04 Mar DEALING WITH REJECTION

Are you a victim or do you fight for what you want and learn from your mistakes?  Do you roll over and give up when your job application is unsuccessful?

Recently we have been advertising a lot of positions, dealing with large volumes of applications, and to be honest- going through all the email applications by the deadline has been a mammoth task!!  With so many emails coming through, the number of email “complaints” also increases.  (Complaints against the employment situation and how hard it is to find a job).  A lot of these complaints have the following in common:-

1. There is a definite tone in the email that the writer feels that they are a victim and that they will never find a job!!
2. The emails are completely unprofessional- send from a cell phone, no salutation or signature, no punctuation.  (“why do I neva get da interview”)
3. Or the emails are argumentative- accusing me of sending out these adverts for the fun of it (why would I do this!!!!!!) and never calling anyone in for interviews.

What these emails have in common, most of the time (but not all the time), is that when I search my CV for their email address to see what they have been applying for and why we have over looked them (because we take these “complaints” seriously), is that either we have received no emails previously, or these people have been applying for jobs regardless of if they have the skills and experience, and setting themselves up for failure.  What the vast majority of these emails have in common, is also that they are shifting the blame onto me, and not actually wanting a solution!

What I tell all of them is this:-

I cannot respond to a general comment, but the next time you apply for a position, and you really feel that you were absolutely perfect, and you are not short listed, email the original application you sent me again, and ask for feedback.  It may be a simple reason like you had not listed the required experience on your CV, or I did not receive your application, or I misunderstood what you were saying, or you simply slipped through the cracks!  I am human and I make mistakes- if you feel you are the best person- fight for your application!! And if you are not the best candidate, at least you will have a good reason why, and not be sitting at home feeling helpless.

I am one of those people that love my job!  I love interviewing candidates and finding them their dream jobs.  I love meeting with clients and finding their ideal solution to a staffing needs.  So many of my clients and candidates are amazing people, and have become friends.  But the part of my job I find the most tedious, of going through literally hundreds of emails.  So rest assured- I do not send the emails out “for the fun of it”.  I send them out because I need to find the best possible person for the job!  And if you are that person, I want to meet with you, and my client wants to employ you!

If you learn from each unsuccessful application, at some point you will perfect your application, and will be successful.  You will learn and grow, and the job seeking process will be empowering, rather than break your confidence.  The things you learn while looking for a job, will stay with you forever.

Whether you are applying to our vacancy alerts, jobs on line, to companies directly, or via referrals- fight for your application.  Be professional- don’t hound the recruiter too soon, don’t be pushy and aggressive, don’t flood their in box with follow up emails the next day- but do ask for feedback and  advice.  Show them that you are professional and serious about your application- not just one of the many who randomly sent in their CV.

And like I ask you to ask for feedback and advice, I too am asking you for feedback and advice.  You are the professional job seeker.  You know what it feels like to get the rejection (or no feedback) from recruiters.  RESOURCE recruitment prides itself on providing a personal, personnel service to job seekers.  It’s not always easy with so many job seekers, and just a few recruiters, but we always try and do our best and respond to your emails.  If there is a way that we can better our service to you, please, we want to hear from you!  You welcome to email me and just have a moan, but I would really like to from you if you have suggestions that we can put into action!

So, the next time you are rejected, or don’t get a response to an application- are you going to give up and moan about the job situation in South Africa, or are you going to take the challenge, and ask yourself, “what can I learn from this?”