The Best of... Rejection Letters

I had written previously about my negative experience looking for work whilst I was unemployed and also when I was a casual at my previous employment. Just like for many others, that experience was tough and through that time I received both generic rejections, lovely personalized rejections, and the inevitable crickets.

I applied for what had been my dream job at the time and was rejected for that one too (you can read about that here) but I also got some encouraging responses from employers who genuinely cared. It was a difficult time. I couldn't help but notice that this all happened in my first year after graduating as if being a fresh graduate meant I couldn't do my job.

There are a major number of contributing factors (of which I will get into another time), but I want to be able to share some of the best and worst rejection letters I have received over the last couple of years and see the funny side now even when there are many fantastic opportunities looming.

In a way, I feel grateful now for those rejections. It’s almost as if they were making way for something greater. But there was something I’d read this morning about how the success stories coming from great struggles are over-glorified and how those stories only highlight a clear disparagement in industries. But that is a topic for another time.

For now, I will highlight the positive experiences and toxic responses I have gotten to job applications and what to look out for when you’re new to the workforce and trying to break into your industry.

Top of the List: Clear and Personalised Responses

This was by far the winner. Those responses where you can tell they wrote to you personally and actually looked at your application. I found that smaller businesses were the ones who put in the effort to go through resumes and respond personally to the applicants. Those businesses that go through recruiters either had very dry rejections or ghosted me entirely.

It was incredibly refreshing to have a response from a human being and not an automation that had the emotional depth of a shallow spoon. It may seem harsh to say, but when you’ve been rejected as many times as I have (read about that here), you start to realize that they care as much about my feelings as they do about the sidewalk outside their offices. Rejected applicants deserve the same respect as those who were successful in the role, simply because they are a human being looking to live or survive in the current competitive market.

So when you have someone respond genuinely to your application, it makes the whole emotional process easier to move through.

“Hi Michelle

Thanks for the follow-up - I appreciate your interest in the role.

To be honest, I haven’t quite found the right skill set among the applicants to be interviewing anyone at this stage - [redacted]

Thank you for your application and wishing you well with Urban Dystopian.

Cheers

[Name]”

I couldn’t be mad. They had been clear as to why they rejected my application and were polite and informative as well as honest. That’s what I find lacking in the automated rejections. There is no honesty just a blanket shadowing any responsibility to respond.

This one started as a generic response until I decided to challenge it.

“Hi Michelle

Thanks for your interest in the Digital Content Manager position at [Company Name]. Unfortunately, we will not be moving forward with your application but we appreciate your time and interest in the role.

Best regards,

[Name]”

I challenged this one by responding and asking for feedback on my application so I may improve and make relevant changes to my application for future roles. I was surprised when I received a response that was honest.

“Hi Michelle

Your resume presented well and you made my top 4 shortlist. We only interviewed 2 people and found who we were looking for. Sorry I don’t have more constructive feedback other than to say you were nearly top of our list.

Good luck with your job search and I sincerely wish you all the best.

[Name]”

I responded with a thank you and left it at that. I was stunned. Previously with other rejected applications, I had requested feedback and hadn’t received any. This time had been different. What had I learned? That how I was applying was just fine and the rejections and ghostings weren’t about me. It was about them.

Mid-Level: A Response None-Theless

This spot I have reserved for all the casual and generic responses I have received over the years. You know it’s an automated response by the similarities in all the ones I have collected. See if you can spot the difference.

“Michelle,

Thanks for your interest in the Content Creator position at [Company Name] in Australia. Unfortunately, we will not be moving forward with your application but we appreciate your time and interest in [Company Name].

Regards,

[Company Name]”

And for comparison…

“Michelle,

Thanks for your interest in the Video Editor position at [Company Name] in [location], Australia. Unfortunately, we will not be moving forward with your application but we appreciate your time and interest in [Company Name].

Regards,

[Company Name]"

I refuse to accept the whole “at least you got a response” rhetoric. I also refuse to accept the whole “they probably had heaps of applications. You can’t expect them to respond personally to every single one of them, do you?” The answer is, yes. I do expect. If I can have the head producer from a top advertising firm in Australia personally thank me and reject my application then I can expect that same respect elsewhere.

In a time where the job market is incredibly competitive and the pandemic has sucked the last remaining molecules of empathy from medium to large businesses, I have come to understand my worth and the worth my skills and experience carry. I have a lot to offer and so do many many others.

We all deserve the respect of being treated like a human being and not just a number.

Yes, I am angry. I deserve to be. For the heartache such a run has caused freshly graduated me. I would go back in time and tell her that not hearing back from anyone wasn’t a reflection on her, but a reflection on the type of people she luckily missed out on working with.

Lucky Last: The Ghosts

"…"

That was all I’d received from most of the jobs I had applied for (you can read more about that here). I had been ghosted more times than I had responses. But even those have been lessons.

From there I have learned to let go of applications. I shouldn’t wait around for a response and stress about whether or not they will respond, or whether or not I will be successful.

That sensation of letting go has been liberating.

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