Most people feel bad when they get a job rejection. Instead, you should feel good about it.
Why? For the reasons below.
- You are not the most qualified person for every job. There are always smarter/better people than you. Even if you don’t get the job, it doesn’t mean anything about you. It simply means that other people fit the company’s needs better.
- Companies don’t know what they need. Often I have been hired and the job I did was completely different from what I was hired for. You don’t want a job where the job itself completely changes. It isn’t what you signed up for.
- If they rejected you, you weren’t the kind of person they wanted. This isn’t anything wrong with your personality, no one is a silver bullet. No one will fit the culture of every company. If someone doesn’t like you, then great. You avoided working with people who don’t give others a chance to get to know them. You avoided working with small-minded people who don’t appreciate diversity and unique differences. That isn’t a loss, it is a win.
- You may get the job, but the company is a revolving door. Many companies have a broken hiring process and/or culture, and the reason they are looking is that no one wants to stay with them. If you get the job, you may want to end up leaving anyway. Getting a job is like getting a date. You may be initially attracted to the person, but it doesn’t mean they are a good long-term partner.
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rejection comic You get jobs you don’t deserve and sometimes don’t get jobs you deserve. This is what one recruiter said to me and it was stunning. Sometimes I have indeed gotten jobs that I didn’t deserve and it is also true that I didn’t get jobs that I deserved. No one deserves anything in life, and when we think we are entitled to a job that is a problem with ourselves, not the company. No one in life owes us anything.
- Rejection is redirection. Yes, that sounds silly but it is true. Life has a way of helping us in the kinds of situations that will help us. When you are prepared and knowledgeable, the right company that appreciates you will want you. If the company doesn’t want you, you don’t want them. Relationships and jobs are a two-way street.
- There is an abundance of opportunity. Most of the time in my life I have been fortunate to have multiple companies offer me a job at the same time. Sometimes I have had as many as 3 companies offer me jobs at the same time. This is not a humblebrag but the truth. You sometimes have to choose what you think will be the best and life is more abundant than lacking. If your life is lacking then ask your friends/mentor/therapist why.
- Rejection gives you the opportunity to retool and upskill. You can continue to learn and the next job you will get will pay you even more than the last one. What a great opportunity to have a break in working to make yourself more valuable on the job market. Don’t waste your life, or you will regret the possibilities of what you could become.
- Rejection keeps you safe from disease. Right now companies are suffering because of the high rate of sickness and illness. When you are not working you are healthy and avoiding dangerous diseases that put you at risk. No amount of money is worth being sick, and once you have your shelter/food/needs paid for, what more do you need to be happy?
- Rejection gives you a chance to step back from the rat race and evaluate. Is this job/career what you truly want? Many times people have said losing a job or not getting a job forced them to reconsider their lives and find happiness in another direction. Is this time off from work a chance to realign with your deeper needs?
Life is not black and white, and job rejection doesn’t mean anything about you. It means that the company either wisely or not didn’t like you. We don’t need anyone to like us as adults right? We aren’t some needy children that need other’s approval. We choose our life, and if that means that sometimes we don’t have a job, well that’s ok too. We will survive and come out stronger for it.