Rejected, Dejected

Job prospecting is the one of the only times you run to your mailbox, anxiously hoping you do not get a piece of mail in it! That would be, the dreaded rejection letter. The anonymously written letter that makes you feels that you are not good enough. They all state the same sort of line, “We found another candidate who better fits our criteria” or “We feel you are not a good match to our qualifications.” Either way, you are not moving forward in your quest to start your career with them!


Every time I hear the words ‘rejection letter’ the same memory comes to mind. My younger sister attended Miami University in Ohio. Once when I visited, she took me to this bar known for honoring these “rejection letters” in a special way. Anyone that brought the dreaded letter in to the bar, and had identification to validate that they were in fact, the rejectee, was treated to a free drink of their choice. And, to make you feel even more special, your personalized letter was plastered on their walls along with all the others that had came before you and would come after you! Yes, there was a sea of these letters lining their walls. I can remember sitting there, reading them and laughing at how blasé they all read. The content and verbiage was the same in so many of the correspondences. You could not help but get the feeling it was the same person at each of these different companies writing the letter

The only thing worse than getting one of these letters is no response at all. Then you are left wondering if you prized document submission went into a black hole, never to be seen again. This is truly frustrating. Even more so when this happens and it was one of those positions you wanted so desperately that you spent extra time tweaking your resume and cover letter to state exactly why you are a perfect fit! You thought, at the time, you looked like an outstanding candidate, looking over your paperwork but the silence tells you someone else saw it completely different!

This is par for the course, this rejection and the moments of feeling dejected, for anyone seeking a career change. Just as with looking for a prince, given you have to kiss 10 frogs first, you must be willing to accept the rejection, repeatedly, to find the right position at the right time for you and for them, the employer.

It is important to keep your morale and attitude positive. Perhaps consider developing your own personal mantra to say for times like this. Verbal pep talks are important. Remember you will spend the majority of your waking hours at your career choice so being positive about the search is critical. You reap what you sow. Your internal dialogue is the best source to lift you up by your bootstraps, hit the job boards again searching and apply, apply, apply!