You have been rejected!

You Have Been Rejected!

We all have (or had) that dream job we personally felt we worked very hard to earn. We invested thousands in education; we interned for little to nothing for experience, and invested in a professional wardrobe to maintain an outstanding presentation. In our eyes we are nothing less than worthy and perfect, however we may be missing the most important element.

 

Let’s walk through a scenario…

 

You’ve just gotten an interview for a job opportunity that will single handedly make your career. You have more than the required experience; you’re young, sharp, and very confident you could exceed the company’s expectations. This is a management position, so you are required to meet with 20+ members of the management team. The interview process will take a couple visits, but it’s nothing you can’t prepare for and handle.

 

You go on three rounds of interviews and you’re extremely impressed by everyone you meet. They’re all middle aged, quick witted, very aggressive, fast-talking, extremely accomplished, and have strong personalities. You put your best foot forward and give each answer 100% of your effort. You’re also sure to ask each interviewer thoughtful questions after each session.

 

At the end of your third round of interviews you are scheduled to meet one last gentleman whom you find a bit unusual. He is much different, if not polar opposite of the previous interviewers, and you deem him a waste of your time. He is an older gentleman named John who appears to be in his late 60’s and will be retiring in a month. He is bald, grey, slow moving, soft-spoken, over-weight, and his attire is terribly out of style.

 

He asks many questions that you’re sure you answered brilliantly, though the entire time you can’t help but think, “This old geezer can’t be anyone important, I’ve already met the entire higher management team. I can’t wait for this interview to be over”. You find yourself impatiently glancing at your watch more often than you’d like. And at the end of your interview John asks if you have any questions, and you repeatedly tell him “no”.

 

You leave the interview convinced you’ll be getting a call later in the week with your start date; you call your best friend and go over how well you’re sure you did. A few days later you are called in once more, and you’re sure it’s for a job offer. You meet with the head of HR and he tells you:

 

“You’re by far the best candidate for this position, however we need to go over a few things. You interviewed with 20 people, and you were aggressive, witty and engaged with everyone except John. John mentioned you stared at your watch throughout the entire interview, and you refused to ask him any questions even though he asked you if you had any repeatedly. John is an irreplaceable contributor to this company, he launched our most successful campaigns, he drastically improved our representation of women in management, and he is now a wise and trusted advisor to every executive on the President’s team. Everyone in this company has nothing more than the utmost love and respect for John, he actually hired most of us, including me! He may be older, slower, and not as sharp as you. But remember, one day you’ll reach 60 and will slow down just the same. The fact that you didn’t respect John enough to take your interview with him seriously says a lot about your character, and we’re afraid of how you’ll treat others you deem below you. For that reason, we have decided not to offer you the position.”

 

Remember, having the most experience, highest level of education, and most professional attire is only a fraction of the battle. You are dealing with human beings, and once you loose respect, consideration and humility; your other assets cease to exist.

 

I’d love to hear your comments as I’m sure you’ve experienced something similar. So please LIKE and SHARE with others. Post your comments below this article in the space provided. We all learn best form others experiences.

 

I want to hear from you and how you have dealt with situations similar to this.

 

What have you done to overcome these frustrating challenges?

Wishing you the best,

Courtney