits.

It's hard to explain the difference in attitude I've developed since losing 120 pounds. Previously, while knowing inside that I was a very good salesperson, with revenue figures to back it up, I let my bosses get away with treating me poorly because I was fat and probably should be grateful I had a job at all. That's how badly being overweight had affected my self-image.

But these past two months I experienced an epiphany of sorts. I applied for two outside sales positions with a couple of highly visible public companies. The initial interviews were over the phone and I aced both of them, but then, "over the phone" was always a breeze for me to do. It was the "face to face" interviews where I felt I would be pre-judged as soon as I entered a room.

But this time, I didn't worry about meeting the interviewer in person. I felt confident and poised. Even though I still am 50+ pounds away from my goal, I knew I looked a lot better than before and I felt like the job(s) would be mine to have. The only snag I hit was when I was invited to the companies for the interview and realized the evening before that I didn't have a business suit that fit! Can't remember the last time I had actually gone and purchased "business attire". So I made a mad dash to our local Lane Bryant store and found a really nice suit. It was a size 16, still quite zaftig, but a whole heck of a lot better than my last suit, a size 30!

Found out that Company A had had over 50 applicants and that over the past 3 weeks had narrowed it down to two of us. Company B offered me a position last week, but I REALLY wanted to work for the first company. I told Company B that I wanted to see what A offered before making my final decision, and they agreed to wait! (Now that was a real ego boost...having a company "wait" for your decision.)

Long story short...Company A made an offer yesterday afternoon and I'm going with them. They're overnighting my employment package. I was able to select my level of compensation and the benefits are phenomenal. (They even offer "pet insurance"!)

I know in my heart of hearts that my accomplishments and references from my old clients "qualified" me for this new job, but I also know that I probably wouldn't have gotten it 120 pounds ago. Apparently the other applicant and I were quite evenly matched, but what impressed the recruiter was the fact that I had lost so much weight, displaying in his opinion an ability to "work and succeed in achieving long term goals". He told me it was a remarkable accomplishment and I should be very proud of my success. But, I can't let that lull me into a false sense of ..."I've arrived!" 'Cuz I still have a long (50+ pounds) way to go.

Just thought I'd pass on this NSV as an example of additional "good stuff" that can happen if you just keep on plan and stay focused on your goal. Easier said than done sometimes, but so worth it in the end.

Off to buy more suits... ;)

Carmel
Shaken AND Stirred
3/24/06
5'8" 334/213/165
Re-started 1/7/09
5'8" 325/165
User avatar
mellowmom
Preferred Member - #120 Club
Preferred Member - #120 Club
 
Posts: 573
Joined: March 28th, 2006, 12:58 am
Location: Zee Garlic Capital of zee World!!

Postby Ct. Yankee » February 17th, 2007, 1:12 pm

Really great to hear from you again, Carmel! :D And, congratulations on your new employment, much success will be yours, no doubt about that! :D
Joan
Ct. Yankee
Preferred Member - #50 Club
 
Posts: 304
Joined: March 30th, 2006, 6:09 pm

Postby nickieluv » February 17th, 2007, 1:15 pm

You have so many great stories to share today! So glad to see you back here!

Congratulations on the new terrific job - pet insurance?! What a perk!
User avatar
nickieluv
Preferred Member - #10 Club
 
Posts: 2703
Joined: June 21st, 2006, 4:09 pm
Location: Central New York

Postby bikipatra » February 17th, 2007, 1:16 pm

Congrats! What a great thing to be so in demand! :)
Restart Date: January 1, 2010
12/31/09 226.8
226.8/218/135
User avatar
bikipatra
Preferred Member - #100 Club
Preferred Member - #100 Club
 
Posts: 10308
Joined: March 13th, 2005, 8:01 pm
Location: Washington, DC

Postby Tawanda » February 17th, 2007, 3:04 pm

What an impressive and inspirational story, thank you for sharing it and Congratulations on being offered both jobs!!! :D
Began MediFast 2/10/07 212#
Reached Goal 3/15/08 147#
Renewed commitment 9/20/09-after regaining 38# (185#)
Reached Goal 1/25/10 147# Maintaining :)
Image
Tawanda
Preferred Member - 60# Club
 
Posts: 3490
Joined: February 7th, 2007, 7:25 am

Postby alpha femme » February 17th, 2007, 3:35 pm

i have to agree with you about marketability.
i fell into my current job-- no application, really no interview, not even degree verification. :shock: BUT... if i had shown up the first day weighing 400#, i would not have been offered the job. there's no doubt about it.

it makes me sad, but i realize that i would not have been able to command a classroom if everyone was staring at me like i'm a circus freak. i also doubt i could have handled the rigors of a long lecture.
alpha femme
Preferred member
 
Posts: 1125
Joined: May 19th, 2006, 9:47 pm
Location: CA

Postby horsey girl » February 17th, 2007, 8:54 pm

Yes, Mellowmom. It makes a huge difference. When you are quite overweight you are strangly invisable. A paradox for sure! I am much more noticed now in my career than before, yet I am not any better a sculpter :shock: At the last unveiling of one of my large sculptures, while I was heavy, I was not invited to help pull the drape off the piece. This was a large outdoor sculpture and I watched from the sidelines as TV cameras beamed the event on sports channels around the world. :(
Ad Astra per Aspera
User avatar
horsey girl
Preferred Member - 90# Club
 
Posts: 124
Joined: February 1st, 2005, 10:30 pm
Location: Texas


Return to What's Shakin'



 


  • Related topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests

cron