The Preemptive Rejection

Getting rejected without even applying must be a new low.

I have been job hunting for a while now, and have had some interesting encounters. However, I recently experienced a first that I never expected — or wanted.

After a few days away from most social media, I checked to see what I may have missed. LinkedIn was first (not surprising for a long-term job hunter, right?) and I noticed that one of my profile views came from a recruiter at Zenoss. The name only sounded vaguely familiar so I knew it wasn’t a company to which I’d applied for a position. There was no message; perhaps she just read one of my posts and wanted to check me out. I shrugged it off. That is, until I checked Twitter. There I had a tweet from Zenoss saying “Thanks for the follow! Not sure we have a perfect position for you…”

WHOA.

What? Was I just hit with a preemptive rejection from a company I hadn’t even considered working for? This had to be the feeling guys talk about when they speak to a woman whom they have no romantic interest in, only to be told “I have a man.” I wasn’t even checking for you! I was outdone and honestly a bit offended. Since when does following a company on Twitter mean “please pick me”?

Zenoss was one of those accounts suggested by Twitter. Usually those suggestions are pretty hit or miss, but I liked their tweets (well, retweets mostly) that supported their bio’s claim of “Career Conversations” and the fact that they are located in the city where I plan to relocate. I’ve followed the accounts of several people and businesses in Austin and San Antonio just to get a feel for them. Trying to get a job at Zenoss never crossed my mind because I clearly saw that they deal primarily with IT. My only tech solution is “did you turn it off and turn it back on?”

I tried to laugh it off, but I’m actually still bothered. I went back through their timeline to see who else got the “no thanks, just in case!” Not a single other person. What was so unsettling about me simply following the account that they had to make it known I was unwanted?

This came during a time when I’m already questioning so much about the search. I’m a young(ish) black woman from Mississippi who attended an HBCU instead of an Ivy League or well-known SEC school who is searching for employment in another state. I can’t help but wonder which — if any — of those things have kept me from landing a new career sooner. This incident reintroduces so many concerns: How many other random recruiters or potential employers have taken a cursory glance at my profile and said “nah” without even knowing my qualifications? How much of my information should be available on LinkedIn (or elsewhere)? Should I try to remove all pictures associated with my name? Should I kill my social networks all together? Was it a mistake to announce my search on Twitter? Is it hazardous to talk about it at all? Should I nuke all online references to past and current side endeavors, like writing and jewelry making? Should I change my appearance, my vocal inflection, my name?? What am I doing wrong?!

This was likely a very rare situation, and I’m sure the person behind Zenoss’ Twitter account didn’t mean any harm. But at a time when my frustration and anxiety around finding work is at an all-time high, that kind of response isn’t helpful. It only serves to make me reevaluate whether the pursuit of something better is even worth it. And I can’t help but feel that somehow, on a systemic level, that is the point.