Alexa, play Try Again by Aaliyah

Hmm, they said we should be bold as we network and seek new opportunities; that is how I chopped ela for 12 months and counting (yes, I celebrate the anniversary every month like the boss that I am).

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You may think that I am a pro at this networking and job search business, but no, I really am not. I have had my fair share of disappointing, embarrassing, and downright hilarious moments as a young woman building my career.

What I have found is that everything is a learning curve and if you’re waiting to be great at it before starting… you might just be too late.

I remember a year ago, I had just attended a perspire to aspire webinar where we were taught cold emailing, and as you can imagine, I was excited to test my newfound networking skills.

I took to the streets of LinkedIn and found the CEO of a company I liked and began to type…and type… and type. You get the story. I wrote paragraphs on how unemployment was not being friendly and how I was a good fit for their company (with no tangible references), and how if they hired me, I would prove myself. Long story short, the CEO read the message but has not replied to date. I know it was read because LinkedIn (chief of snitches), notified me that a certain CEO had viewed my profile and was obviously not impressed.

Hmm, they said we should be bold as we network and seek new opportunities; that is how I chopped ela for 12 months and counting (yes, I celebrate the anniversary every month like the boss that I am).

However, as cringe-worthy as that action was, I do not regret it. That mail taught me valuable lessons on how to polish my approach to speaking to people I had never met and selling myself strategically.

For every one solid connection that I have built with other professionals, there are countless unanswered DMs in my mailbox.

Rejection in any aspect of your life is tough! Whether it is a rejected attempt at networking, applications, or interviews, chopping breakfast, being rejected can make a person second-guess themselves and their abilities.

Yes, it stings but refining my approach to my applications or requests has made it much more bearable mentally and made me more successful when shooting my shot.

Here are a couple of things I have learned:

1.   Take every rejection as an opportunity to refine your approach. If you’re lucky enough and the recruiter graces you with a rejection mail, or you have the opportunity to network with someone, you can always ask for feedback to know how you did and what you could do to improve your approach strategy. Of course, most times, you might not get any response because of the sheer volume of applicants or people sending in emails, (it’s not you, it’s them).

If you were able to get to the interview stage, you can try reaching out to the recruiter or interviewer to find out what went wrong. Remember to be courteous and respectful in your approach.

2. Don’t quit just because it didn’t work out. I get it; being rejected sucks and can bruise your ego, but you really only need one yes, one good conversation to achieve something monumental in your career. So, keep trying.

3. Build your confidence in yourself by understanding that as you improve your skills in communicating or interviewing, you are becoming a better version of yourself for the opportunities that will follow; you’re doing great sweetie!

4. Finally, build a thick skin and understand that not every opportunity is yours, but all opportunities have the possibility of being yours. Put 110% effort into your applications/conversations, but ensure that you understand that you are not always going to be what certain people are looking for at a specific time, and that is perfectly alright.

Somewhere, somehow, you’re still somebody’s spec sha!