Brigette Hyacinth* says rejection for the position we applied for simply brings us a step closer to the job that’s really meant for us.
I applied for an internal position.
I aced the interview but still got rejected even though I was the top candidate.
I worked for this organisation for three years, and got only two interviews for internal jobs I applied for.
I never got promoted even though I was acting in the position.
I later learned the person hired was a friend of my boss.
I got tired of the internal politics and started applying externally, and was offered an amazing opportunity.
My old boss asked me to come back for the same promotion. I told him: “Thanks, but no thanks.”
I learned the following lessons from this experience.
You can be the best candidate and still not get selected; if you didn’t get the job, it was never meant for you; you weren’t rejected, you were redirected.
Your value does not decrease based upon someone’s inability to see your worth, so believe in yourself and keep trying, the right door will open for you.
Many of us have stifled our dreams by heeding some misguided critic who implied we were not good enough.
Rejection is unavoidable in a creative life.
Learning how to deal with rejection will keep you from plummeting into a place of immobilising despair.
Keep in mind that you will probably never get rid of rejection; you may be rejected many times until the end of your working life.
Rejection on the whole is painful but viewing rejection as a blessing in disguise will help you overcome it much more easily.
Have a vision and don’t let anything or anyone deter you from following it. Take courage.
Put full steam into the next best opportunity you are working on.
Pick up the pieces and dust yourself off.
Don’t let rejection cripple you. Let it motivate you.
If you focus on positive thinking, even the harshest defeat is only a stepping stone.
Rejection is not a measure of your self-worth.
When somebody rejects you, sometimes they are acting on their own insecurities and fears.
Don’t torture yourself repeatedly, reliving the moments of humiliation and thinking what you could have done to counteract it.
If you keep picking at a scab, the wound will keep bleeding and you will never heal.
Don’t feel sorry for yourself and slump into an attitude of self-pity.
When we get rejected we trap ourselves in a moment of doubt and distress.
Focus on professional and personal (spiritual, emotional, mental, physical) development.
As my grandmother would say: “What is meant for you will not pass you by.
If it didn’t open, it’s not your door.”
It’s not about how many no’s you get. It’s about that one yes.
Shake off rejection and disappointment and keep going.
Don’t give up. Your time will come.
*Brigette Hyacinth founded the MBA Caribbean Organisation that conducts seminars and workshops in leadership, management and education as well as providing motivational speeches. She can be contacted at www.mbacaribbean.org.
This article first appeared on Brigette’s website.
