One last look in the mirror. Black pencil skirt: check, Fancy button up that makes me look like a 40-year-old mother: check, blazer: check. Car keys, resume, and that award winning smile: check, check and check! This is the average prequel to every single internship or job interview for me. A quick examination of my overall appearance and a few motivational words such as "I got this," and I'm out the door. It is the same preparation every single time and lately the same results. A "Thank you so much for your interview, but we decided to go with someone who had more experience," email ends up in my inbox, every single time. It's the kind of email that you wish you would have just left unread and opened several months later.
It is hard to continually put yourself out there only to be rejected. The preparing seems pointless and with each opportunity that ends, you only feel worse about yourself and your skill sets.
Yet, we still routinely slip back into our professional attire and practice a firm handshake, hoping that this time things will go differently. Why? Having hope is not a pointless idea, when we have grown up with the impression that success=money=happiness. Our role models are the people who have gone places and done great things like our parents, our older friends, or our older siblings. We strive to be just like them in every way possible. So, we remain hopeful that our future turns out similar to there's.
We are constantly told by different mediums that we have to obtain the best jobs, the most impressive internships, and get the best letters of recommendation to make us stand out from the rest. It is a totally valid concept, as the more exposure you gain in your field, the more prepared you are, right?
As a freshman, it is been a struggle to find someone who is willing to take a chance on me or who is willing to teach me what I do not know. People spend ages struggling to find a mentor who will lead them in the proper direction.
It can be challenging to look at rejection as a positive. It doesn't always mean that you weren't good enough, sometimes it means that you are meant to be elsewhere, even though that destination may remain unknown until the opportunity displays itself to you. Unfortunately, we cannot run away from rejection, it will follow us wherever we try to hide. We as humans, and we are not wired to perform perfectly with everything we do.
Rejection does not define us. Who you are cannot be described by your resume because there is no section for explaining hardships, struggles, and defeats. There is simply only an area for experience: your past.
So go ahead, slip back on your dress pants and button up shirt. Give yourself a little pep talk and hold your head high. The best kind of people are the kind that don't give up. Unfortunately, perseverance isn't a skill that future employers can learn about you from a quick scan of your resume, because understanding someone takes time. I promise you that you will find that person who sees a spark within you.
Always remember that what's inside of you is good enough and that is undeniable no matter what a rejection email in your inbox says.
