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Pearl

Is it possible im being discriminated against for being short?





         Ive always found it hard to get jobs, I was talking to my twin sister today, we're 4ft5 and she was telling me that one time when she went for a job they actually told her they couldnt hire her cause of being short, it just made me wonder if theyre doing that to her if theyre also doing it to me, the only time i seem to get jobs is if i didnt meet them first, like resorts, stuff like that, someone has been really interested in hiring me to hand out samples in the stores and i havent told them yet im so short, they havent seen me cause its based in another state. im worried if they hire me they might change their minds once they see me in person. do you think its possible thats happening? and if it is how can i stop it, tired of being out of work all the time

Posted - February 5, 2017
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Responses


  • Aww please don't tie yourself up in knots over this... I truly don't think being short has anything to do with it.. I am 5ft 4 and pretty much, apart from my last spell where I was going for a job way outside of my recent experience, I never ever failed to get a job when I went for an interview...  

    Re the meeting in person it's much more likely to be that you need to come across in a certain way to get the job, they might be looking for confident, friendly, smiles readily etc..  or something else.. Unfortunately some people just don't interview well and others who do sometimes turn out to be rubbish at the job... 

    If i were you, I would try not to worry about short or not, you can't do anything about it anyway... concentrate on trying to come across as friendly, approachable, confident but not arrogant, with a can-do attitude. Those are the things that get people jobs, that and good answers to interview questions... 

    Please don't get downhearted.. and nooooooo don't tell them you are short ... it doesn't matter, it's not relevant to the job... please don't apologise for being short.. try to be confident and project that you are right for this job
      February 5, 2017 3:52 PM MST
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  • Excellent answer, Daydream. There's a lot of experience and a lot of wisdom in this. 
      February 5, 2017 5:49 PM MST
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  • 5614
    Unfortunately methink you have been discriminated against for being short and I am sorry but it is not a protected class. Employers can and do discriminate against individuals for reasons not based on sex, race and religion.
      February 5, 2017 3:53 PM MST
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  • 7683
    Don't ever allow society to dictate its terms on you,Pearl. Be yourself, be unique,each of us have something in us which makes us individually stand out, try to discover what you are perfect at, it's sad that society sets its norms!
    Don't lose heart,all the best of luck to you.
      February 5, 2017 4:08 PM MST
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  • 2658
    Just remember: Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
      February 5, 2017 4:09 PM MST
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  • 283
    It would depend on the job. I have had an assembly line job where I can see where they wouldn't hire some under 5 feet. The machines just are not suited for someone of your stature. And to add a platform that had to removed and replaced during shift changes would mean shutting the line down to do so. Plus finding a safe place to store the platform between shifts. Though if it were an office job though I don't see where that would be a problem.
      February 5, 2017 5:32 PM MST
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  • Discriminated against? For being short? Well, why not? I'm grateful for political correctness because nobody can call me a short, bald, old man any more. I am now a vertically challenged, follicly deprived, senior citizen. 

    Why, height discrimination is so bad that Randy Newman even recorded a song about it. It's disgusting. I feel so shamed. I mean, look at this lyric:

    They got little baby legs
    That stand so low
    You got to pick 'em up
    Just to say hello
    They got little cars
    That go beep, beep, beep
    They got little voices
    Goin' peep, peep, peep
    They got grubby little fingers
    And dirty little minds
    They're gonna get you every time
    Well, I don't want no Short People
    Don't want no Short People
    Don't want no Short People
    'Round here

    And here's the man himself singing the whole disgusting song. 

    This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at February 5, 2017 8:18 PM MST
      February 5, 2017 5:46 PM MST
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  • 5614
    That song was meant to be funny but is clearly mean spirited. Now I wonder why it was really written and what darkness inspired it?
      February 5, 2017 7:46 PM MST
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  • I'm not sure that funny was the intention. I always assumed that he was pointing the fingers at those people who discriminate for all manner of things -- race, religion, whatever -- and held it up to them as a mirror. In that sense I guess it was like the mirror in which Don Quixote saw himselr.
      February 5, 2017 7:47 PM MST
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  • 5614
    Aye, indeed. I'm sure he must have been interviewed and asked.
      February 5, 2017 8:00 PM MST
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  • 10993
    When you are being interviewed for a job, there is generally a point where you will be asked if you have any questions. You can politely inquire if the interviewer has any reservations about someone of your height doing the job. Be prepared with answers to any concerns that might be raised. Bring the issue out in the open so that you can address it is better than the interviewer making assumptions about your qualifications. 
      February 5, 2017 6:23 PM MST
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