Being Rejected by UN Women Is My Greatest Achievement By Far

By the end of 2021, I applied to be a Junior Communication Consultant at UN Women. About one month later, in early 2022, I received a rejection letter from the organization’s HR Officer.

My 2022 seemed to begin on a not-so-great note.

Yet, the applying process, regardless of the result, has helped me realize things no other jobs could do and shown me how much I’ve grown.

It taught me that I now know what I should be paid for

For the first time in my life, I read a job description and immediately thought: “I can do this well.”

A year ago, I had just obtained my Bachelor’s degree and was still struggling with answering the question: “What can I do for a living?”

Since my major was Communication, I knew I wanted to do something related, but I didn’t know what: Marketing? Public Relations? Corporate Communication? Journalism?

Now, after a year of working as a full-time Content Writer for a multinational agency and hustling as a Content Creator, I am clear that I am creative, critical, have a knack for writing, and make a decent leader.

I know why companies should hire me and why they should pay me good money for my creativity, knowledge, experience, and assistance.

And that is truly a wonderful realization.

It taught me that I am better than I think

UN has always been like Mount Olympus to me. It’s my dream to be accepted into this organization but I never thought I’d stand a chance. I don’t have a good academic background, as in I didn’t graduate from a famous university, I didn’t do many extracurricular activities, and I am not that experienced when it comes to working for IGOs or NGOs.

I thought I’d be rejected right from the application round.

Yet, I made it to the final round when it was me against the other two candidates.

Even though I got eliminated eventually, this is a huge win for me.

It turns out I am much better and more professionally equipped than I give myself credit for and this has given me the extra confidence for future job interviews.

It taught me that I should demand what I deserve

Before receiving the final result from UN Women, I was so astonished by the lessons the whole applying process had taught me that I had to sit down and do some self-reflection.

I acknowledged that while my full-time job had given me wonderful learning opportunities, it was not paying the right amount of money for my hard work.

So I mentioned that during my individual review with my manager. After that, I did get a raise, but an incredibly tiny one. Since we could not agree on this matter, it was better for me and the company to part ways. I sent in my notice before the national holidays and called it quit.

It was and still is terrifying to give up a secure job right at the beginning of the new year.

But just because the future seems uncertain and horrifying does not mean we should cling onto what drains us mentally and physically with no reasonable rewards.

Demanding what you deserve is crucial, especially in this day and age.

It is insane to think how much I have learned from one failed application. What seemed to be a failure turns out to be a complete success and probably the best achievement in my life thus far.

It is true what the above photo says:

“If you never know failure, you never know success.”

So take that leap of faith and go all in, my friends, especially if you are afraid. You will come out of it much stronger and better.