The best job you never had
Over the years, I’ve sent out many applications in search of my dream job — some more successful than others. Freshly graduated, ready to start my career, I remember taking these rejections hard. My first reaction would be to delete the email, forget about it and move on to the next one (after some self-pity and a box of chocolates, of course).
After going through this cycle a few times, I started thinking: what if I could get more out of this? What if there is something I could learn from these experiences?
The ability to grow from challenges is known as resilience. More specifically it is described as bouncing back from negative emotional experiences and adapting to stressful situations [1]. Or, according to the wisdom of Chumbawamba — “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you are never gonna keep me down”.
Like in all aspects of human psychology, everyone is different, and some people are naturally more resilient than others. Thankfully, resilience is a skill that can be learned and developed. Nowadays, resources that teach us how to deal with stress and setbacks can be found everywhere. A quick Google search will give you many helpful articles and even online courses on popular platforms such as Coursera and Udemy. Having an understanding of the factors that contribute to resilience will help identify the areas that you can improve [2].
Develop self-awareness
One very important factor of resilience is self-awareness: knowing your strengths and weaknesses. To learn from mistakes in the job application process, I needed to understand my own capabilities. After some introspection, I was able to use that information to present myself much better in interviews.
Practice mental agility
Another factor contributing to resilience is mental agility: the ability to look at things from multiple perspectives. When it comes to the application process, it’s important to consider the company’s perspective. This made me realize that rejection after a job application is not a negative evaluation of me as a person, but just of my professional fitting relative to that company’s current requirements. Recruitment is a bit like dating; if a company doesn’t pick me, maybe we were not the best match to build a future on.
Adapt optimists’ behaviors
According to Karen Reivich of the Penn Positive Psychology Center, a very important factor contributing to resilience is optimism: the belief in a positive future. I have always considered myself a realistic optimist. I know things don’t always go my way, but I still believe that everything will turn out alright.
Like resilience, optimism is something that can be learned. Adapting and imitating specific behaviors seen in optimists can increase optimism in yourself. Optimists are skilled at identifying what they can and cannot control. Overall, they are more approach-oriented and will approach problems rather than hide. They are also more likely to seek information, ask for help, and take action to improve their situation.
In the application process, the first step I can control is the way my CV looks and what it tells about me. I can do research and ask others for feedback to improve my chances of getting that first interview invitation.
The Growth Mindset
Developing resilience and optimism are important in developing the growth mindset. Dr. Carol S. Dweck wrote about this in her popular book Mindset. In short, a fixed mindset is based on the premise that talent is fixed, whereas a growth mindset focuses on the belief that talents can be developed. Dweck explains that in the growth mindset, failure can still be a painful experience. However, it does not define a person. Rather, failure is a problem that can be faced, dealt with, and learned from.
The growth mindset is a very important part of Printify culture. When I spoke to Learning and Development Manager Henri Lempu, he told me that being a Printifyer means being a learner. As a concept, learning starts from not knowing. One of Printify’s core values is that we don’t know it all, we learn it all. This is such a powerful and well-established part of Printify culture, that we would probably have an identity crisis if it was taken away. Among other things, he told me:
“At Printify, we’re all teachers, learners, mentors — all the time. Having a growth mindset isn’t just encouraged at Printify, it’s expected.”
Attaining a growth mindset is not easy, but when it comes to job applications, putting in the effort to develop a growth mindset will change the way you think about setbacks.
Of course, it’s never a positive experience to receive a rejection email. But with experience and knowledge, I frame the event in a much more helpful manner. I am able to shake off negative emotions more easily, as I’ve become more resilient. I am ready to seek information to help me do better next time. It’s all part of my growth. I am ready to learn all I can from my experience.
