Ever felt your Muscular Size was keeping your from growing Professionally?

TheAnabolicFreak · Mar 2, 2012

I have been on the boards since i was 19 and bodybuilding since i was 15. Over the years i have added a lot of Muscle compared to the typical joe out there. I am blessed to have a great job at the age of 28 with a fortune 500 company (Carmax) which gives me good benefits. My pay is not that great but i love my stock options, 401k and health insurance which makes me stay with the company. I feel that my size is something that my peers and managers respect at work but lately i just feel that is also the reason they do not promote me. Maybe it is all in my imagination but i definitely am feeling that they dont want a big guy with veins all over the place representing the company. Do you any of you ever feel this way?

MisterRut1 · Mar 2, 2012

I'd think it could be detrimental at some point where it'd be seen as a distraction. Not trying to be a dick, but people judge other people, it is what it is.

TractionIssues · Mar 2, 2012

It might have it's disadvantages, but it also has it's advantages. Hey, the good news is you can get a great job as a bouncer pretty much anywhere!

Crowler · Mar 2, 2012

big guy with veins all over the place

How can they see your veins?

Why aren't you wearing long sleeved white shirts with a tie?

Dress for the job you want not the one you have.

Gunsmith · Mar 2, 2012

it been a blessing to me , in the industrial world as a machinist/millwright it's actualy looked as a good thing
also in law enforcement and as a security contractor

I guess it all depends on what you do for a living , in my jobs lookinglikee an
oger isint detrimental

Wolfsanglerune · Mar 2, 2012

im in a similar situation.
many people like bosses might respect you for having size and being in shape but sometimes i think they would rather promote people that are "normal".also if in the workplace you have many very obese or out of shape people they may be intimidated.
i think of it this way if top managament are "normal"looking people who are used to feeling above or superior to people they may not want to deal closely with you.

norm1220 · Mar 2, 2012

My career is at a point where politics and people skills play a larger part in advancement than technical skills. I haven't seen much in the way of progress in the last 4 years, but I can't tell whether that's due to my physique or my charming personality....

Miss Q · Mar 2, 2012

TheAnabolicFreak said:
I have been on the boards since i was 19 and bodybuilding since i was 15. Over the years i have added a lot of Muscle compared to the typical joe out there. I am blessed to have a great job at the age of 28 with a fortune 500 company (Carmax) which gives me good benefits. My pay is not that great but i love my stock options, 401k and health insurance which makes me stay with the company. I feel that my size is something that my peers and managers respect at work but lately i just feel that is also the reason they do not promote me. Maybe it is all in my imagination but i definitely am feeling that they dont want a big guy with veins all over the place representing the company. Do you any of you ever feel this way?

Pics....

TheAnabolicFreak · Mar 2, 2012

Im a car salesman. Nothing fancy really. just a guy who looks like he works out a lot and fairly large. I always have people asking me for workout advice. However in the last year or so i also have had a lot of associates asking me if im all "Natural". Of course i say i am. But i just feel they dont want a guy who look like me representing me at the corporate level. Im one of the best sales guys at my store.

Crowler · Mar 2, 2012

I would strongly suggest you dress in a white long sleeve shirt and tie.

It doesn't matter what your fellow sales people wear. Take a look at what the lexus and mercedes sales guys wear.

BTW you said about advancing or promotions. What promotion would a sales person get?

Sales Manager? If so do you have any schooling or could you ask what schooling they would suggest you to get?

TheAnabolicFreak · Mar 2, 2012

Crowler said:
BTW you said about advancing or promotions. What promotion would a sales person get?

Sales Manager? If so do you have any schooling or could you ask what schooling they would suggest you to get?

This might sound biased but Carmax only promotes people to become Sales Managers who they like. Most Sales Managers make less then us SalesMen but they put in much less hours too. At this stage of my life i would like that.

718si · Mar 2, 2012

TheAnabolicFreak said:
This might sound biased but Carmax only promotes people to become Sales Managers who they like. Most Sales Managers make less then us SalesMen but they put in much less hours too. At this stage of my life i would like that.

What do the sales managers dress like? Is it different than salesmen? If so, is there any rule preventing you to dress like them?

I've always believed one should dress for the job they want, not the one they have.

Crowler · Mar 2, 2012

718si said:
What do the sales managers dress like? Is it different than salesmen? If so, is there any rule preventing you to dress like them?

I've always believed one should dress for the job they want, not the one they have.

That is what I said also.

Why aren't you wearing long sleeved white shirts with a tie?

Dress for the job you want not the one you have.

TheAnabolicFreak · Mar 2, 2012

Carmax has a very casual dress code. Polo Shirt tucked with shorts is OKAY with sneakes on (thats how most associates including managers dress) i work in south florida out in the sun so you have to stay cool and dry.

mountaindog1 · Mar 2, 2012

I am a VP at a Bank. Handle yourself like a professional, and people will treat you like one. Handle yourself like a meathead, and people will treat you like one.

JM

BigNShredded · Mar 2, 2012

I sold cars all throughout college in order to support my bodybuilding lifestyle. I can tell you ONE THING--if they don't like YOU, they aren't buying a car! Even if they LIKE the car! They will just go somwhere else. I too worked DOWN SOUTH(went to college in Gainesville Florida) and it was the best sales experience I've ever had. Being JACKED definitely HELPED me sell cars, but that's also because I have a very energetic, outgoing, and confident personality. In the end, it's about selling YOURSELF, whatever that may be..

Also, as others have said--DRESS SHARP! I was making a killing and outselling all of my colleagues as a 21 year old kid with absolutely NO KNOWELDGE of cars WHATSOEVER. I sold them all based on PERSONALITY, IMAGE, and CHARM.

Cito33189 · Mar 2, 2012

I think it has prevented me from getting hired at some places...

Im not to tall 5'7 barely and was looking for my first job out of college weighing 245lbs... After a while I swore it was my size. But who knows maybe it was my lack of experience, my personality I dont know. But its tuff to find a good paying job nowadays let alone a career. It takes a toll on you and you start to question yourself or atleast I did.

aussiebulldog · Mar 2, 2012

I found it always a benefit. now when I am in the steel industry , and in the past as a fund manager.
it is great to stand out. read some Machiavelli . but it is how you carry yourself. and where is your head at.

if all you can talk is gym and gear....that is all you are and all you are going to be.

raw33man · Mar 2, 2012

BigNShredded said:
I sold cars all throughout college in order to support my bodybuilding lifestyle. I can tell you ONE THING--if they don't like YOU, they aren't buying a car! Even if they LIKE the car! They will just go somwhere else. I too worked DOWN SOUTH(went to college in Gainesville Florida) and it was the best sales experience I've ever had. Being JACKED definitely HELPED me sell cars, but that's also because I have a very energetic, outgoing, and confident personality. In the end, it's about selling YOURSELF, whatever that may be..

Also, as others have said--DRESS SHARP! I was making a killing and outselling all of my colleagues as a 21 year old kid with absolutely NO KNOWELDGE of cars WHATSOEVER. I sold them all based on PERSONALITY, IMAGE, and CHARM.

dude he's talking about his managers not customers... talking about growing in your career

ajpt · Mar 2, 2012

TheAnabolicFreak said:
I have been on the boards since i was 19 and bodybuilding since i was 15. Over the years i have added a lot of Muscle compared to the typical joe out there. I am blessed to have a great job at the age of 28 with a fortune 500 company (Carmax) which gives me good benefits. My pay is not that great but i love my stock options, 401k and health insurance which makes me stay with the company. I feel that my size is something that my peers and managers respect at work but lately i just feel that is also the reason they do not promote me. Maybe it is all in my imagination but i definitely am feeling that they dont want a big guy with veins all over the place representing the company. Do you any of you ever feel this way?

I definitely feel this. Although not a job, I recently completed my Mater's Degree in Educational Administration and Leadership and my advisor was the biggest dick to me. He actually said to me the first time we met that I didn't look like I should be pursuing this degree, that it might be a waste of my time, and there was no way I would finish my thesis in 5 months...that was all the motivation I needed to show that a$$hole just who I was a person, not what I look like.

Believe in yourself, be honest to yourself, and be proud of what you have accomplished with your body.