The moment you have been waiting for has finally made its way into your inbox. All of the anticipation, frustration and hard work could eventually come to an end. The nerves are sitting in as you finally see the name of that dream job you have been waiting to hear back from, pop up on your email notifications. You think to yourself, ‘Will this be a job offer or is this a rejection email? Please, please, please.’ Only to find out that it is indeed, a rejection email.
Let’s be honest, that tiny moment of hope can seriously get your hopes up! Why do they have to do us like that?! Yes, everyone always says that everything happens for a reason, but sometimes it is hard to see that reason when everything you have been working for all comes to a crashing end. No form of rejection feels good in the first place; it hurts like crazy and has the ability to tear us down in a matter of seconds.
Recently, I applied for a Social Media Coordinator position at a boutique I have always dreamt of working at. A few weeks went by and I began to tell myself that I was probably not going to hear back from the company because I was not qualified and lacked experience (all of which we should not be telling ourselves), but it eventually happened. I received an email asking me to do a phone interview. To say I was thrilled would be a complete understatement; I could not stop smiling! The interview went pretty well, but not perfect of course and I completed the proper follow-up email steps and everything I knew to do. Again, weeks went by and I still had not heard anything back, but my little ounce of hope remained. If I am being perfectly honest, I even started imagining where I would live, what my day-to-day would look like, etc. (crazy, I know!).
The moment I had been waiting for happened and those same anxious feelings came rushing faster than I could even open the email. Unfortunately, it was a rejection email. The email read, “Hi Victoria, at this time you are not one of our final candidates. We are looking for someone with a little bit more direct social media experience. I really appreciate the time you took to interview though and we will keep you in mind for future positions!”
Well…how does one react after reading that the place you wanted to work for so bad does not want you back? It’s like a messed-up relationship, but worse (just kidding). The truth is that when I got that email I felt extremely sad and disappointed. I kept thinking of how I would have given my absolute all to that position, but I would never have the chance. I decided that I was going to continue feeling sorry for myself the rest of the day (hey, don’t judge because a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do) and binge watch my favorite Hulu show, which was totally necessary.
We are all allowed a day or two of feeling sorry for ourselves, but I told myself that I was not going to let a silly rejection letter kill my mood, success and determination. While rejection hurts more than anything, it is also a growing experience and can sometimes lead us to the greatest place of all. Let’s stop feeling sorry ourselves and get up and make something happen! I have a pretty excited feeling about where this next chapter will take us job-searching-nonstop people! Remember, if you are feeling down on yourself because you are receiving the “rejection emails”, it will all get better. We just have to believe and work to reach out goals.
-Xo Victoria