In today’s economic climate, getting rejected is far more likely than being accepted. It is not unusual for people to apply for hundreds of jobs before they achieve any success. So getting used to rejection, and not allowing it to dampen your hopes, is an essential pre-requisite to successful job hunting.
Rejection letters are an inevitable part of looking for a job. They are proof that you are active; so try to look upon them as a positive sign that you are doing something. Remember, the only people who don’t get rejection letters are those sitting on their backsides and doing nothing to look for a job.
Rejection comes in two ways. The nicest way is you get a letter thanking you for your application, but explaining you’ve been unsuccessful; at least this is an acknowledgement that your application was received.
The worst rejection is no response, and sadly that is becoming more and more common. In the main it’s not that employers can’t be bothered to reply to applicants, it’s just they can’t cope with the volume of applications they are getting these days. So don’t be upset if you don’t hear anything, just see it as a consequence of the times we are living in.
When you are looking for a job in today’s climate, it’s really important to stay optimistic. Don’t give up, even if you don’t seem to be getting anywhere. It’s not a reflection of you if all you seem to be getting is refusals; it’s simply the lack of vacancies and the volume of applicants chasing the few that are out there.
Hunting for a job is a little like selling a new product into a new market. Sales people tend to work on a 10% model. They expect to have to contact 100 prospective customers in order to get 10 appointments; and then they have to attend 10 appointments in order to get one successful sale.
Adapting this model to the job hunting environment means you might have to apply for 100 jobs in order to get 10 interviews; and you’ll have to attend 10 interviews in order to get the job you’re looking for.
So as you can see, not only is it going to be hard work, but most of it is going to be un-productive. Ninety-nine per cent of what you do will yield no tangible result. Almost all your hard work will fall on stony ground; it’ll seem like a waste of time.
That’s not the case though if you think about it positively. Try to keep in mind that every rejection, and every failed interview, is actually a step nearer eventual success. You’ve got to fail ninety-nine times in order to succeed once; that’s a fact of life for most job hunters.
So start seeing rejections and failures as mile stones towards your goal of getting a new job. The more rejections you notch up, the closer you are to success.
Don’t take rejections personally. They are not a reflection of your ability or capability. They do not signify that you are useless or unemployable. They don’t mean your CV is no good, or you performed badly in an interview. They are simply the result of the numbers game.
Getting a rejection letter, or getting no response to a job application, has no deep significance or profound meaning; so don’t let it get you down. Shrug off the rejections; say to yourself, “They obviously weren’t meant to be. There’s something better out there waiting for me; I’ve just got to keep looking until I find it.”
Abraham Lincoln put it this way, “Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”
There are jobs out there. They may be few and far between, but they are there and you will get one if you keep looking. It’s just a matter of time and effort. Remember success really is nine-tenths perspiration.
Sometimes the wisest words are the oldest ones – If at first you don’t succeed; try, try and try again. If you get rejected, pick yourself up, dust yourself down, and start all over again.
Copyright © David Jones 2009
Part four of a five part series. The fifth and final instalment asks the question - 'What has happened to the people who have lost their jobs?'
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