No matter how often it happens, rejection still burns. When looking at the underlying feelings of rejection, not being good enough comes to mind. Whether you’ve experienced this from a person or a job, it all equates to not feeling you can ever be up to the best standards. It’s also important to note everyone experiences rejection, even the smartest person in your class and the most attractive in the room. It’s just another part of life that shouldn’t be taken as an insult.
Rejection isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes rejection gives you chances to meet someone else or even find an even better career opportunity. This is why some people say that rejection is protection. When applying for my first ever internship, I faced rejection a lot. I would interview well and then get an email saying they couldn’t accept me at this time or not get an answer at all. I suffered from feeling like I would never get an internship — something I needed to graduate — and then no one would hire me after I graduated. It wasn’t until I got my first acceptance that I came to an important realization: no matter how desperate I was, I could seek out other opportunities if presented with them. After the first acceptance, more just kept coming. And I was able to choose the best internship for me.
Even after having my first internship, I faced rejection when applying for another. It was probably because they wanted someone with less experience or some other reason. It wasn’t until I got rejected from an ideal internship I wanted to get for so long that I found success. I was so upset, and when speaking to one of my classmates about it, she told me how I dodged a bullet. Apparently, the internship was poorly run, and the operation felt like a scam from what she had heard from a previous intern. She told me about another place I could intern, which eventually became my second internship. If I didn’t get rejected from all those other opportunities, I wouldn’t have applied for where I am now interning.
Obviously, getting rejected from a job or internship is a little different and easier to handle than from a person. At least with a job or internship, you know it’s not personal because they don’t know you that well. With a person, it feels personal because they know you to some extent. It’s hard to have romantic feelings for someone when they don’t reciprocate it, but sometimes it’s for the best. This person might not be the right person for you in the end, and you’re probably better off with someone else in the future. This is where the motto everything happens for a reason shows up.
Rejection isn’t something to be afraid of or even fear. It’s not failure. Rejection means it wasn’t your time yet, and in the future, you probably won’t even want that job or want to be with that person. If they don’t want you, they’re not the right fit for you — and there’s something better out there.