I still remember the first rejection like it was yesterday. It started with hope, then a few typos in my cover letter, and finally, the dreaded “We regret to inform you…” email that slowly crushed my soul. Ah, the sweet symphony of failure. Over the next few months, I collected rejections like they were Pokémon cards, except none of these gave me any powers — just more sleepless nights.
Fast forward through several months, and my email inbox was no longer filled with job opportunities but with reminders of what I was NOT qualified for. Have you ever opened your inbox to see ten rejections in one day? It’s like the universe is giving you a pat on the back, whispering, “You tried!” … but with a sarcastic smirk.
I laughed it off at first. “Hey, rejection is part of the process!” I’d tell myself in the mirror. But after a while, the rejection letters start to pile up, and suddenly your reflection in the mirror looks back at you like, “Girl, we need to talk.” Depression snuck in slowly at first — just a bit of doubt here and a bit of insecurity there. Then it moved in permanently, threw a pity party, and I was the guest of honor.
Every “No” felt personal, like the hiring managers had a secret club where they sat around judging my worth as a human based on my CV. Were they laughing? Were they planning new ways to make me feel inadequate? Why were they so mean?! And yet, I kept trying because, well, what else was I going to do? Watching cat videos on YouTube doesn’t exactly pay the rent.
I was in what I call the “Rejection Slump” when it happened — an actual, real-life, job offer. I remember reading the email three times just to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. Wait… they want ME? Did they even see my LinkedIn profile? Should I email them back to make sure they didn’t mix me up with someone else? The excitement was overwhelming, followed by a bit of fear, and then some ugly crying. You know, the kind where your face scrunches up like a crumpled piece of paper.
It was as if all those “No’s” were building up to this one, spectacular “Yes.” I realized that it wasn’t just about finding a job — it was about finding MY job. But let me be real here: those months of rejection weren’t a fun, character-building exercise. They were HARD. There were days I barely dragged myself out of bed, and times I seriously doubted if I’d ever feel worthy of anything again.
But here’s the truth I learned: Rejection isn’t a reflection of your worth. It’s like bad Tinder dates — you swipe, you cringe, you move on. And, eventually, the right match comes along (thankfully, jobs don’t ghost you after the first week, though). When I finally got that offer, it was like the universe saying, “Hey, you! Yeah, you with the imposter syndrome. You belong here.”
I’ve still got my rejection emails saved. Maybe I’ll frame them one day as a reminder of where I started. Or maybe I’ll delete them with a victory laugh. Either way, getting rejected taught me something I never knew I needed to learn: persistence is a superpower. And if you can survive 57 rejections, you can survive anything — including Zoom meetings that could’ve been emails.
So, to anyone who’s still collecting rejections like I did, I see you. Keep going. That one “Yes” will be worth all the “No’s.” Trust me, it’s coming — and when it does, you’ll know that all the tears, sleepless nights, and microwave dinners were worth it.
And when you do finally get that job offer, celebrate like there’s no tomorrow. You’ve earned it.
Untile next time,
MB.
