How To Deal With Job Application Rejection

Oct 4, 2015
2 min read

You are going to get rejected! Everyone isn’t going to call you back and its possible you don’t get something for the next three months but all of this is okay and in the long run isn’t a big deal. I recall feeling partially depressed when I didn’t get calls back from organizations I had applied to. I would feel as though they had something against me, the same way I felt at the bar when a girl refused to dance with me. This was more upsetting when I knew that I was fully qualified for the position and couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting called back.

Imagine you had to play a game of die and the rule was simply that each time you roll a 6 you get $100000 but if you rolled any other number you had to give away $10. In this game you wouldn’t care if you lost a 100 times in a row because you know that one win will make up for all the losses.

This is exactly how the job search works, everyone isn’t going to call you back and each time you apply it will involve some time and effort. This is similar to the ten dollars investment in the die game where you have to invest some of your energy in applying for a job. Losing the occasional ten dollars is part of the game as you can’t hit a 6 every time but that shouldn’t bother you as its part of life. You just need one good Job offer and suddenly all the frustration will be worth it. Unlike the rolling of the dice which depends on luck you do have some influence over the outcome of your applications. By having a strong resume and strengthening your networks you significantly increase your odds of getting the job you want

Have faith through the rough patches when you aren’t receiving any calls and don’t give up on your systematic approach to finding a job. Continue to do the things you know have worked for you in the past and step up your systems to get better traction. The only question is “How much time can you afford to roll the dice before you run out of cash in your pocket”. Some people have cash savings and can hold out for longer than others before they need to take a job. Assess your financial situation and your expenses in great detail to find out when you absolutely need to get a job. You may in a worst case scenario have to settle for a job you didn’t want in order to protect yourself financially but never give up on getting the job you want.