Unsolicited rejection letters: a whole new concept in HR
July 28, 2008 By: almostgotit Category: HR, Uncategorized, bad bosses, humor, rejection letters|
Please join me by (a) posting on your OWN site (don’t forget to send me a link!) (b) emailing me your own rejection stories, poems, and rants — or make a Rejection collage, magazine cover or poster. Post on your own blog or send it to me at almostgotit(at)gmail.com — I promise to post as many as I can! (c) leaving your own depressing or funny-depressing stuff right here in the comment section. We’ve got one week, so wallow away! |
Over the weekend, I received another rejection letter. It was typed on nice 20 lb bond, too — perfect for the crumple-and-lob that many of us serial rejectees depend upon.
Thing is, I never actually applied for this particular job.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Institution that Shall Not be Named. Where they’ll even reject you when you aren’t applying for their fucking jobs.
And thus I now grant myself (and you) an ENTIRE WEEK to rant about rejection letters, or rejection in general. And then we’re going to move on to something else. Deal?
So let the fun begin!
——-
A note to my daughter, who occasionally reads my blog, and who so tenderly placed this unopened letter on my bed for me to find, face down because even she could tell what it was: One of the best reasons not to swear, honey, is so that you can save these words for when you really need them. But. If you ever use this word in front of Grandma, I shall send you to boarding school.
——-
Related Posts:
Rejection letters should not be emailed
I have not failed: I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work
There’s a bean stuck in my tiara
July 28th, 2008 at 10:49 am
EB – a) I am sorry to hear that you were on the receiving end of such jerk-like behavior (again) from TITSNBN. b) I am looking forward to reading your postings this week. c) One of my rejection stories (of which there are soo soo many!): One time in an interview I was asked if I have a sense of humor. I said I do. I was asked to tell a joke to prove it. So I told the famous hollow statue joke. The VP of Sales interviewing me did NOT get the joke (admittedly, it’s sophisiticated humor, but please…) and said I couldn’t work there because I wasn’t funny enough. Obviously he did me a favor because I would have been miserable working with someone that dense, but seriously, to ding me out over my joke telling abilities? Ahh life! Hang in there and keep speaking your truth!
Peggy
July 28th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Submitted!
—–
(Tuesday) Many thanks indeed, Mikael. I’ve used it in today’s post!
July 28th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I laughed out loud when I read this post (not at your misery, but your writing, which is beautifully hilarious). I wish I had a story to contribute, but I don’t have a good one; I eagerly anticipate the rest of the week, though. I will say this: rejection in the ballet world can be relentless and cruel. Most of the time rejection occurs on the spot, so there is no waiting; I guess there’s something to be said for that. Generally job-seekers attend auditions in the guise of a ballet class, before a panel of people (usually). So imagine, if you will: You are mostly naked to begin with. You wear a number on your leotard (or t-shirt if you’re a boy) that connects you to a file with your head shot and vitae. Sometimes cuts are made after every few combinations (exercises); sometimes they’re made after barre, and after centre, and if you survived all that, after you dance a variation from a ballet. Most of the time cuts are made professionally and politely (nos. 8, 15, and 26; thank you so much); sometimes, not so much. Interestingly, you know right away who your competition is and what they’re capable of, because you’re taking class with them. It’s funny that this process has not changed in decades. The process for admission into a performing arts school or summer intensive is similar, but sometimes you do have to wait for an acceptance or rejection letter. I like the schools who supply a full evaluation of the student’s facility and work along with the letter, because that is meaningful criticism; it will allow a smart student to fine tune her training so that she will do better next time. As difficult as this process is for the dancers, I know it is exceedingly difficult for the judges, too. When a new student comes into my school from another one, it takes me a while to learn how she works and moves, before I can start working on technique. The judges at an audition have to make decisions very quickly–really tough if the class is full of beautiful dancers.
Anyway, forget all this rejection–I think you should take your amazing skills and start your own business!
July 28th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Fabulous. Especially liked the words for your daughter regarding swearing. May I borrow them in the future??
July 28th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Hello, what about self-rejection? Telling yourself that you can’t do something you planned on doing or wanted to do because of some silly factors (wrong body type, wrong skill set, wrong people-chemistry, etc.) really really sucks. I unfortunately have the bad habit of doing this.
Rejection is especially ruthless in the theatre world. You can be rejected for being just a little too young or old, or for being not “just right”, or because your competition has a cute, button nose, for example. And the Rejectors do not go out of their way to be the Mr. Oh-Let-Me-Get-You-A-Kleenex-You-Poor-Baby type.
July 28th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Um, hello, but I’ve never swore in my ENTIRE LIFE, so you didn’t need to tell me that.
July 28th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I mean sworn.
July 28th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Note to all: Almostgotit’s daughter is much better-behaved than her mother, in general. But if she ever *DID* decide she needed to swear, I would try to understand, because while rules and using polite words matter a lot, so does being loyal to yourself. This is why I *let* my daughter see me break the rules sometimes, because I hope she’ll be loyal to herself, too.
One last thing about breaking the rules: rules always exist for at least one good reason. It’s a good idea to figure out what that good reason is before you break the rule.
And on that note: Self-Rejection is one of the worst ways we really shit on ourselves, and almost all of us do it. (excellent point, MB!) This is why I think we sometimes need to turn off even the “constructive criticism” and “self examination” channels and give ourselves a little unconditional LUV instead.
July 28th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Several years ago, I applied for a job that I really wanted. I didn’t get the job, and when the HR guy called to tell me, he let me know it was SO CLOSE that the hiring committee actually had to do a pro/con chart. According to him, I didn’t get it because the other candidate shared her actual ideas about the position, and I hadn’t (although I had them).
I was OK with that. I had learned something. I started going into interviews with my own agenda of what I wanted to make sure I conveyed. It was a good experience.
Fast forward a few years, another job, same company. By then, I was already working there part-time. Same HR guy called to tell me “it was close but no cigar.” Again, he told me it came down to me and the other candidate and was a tough decision. The HR guy made it a point to tell me my immediate boss waited a full day to determine if he’d go against half the committee and hire me anyway. The HR guy kept talking and talking, and I just wanted to get off the phone and cry.
Despite the “so close” calls, I was a good part-time employee there. I didn’t let the decision impact my attitude about the company, but I also think the new job I am starting soon will be a much better fit for me.
July 28th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I am so looking forward to this series this week! The company that sent you a rejection letter for a job you hadn’t applied for you — wow. You should start sending notes to companies you’ve had no contact with, turning down their offers. Let’s mix this up a little.
July 28th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Great post beginning what I’m sure will be a fabulous week of blogging. I agree with A Little Tea or Something about your writing. Have you ever read Blown Sideways Through Life? I see a book in the making.
Of course, sorry you got a rejection letter, but at least it saved you all that muss and fuss of interviewing. And if the universe has any fairness to it, you should be getting an offer soon for a job you never applied for. Don’t you think?
Dreaming of a land where there are only thick acceptance letetrs and offers,
Ronnie Ann
July 28th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Funny thing is, it’s all about self rejection. We get smacked on the head enough and it starts to be a bit annoying. We start to believe some of it is true so we pull in the part that gets smacked. It may hurt less then, right? Then, we’re not really living. We’re just treading water and that sucks.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Your post was very timely for me – here is a portion of a rejection email that I received yesterday:
“We received several very strong applicants, and we have made our selection of candidates for interviewing. While you are not among those candidates, we wish you the very best in your future endeavors. Thank you again for your interest.”
Woe is me, I didn’t make the cut of strong applicants. If only I could find an employer that recruited medium-to-weak applicants exclusively.
July 29th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Great stories! Can’t believe the “extra” rejection. Should build karma, if nothing else.
Before I finally got an agent and book contract I was rejected many, many times and felt rotten each and every time. Is there any other way? I don’t think so. You can’t avoid the pain. That’s why it’s such a good idea to grab it by the throat, as you have this week! (Picture Almostgotit tightening her fingers around the veiny throat of a rejector.)
Am wondering what’s in store for NEXT week……
September 9th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
[...] Unless they’re from The Institution that Shall Not be Named. I never said it was about virtue. It’s more an irrational dislike of suddenly finding [...]
September 13th, 2008 at 12:37 am
[...] Anyhoo, for your weekend pleasure, I have snagged a top-secret recipe from none other than The Institute that Shall Not be Named(TITSNOB) . [...]
September 14th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
That’s awesome. What do you do with all your letters? File them away? Wallpaper?
I’ve been trying to figure out something creative to do with mine.
This may come as small comfort, but the way you try … it’s inspiring. Some of us really have to get off our asses (Sorry, almostgotit’s daughter).
September 20th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
This comment was too good to leave at the bottom of this bunch of comments here, and since I was too lazy to write my own post today (9/23/2008) I’ve given it a post of its own (Click here to read it!)
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:26 am
[...] left this as a comment the other day on an older post, but I loved it so much I’m giving it star treatment [...]
October 13th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Be thankful you got a letter, solicited or not. The art of sending a rejection letter has gone the way of the afternoon newspaper. You’re supposed to have enough intuition to know you ended up on the outside looking in. Many well-known firms in Knoxville don’t send letters. I ended getting a part-time job from one such company by sheer persistence. Be not deterred. I once got a five-figure book deal by helping a gentleman who looked lost in the hall. When I asked if I could help him, we signed a contract within a week. True story.
October 29th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
[...] could get one on my own. There are a million of them at The Institution that Shall not Be Named ( TITSNOB. *) Thank T.M.L.G for me, of course, but I am a terrible, terrible secretary. And I know exactly [...]
October 29th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
[...] could get one on my own. There are a million of them at The Institution that Shall not Be Named ( TITSNOB. *) Thank T.M.L.G for me, of course, but I am a terrible, terrible secretary. And I know exactly [...]
January 21st, 2009 at 4:08 pm
[...] of course, because I learned a very hard lesson after stupidly doing that sort of thing gratis at The Institution That Shall Not be Named, and besides he is the one employed as the administrator, not [...]