Rejections!

 

Man! Rejections suck!

You would think that after these many years on planet Earth and those situationships that shaped our characters more than a corset does women’s bodies, we will know how to deal with rejections. But lo and behold! Here we are.

Yesterday, my friend R told me that our generation faces more rejection than any other generation before us. Now, I could not argue with that fact because I got 8 rejections just yesterday. And Lemme tell you Maina, a “we need to talk” text from your partner has not nothing on “we regret to inform you that we will not be proceeding with your application at this time.”

With your partner, you know the exact buttons to press to salvage the situation, but with a potential employee, you have nothing! Especially because I imagine you did everything you had to do before the application! You read the JD, edited your resume, and even wrote in your cover letter that you worked well under pressure. Which by the way I am curious, why do we glorify suffering?

I have tasted working well under pressure and I have tasted working well in a supportive and nurturing environment. And as much as I want to finish this sentence with, “I recommend being a passenger princess and a trophy wife who owns a ridiculous business in the mall,” I am ambitious, so I recommend a supportive and nurturing environment. Especially one that allows you to travel the world, taste new food, experience a new culture, drown in old wine, be absorbed in art, and be lost in the lights that fill the streets at night.

But anyway, that dream is almost always shattered with the “after careful consideration.”  How can it be careful consideration when it took me 2 hours to apply for a job, and I get a rejection in 15 minutes at 3am. Tell me, kind sir, who is in the office at 3am sifting through emails? When you sign off as “recruitment team,” shouldn’t you sign off as “recruitment ai bot?”

We are all told to furnish our resume to be ATS compliant. But what more aren’t we told? What more do specific company recruitment AI bots require?

Experience?

Now, is that not another Canon ball filled with worms!

How does someone straight from college have 3-5 years of experience? Also, if someone has that level of experience, why is the pay only enough for rent, food, and a cup of coffee? Why don’t salaries match experience, and experience match salaries? And why aren’t there programs to onboard people straight out of school? Why don’t more companies have graduate training programs like KPMG and PWC? Seriously, how are people supposed to gain experience when they do not get the platform? Also, why aren’t projects from platforms like Forage taken into account as work experience, especially for people with zero experience in other places?

The system needs to be changed! Hiring and recruitment processes need to be revamped. That is the only way new, fresh minds will get a fighting chance in the system. 

Anyway, my old man always says it does not matter how many rejections you get; the one appointment is what matters. And mama says rejection is God’s way of saving you from a bad situation or one that would have driven you crazy. I understand what they mean, but still! Rejection sucks!

To everyone job hunting, get some glucose and open that laptop! Aluta Continua! Something will work out.

By Favor Khaoya

Photos by Fizkes