The secret power of rejection

It has been several years since I started getting some random hits to provide mentorship, career guidance over LinkedIn and various other channels. First I started engaging over the phone as advice seekers were located globally. Very quickly I found out that the value of mentorship is exponential if the meeting is in-person. So I tried to provide maximum advice through personal meetings if possible. This was the better use of my time to generate maximum impact. For my work, I had to travel over 50% of my time to Asia and withing NA, so instead of having a phone mentorship conversion, I started arranging all my meeting in-person with the folks, who need guidance or advice with regard to their career. I decided to write this article to help those, whom it applied.

For the most part, those who are looking for career advice are in-between jobs. During 8 years of my time at Microsoft, I participated in hundreds of interviews as an external interviewer. It was a great learning experience to understand the psyche of a candidate. During my discussion with the candidates, I only make them understand is that they almost have the job, that's why they are here. So the interview is not to get the job, its to keep the job. There is a major difference in "Get the job" and "Keep the job". In first you try to show what you can do, and in later, you prove how you will do. During the interview, the candidate spends their time explaining what they have done and what they can do, however, if their emphasis is on how they have done and will do based on the opportunity in front of them, they have a far better chance.

In the last 2 years or so I had the opportunity to meet with several job seekers. Most of them are looking for a new position and the majority of them is switching their career. While a significant portion of job seekers are trying to explore the Data Science field. The most common part of every job seekers was the rejection they are going through after each and every application they submit and get either no response or in very fewer cases, "no thank you" response. Some of them have taken rejection seriously and looking for advice on how to handle it. I decided to share the thought process here so it can apply to those who are most impacted with it and they can take advantage of it.

Positive notes:

• There is no silver bullet to get a position you are looking for. You will have to do all the hard work preparing an impressive resume, look for a job, then apply for it and finally waiting for the response.
• Most of the job boards are using software-based solutions so in between filtering resume and key-words search your real potential is not reflected in your resume
• Listen to your heart when you are applying for a job. While you are applying for a job and if your heart is already telling you, you have slim chances to get it. You know the drill. Still, apply for the job and if there is no progress do not count it as rejection. This method will reduce your rejection rate to almost half for sure.
• If you are 100% sure a particular job is fit for you, don't apply immediately. First, create a bullet-point note for yourself to validate your assessment. Now, look at your resume to see if it does reflect your assessment, if not work on it. Finally, convert your note as a cover letter and attach with your resume. This exercise will give you a higher response rate.
• Please do understand that job rejection is never personal. Sometimes your mind will suggest a theory that you are not getting a job or any job, due to 'this' reason. Be honest and self evaluate the theory.

Contender or Contestant:

While you are applying for a job do a self-evaluation and see where you fit. There is no degree or levels to be either a contestant or a contender. It's a coin toss to check either you are a contender or just a contestant. You know the rest. Be the Contender or just don't include the response or no response, it into your rejection bucket.

Using Job Rejection as self-motivation

Let's think about a little child. If he needs something, he finds ways to get it. Just take the commitment part from it. He is committed to it. Related yourself with it and explore if you are really committed to getting what you want.

Never stop improving. While you are in job search, sharpen your knowledge and grow your self. Sometimes it is very hard to do still, find ways to get it done. It is very important to explain to your respective employer what is your investment on yourself. Use Stackoverflow, GitHub, Medium, LinkedIn and other avenues to establish your qualitative portfolio and grow it every day. You will see how valuable it is in the long term.

Luck is where your preparation meets with the opportunity - Seneca

Above is a slightly modified statement from Roman philosopher Seneca in the same essence. Based on the above, we have two things in our hand. First is our preparation and the second is the exploration of the opportunity. Keep doing what is in your hand.

The very first rule of winning a lottery ticket: Buy the ticket

Finally, be true to yourself and build on your past experience and knowledge. Remember the time you have in your hand will not be there once you are back into a job. So enjoy it, get most out of it and then get ready for the next opportunity waiting for you.