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Staying Positive Despite Rejection
Hey everyone!
I have been on the site for some time and am starting to become more active here. This is my first post.
I finished up my Bachelor's degree in April with a plan to find a new job in marketing once I graduated. Well, here we are in the midst of a pandemic. A job search that I already knew was not going to be easy became even worse. 2020 has had it's fair share of highs and lows - I became engaged and then lost my father shortly after to COVID. Needless to say, the job search has been stressful. I am trying to stay positive, count my blessings and repeat, "This was not your door," after I receive a rejection, but some days it's difficult.
Do you have tips, mantras, or suggestions for staying positive?
Anie AjamianSenior Product Designer in LA
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09/24/20 at 9:32PM UTC
I was in your shoes when I graduated during the last recession in 2008. I was terrified of even looking for jobs. I was working in retail throughout college and thought by the time I graduated, I would be ready to look for designer jobs. I decided to continue working retail and moved my way up there until the job market had improved and I realized I needed to start my design career already. Don't beat yourself up. Yes, it is even harder considering you're just graduating. But any experience now is good experience. While I still worked in retail, I tried to do more internships to grow my design experience to make sure I had something to put on my resume and a portfolio to display real world work. I now have 10+ years of experience and have been laid off because of the pandemic, and I'm getting rejected left and right too because there is just so much competition with so many people looking for work. It's honestly about the right fit. Don't let the rejections get you down. Get whatever experience you can now, and you can leverage that for opportunities in the future. It will work out. Trust me.
Michelle HannahPractice Development Manager
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09/24/20 at 10:17PM UTC
Thank you, Anie! I appreciate your insight and perspective. It may be helpful to take a step back and see what learning opportunities exist
Anonymous
09/24/20 at 9:05PM UTC
I was unemployed for close to 6 months. The best thing I did was renew my network by asking people how I could help with making introductions to my contacts or being a sounding board for personal or work challenges. Everyone wants to have a purpose, and it was truly helpful to also volunteer for organizations that aligned with my values. If you have 2 hours to volunteer a week, that may be a nice option to meet new people and work on an interesting project.
Shana Robinson9-5Burnout>Personal and Professional Wellness
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09/24/20 at 8:16PM UTC
Rejection is protection. May be trite, but it’s true. Those were not opportunities that were aligned with you and what you want.
Do you have a career/interview coach helping you prep and show up as the most memorable candidate?
Michelle HannahPractice Development Manager
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09/24/20 at 10:14PM UTC
Thank you, Shana! I don’t have a career or interview coach. I was contacted for one position through a recruiting firm and found it beneficial to do a practice interview with them.
Shana Robinson9-5Burnout>Personal and Professional Wellness
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09/24/20 at 10:26PM UTC
Hi Michelle- I can relate to what you are going through because I too went through a period of arduous/soul sucking job searching and couldn’t understand what the issue was! It’s awful. I worked in HR and recruiting for 8 years at Twitter, Blue Apron and Compass. I’d love to offer you a 30 minute complimentary session to review your resume to see if it’s optimized for your skill set/job search and some interview prep/ guidance.
A link to my calendar is below.
https://calendly.com/shana-robinson/30min
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