Rejection is a Ball
Author: John M. Dix Trainer, Facilitator, Strategist, Founder JMD Partnerships
I’ve been thinking about it all wrong and maybe you have
too.
Getting that rejection notice thus bringing the interview
process to an end.
“We’ve decided to go in a different direction.”
“We have selected a candidate whose qualifications and
skills better match our needs.”
If you are like me and have been in job search mode for a
significant length of time, you don’t even want to think about the number of
times you have heard and read those types of statements.
But I have come up with a better, healthier and more
realistic way to look at it.
Think of it as similar to being the batter in baseball. That feeling you have as you wait for the
pitch, anxiously awaiting what you might get.
Curve ball, fast ball, slider, change up, low and away, etc. The waiting can seem like forever. Kind of the same feeling you get when you are
waiting to hear how the interview went and whether you are still in the game …
or not.
That feeling you have when there is a called strike or a
swing and a miss. Remember that
feeling? It’s kind of like when you get
the word that you didn’t get the job.
Loser, dejected, denied, etc.
With that swing and a miss, it didn’t turn out the way you had
hoped. Kind of like when the interview
process comes to that end you were hoping didn’t happen.
Better to think about it as a ball, a pitch outside of your
strike zone, a pitch you couldn’t hit. A
pitch you shouldn’t take a swing at.
The interview process is about two things; them getting to
know you and you getting to know them.
The end result being a decision, by both parties, of whether or not it
is a good fit.
So when the rejection comes, think of it as a ball. A job you should not have been offered. A job that is not the right job for you. It’s
a ball! Rejection is a ball.
Now pick yourself up, get back in the game and wait for that
next pitch. It could be a home run!
John, I like your article and specifically the analogy of baseball. You can not control what the interviewer is thinking. You can only attempt influencing their thinking. The more you do it the better you become at it. Good article. Keep writing and posting.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, Alex. I appreciate your kind words and encouragement.
DeleteAppreeciate you blogging this
ReplyDelete