It's not you, it's me?

When I first started applying for jobs, I was unaware of what a rejection letter or email would feel like.

The first round of applications, sent in December, either went unanswered or read "Dear Ms. Davis, we thank you for your interest (blah blah blah) looking to hire immediately (blah blah blah). We thank you for your interest (blah blah blah)". What their letter really said was 'You are applying for a position that cannot be held for the next four months'. But, undeterred, I kept on sending my applications and kept on waiting for something, anything, to bite.

And then, low and behold it did.

On a whim, I sent an application to the University of Maryland for a Program Assistant position. Not expecting to hear back, I received an e-mail offering an interview. Ecstatic (because in my head, there was actually hope for me), I quickly set up a time to speak. The interview, in my opinion, went flawlessly. There was a lot to discuss, not really ever a period of awkward silence and it seemed like my application would progress.

I could not have been more wrong.

Later that week, almost exactly to the day she said, I received another e-mail thanking me for taking the time to apply and speak with her, but that the needs of the University of Maryland and my experiences would not be a good fit. At first I was ambivalent. I would be lying if "Fine, well I don't want to work for you" didn't run through my head. But the more I thought about it, the more ok with it I was. This was not my dream job, nor was it in a location I was dying to live in. It was just a job I was interested in--nothing more and nothing less.

Finding a job can consume a person. We jokingly say that finding a job is in fact part time job. We have spent endless hours writing and editing cover letters, scouring websites and scheduling phone or in-person interviews. The truth of the matter is, if we were to sit down and add all of the hours we have spent job searching, we would be astounded. What seems like second nature is actually a learned habit. It is much easier to be ignorant about graduating and being a real person than tackling it head on. And when you get that first e-mail, it is almost a blow to your hard work and ego.

I realize that I have written an entry about this before, encouraging students to get right back on the job horse to fall off and that a bad response is better than no response at all. I still stand by what I wrote before---job searching is hard and it requires a person to develop thicker skin. You need to persevere through the process and keep on trucking. But in an economy like this, there are times when there are more "bad" emails than "good emails". The most important thing to remember is not to doubt your abilities or what you have to offer.

I remember sitting in my dad's office freaking out that nobody would want to hire a political science major and Jewish studies minor.

"Well, Gary, that was a total waste of four years".

But the truth is, unless I am applying to be an accountant, to medical school or be a financial analyst, my liberal arts education has made me a well-rounded application for a variety of jobs.

Sure, it is difficult not to take a rejection letter personally and think, "Well what was wrong with me?". If you find yourself thinking those thoughts, STOP. Take a deep breath. And rationally realize that there is nothing wrong with you, or your resume or what you have to offer. It may just not be the right job for you or even the right time. Just remember to keep on going.

Good luck.