If you can’t tell, it’s job rejection season and I apparently have a front-row seat.
Between starting my last year of college and my newfound fear of applying for big-girl jobs, senior year has brought a whirlwind of emotion.
Not only have I been met with more rejection now than I have in my past 21 years of life, but it also hurts so much worse than some guy breaking up with me over text.
It is not that I haven’t had jobs in the corporate world before. My various remote internships, hint the sarcasm, have taught me plenty on how to fill dead air in an interview. Although I have not had the privilege of working in a real office, at least my resume looks nice.
Entering the search for an actual entry-level position brought on a lot of questions I thought I would have had answered by now. For example, what job title should I be looking for, and how strict are these recruiters on “3-4 years of experience”?
All of these questions and more populate my mind, but along with my dread of applying comes the age-old fear of rejection.
Nothing hurts more than receiving a response email and before even reading, you know what the outcome will be. It looks shorter than an acceptance, but long enough to say something meaningful, so you read on with hope.
Though, ultimately, you are met with the classics. A personal favorite is “we will not be moving forward with the application process at this time” or “we wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of a successful career,” just apparently not one with their company.
Why do these companies make their response letters feel worse than actual heartbreak? All the time and effort spent preparing, rehearsing, and sweating before all of these interviews, just to be met with disappointment; it’s heart-wrenching.
I am petitioning corporate America to reframe how they end the application process. Try using phrases like “it’s not you, it’s us” or “we just want different things for your career; firstly we don’t want you.” It will help the initial blow of denial feel somewhat less harsh.
If companies broke up with us like we were standing outside the middle school dance, we would cry two tears and move on. Let us down easy because we deserve it.
No one talks about how many rejections you have to face before getting to the place you want. It is a rough world out in real life, and I am not sure I am ready to face it.
Despite the failure and evident rejection, we all end up somewhere. These are the wise words I continue to put my faith in. Hopefully, they will come to fruition sooner rather than later.
Best of luck on the job search collegiates. Whether you are in my shoes looking for a ticket into the big girl world or starting the internship route, do not stress.
We have our whole lives ahead of us and setbacks are just growth opportunities!