We appreciate your interest in our company and your desire to work with us. Although we were impressed with your application, we have decided not to move forward with your candidacy.

The reason? You don’t get to ask.

They expect you to move on.

Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash

The overflowing rejection pile in your inbox screams at you. Each day, a new mail pops with the same old saying, “However, we’d like to encourage you to continue to explore other career opportunities on our careers portal.” Do they? That statement’s reality is quite blurred as most of us don’t ever attempt again, just because we failed the first time.

One of the most detrimental kinds of rejections we face is in those placements season during the final year.

Photo by Daniel Chekalov on Unsplash

Didn’t we all get insomnia?

The infinite preparations, only to be rejected the following day. The agitation and continuous self-sabotaging were the fuel too.

With expectations so high, each rejection felt like a stinging ache in the crusade to prove ourselves.

Without exposure to this harsh reality, society expected us to survive on our own — what a way to greet us into adulthood. Somehow that university, which was supposed to encourage us to grow, become all about survival of the fittest. Adapt or Perish were the only options.

Swaddled inside their room, with multiple books and screens, each of us tried to beat the other in the interview battle. Each morning brought new opportunities, but the fear of rejection somehow smashed the fragments of hopes we affiliated with new prospects. After that, every day then becomes mundane, suit up and go for that interview, just to get rejected or worse, no response.

So, after thousands of failed interviews, the perception of being a failure sneaks in. The probability that your application will get shortlisted out of tens and thousands of applications seems more trivial, so we don’t even take the initial step. We stop applying because of fear of rejection now constrains us. We descend into this trap, and with no one to guide us through the iniquitous time, we end up comparing ourselves with others who succeeded and give bogus affirmations that it was just a bit of mere luck that worked for them.

But, was it sheer luck?

Luck favors the prepared.

What makes them distinct from us? Well, to them, stirring through each rejection and moving forth was the only option to make their aspirations an actuality.

Photo by Mukuko Studio on Unsplash

Whatever road we take, rejections are an indispensable element of it, so how do we move forward despite that? We move ahead by leveraging our strengths and having confidence in our goals, let the world reject us; we won’t succumb to that pressure and let go of the dreams we had for our future.

The most inspiring tweet I read in a while was: “For all the doors they slammed on us, we are coming to buy the building.”

So, the next time you find yourself that “Thank you for your interest” mail, reminisce this; Marlin and Dory face infinite hurdles trying to find Nemo, but they never give up, and in the end, they did find him.

You must keep swimming.