Why I Decided To Take a Step Back to get to the place I always wanted to be
401 days. That’s how long it took me to find a job. I went through over 40 applications and many interviews. You would’ve thought; someone with a bachelor degree would find a job easy. Like a walk in the park, right? Every interview felt good and constructive but at the end of the ride, I ended with empty hands. Was it frustrating? Without a doubt it was. Did I doubt my ability? Yes, I did at times. Even going through these rough times I never had a single doubt of given up finding that job I always wanted.
It is one thing to be rejected and another to have someone tell you that you will never find a job in content marketing. This was a major blow. It was hard to mentally cope with these kinds of comments being thrown my way. I get it, you are disappointed I wasn’t the right candidate and you felt I wasted your time. I realized that the market doesn’t give a fuck about my situation. I stopped wasting my time focusing on pleasing recruiters.
Blaming recruiters of bad service or complaining about the lack of attention for you is not going to help. The best way to bounce back from a rejection is to jump back on the horse and start all over again. The most important thing for me is showing my passion, my will and my perseverance on finding that job in which I know I can give THEM the real value.
Dealing with rejection
When recruiters are unable to present you the opportunity it is best not to dwell on it. I noticed that continuously asking yourself what you did wrong in an interview or letter will only stop you from moving forward. Mentally it’s hard to deal with these rejections, I get it. I’ve been there, I’ve done that. The best way to improve yourself from the previous encounter is to actually work on it.
How? By the famous slogan of Nike: Just do it. Stop thinking about what others have to say about your decisions, appearance or your resume. Go out there and do what you love to do. If you are an artist, content creator or maybe a traveller go out there. Document your work. Start creating. Go even as far as walking into an office or e-mail a company and ask if you can create something for them.
Start focusing on the things that matter. Put your head down and put in the work that is necessary to get you closer towards your desired goals or the place you want to be at. I started to gain traction with my work as a volunteer when I anonymously wrote pieces for several websites. Although they never knew who I really was, I received several positive messages.
Taking the step back
During this period it made me think and I realized I had to make an important decision. If I couldn’t get the job I wanted, why am I not trying to get an internship? Gain that experience and advance further. This is at the same point I got offered an internship position. I decided to take upon that decision and just jump in. And oh boy it didn’t disappoint me.
The first few days on this job are feeling good so far. I am hyped about my future, learned a lot and made a huge leap of faith. I will try and continue writing these entries to share you my experience and journey.
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