I got rejected from another job again. Yesterday, I bombed a software engineering technical assessment and got an email from the recruiter saying they were looking for someone with more experience. This job interview was the first one of this year. I had so much hope for it because it was like a light at the end of a 7 month long dark tunnel trail. I felt dejected and demoralized for 3 days; I questioned whether or not it was still the right choice to pursue this new career track. Not gonna lie…I didn’t handle it well. After getting myself and my mindset back on the hustle, here are a few things I have learned and needed to remind myself of.
I am a 1 year old inside a 27 year old body
I say that I’m a year old because it’s been a little of a year since I made a first major decision without my parent’s support (although most of my friends would agree with this statement because I often say silly jokes and do embarrassing things that only a child would do). While my parents were not against it, they were also not for it because of the financial risk. This made me realize that I was starting to walk a different path than what my parents had intended for me. And just like any baby at 1 year old, we fall a lot when we try to walk. I’m still learning how to learn a new skill, get a new job, handle finances, etc…failure and rejection are part of the journey.
Rejection hurts but it also teaches
Rejection hurts because you didn’t reach a goal you really wanted. I didn’t reach the goal of getting a new job, but it also taught me a couple of things. Some of which include:
- If I give up after getting knocked down only once, what does that look like for myself in the future when I get rejected once from a relationship or a dream? Will I give up easily?
- Getting rejected means I still have a lot to learn. I thought studying code 2-3 hours a day and trying to get a full time software job as a non computer science major would be enough…boy was I wrong.
- Getting rejected also reminded me of my intentions of this career change. Was I trying to make a switch to escape my current job situation or was I doing it because I’m genuinely interested in building a career in software?
When you get rejected or fail at something, don’t give up. It’ll hurt for sure but the key is to learn what went wrong, get back up, and walk forward.
Minimize the time for your self pity party
Honestly, I’m still working on this but this is a lesson I had to remind myself of. Once I received the news, I let my self pity ride on for 3 days; instead of using my time for learning more software, writing this blog, or video editing, I ended up sleeping my whole afternoon away or watching Suits for hours on end everyday. Once I reminded myself that the choices I make are my responsibility, I stopped the pity party. I was the host of it. The more I let it run, the more time I wasted. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be sad. I’m saying to negotiate with yourself to be sad; don’t let the pity party run for days or weeks on end. Once the time is up, move on and never think about it.
Hope this encourages you to not give up in your pursuits and goals. If it helps, remember that I’ll also be struggling while doing something tough. You won’t be alone. Be confident. Stay curious.
