Rejection is one of the hardest things to deal with in your career, but it’s not the rejection itself that defines you, it’s the lesson learned from the rejection. In your career just like as in life, perseverance and striving for what you want will take you to where you want to go.
A candidate of mine that we will call Laura had perseverance that was unshakeable, no matter her set back or rejection notice, she just kept trying and applying. At this time Laura had applied to one company seven times in the previous three years, to various roles in her area of expertise. She wanted to work with a company that she truly believed in and connected with. Unfortunately after seven attempts she was never given more than a phone screen. Rejection notice upon rejection notice of automated applicant tracking system, cookie cutter responses poured in, her desire to work at this premier tech start up only grew stronger with every rejection notice.
As most of us would have given up after the first couple of rejected applications. Laura’s introductory letters only become more specific and more in depth. To put things in perspective. At the time Laura was making well over six figures annually as a senior manager at a large fortune 500 company. She had better pay, a hefty bonus, cushy vacation schedule and premier health benefits. The positions she was applying for was a lateral position more than a career advancement opportunity.
This is where I come into the story, Laura’s application stumbled across my applicant tracking system screen and she looked like a great fit. But as most recruiters I noticed she had applied seven times in three years. A big red flag in the recruiting world as we encounter dozens of duplicate applications on a regular basis. After reviewing all of the information that had been submitted over the years it appeared she wasn’t a bad fit it just wasn’t the best fit at that time or she had been simply overlooked. I submitted her to my boss and my boss replied “She’s applied to many times and she’s not a fit.” I stated that because of the number of times she applied and written genuine cover letters all of which were unique that she’s more of a fit than most because of her passion and desire to work here. After much deliberation I prevailed with the go ahead to submit her to the hiring manager. Laura not only ended up getting the job, but was one of the top performers for the entire company that year.
It’s hard for hiring managers to pin down what exactly differentiates a strong performer versus a middle of the road performer. In my experience however passion, resiliency and the desire to achieve company goals are indispensable assets that cannot be overlooked whether someones applied seven times or 20 times. We all have to look at the big picture and the entire body of work. Building a great company starts with culture and is hard to achieve without people like Laura. The people who will do whatever it takes to get the job done and aren’t afraid of failure or rejection knowing that the next step forward beyond failure is success.
I inspire to be like Laura and encourage others to be as well. We should all have the passion and desire to try and try again. As I’ve told candidates over the years what is the the worst that happens? The company says no? Rejection is something we all must deal with but I encourage everyone looking for their dream job or in your daily lives to never give up, to strive for what you want and shoot for the stars more often then not you will exceed your own expectations!
