If you fall off the horse, do you get back on?

It's bound to happen---the arrival of the first rejection letter.

It happened on an unassuming afternoon. After applying for a position with NYU's medical school, I realized that two weeks had passed since I had heard from the department. I sent a follow up e-mail and within five minutes I had a response.

I sat there and looked at my mailbox for a while. Part of me was so afraid to open up the e-mail and another part of me just wanted to get it over with. I finally got over my fears and clicked.

I anticipated it to be much worse than it was. My first rejection e-mail read:

"Dear Jessica. Thank you for your interest in this position but at this time we have pursued another candidate. Best of luck in your job search."

So I naturally pouted and called my dad whining, which prompted him to sternly tell me to "get over it and get used to it." I suppose the tough love approach worked--the next rejection didnt seem to sting so much and I realized that I at least got a response! I had applied for nearly a dozen jobs that went unanswered, which in my opinion, is worse than a rejection.

The thing that I learned was if you don't put yourself out there, you have no chance of getting hurt--or in this case--cut from consideration. Finding a job requires one to be persistent and not afraid of the bad news. The more applications you send out, the less defeated you will become. My parents and I have set a "house rule": for each rejection e-mail I get, I send out another three applications that day. Wallowing in the "why didn't they like me" mentality is a waste of time and energy. Instead, I have learned to say, "fine, if you don't like me I am going to find somebody and some company that does."

But just to make sure I don't burn my bridges, I take the time to e-mail that employer back and thank them for considering my application. Then (being assertive and not aggressive, as my mother likes to remind me) I ask them to keep my resume on file should another opening more suited to my experiences or time line arise. You never know--they could have an opening a few months from now and remember your application.

Just remember not to get defeated and if you fall off this "job" horse, brush off the dirt and get right back on.

Happy job hunting.