By Jannet Walsh
Murdock, Minnesota
Hate rejection letters, but love to rebound into opportunities.
Before I moved back to Minnesota from Florida, I applied for a job at the bank in Murdock. I was very surprised that companies were actually taking time to notify job candidates of their status. I eventually told the banker in person I was impressed they sent the rejection letter. I hope if you are an employer, you are also following the Murdock model of business communication. Bravo!
If you just received a rejection letter sent by an employer that actually took the time to inform you about application status, do you know what to do with it?
I was told by someone early on in college to keep rejection letters. This is a valuable source for job search with contact information. During job searches, I was a finalist at a school, happy to be interviewed, as I know practice makes perfect for interviewing. After the interview, I received a letter of rejection by email, also very acceptable and should be applauded as the school took time to notify me.
I responded with an email thanking them for taking time to interview and being considerate for sending a rejection letter and asked what skills, tips or helpful information they might share to help me achieve my goal – finding a job.
There was an email response delivered in moments with full details of the qualifications of the person they hired and a list of suggestions. In this case, it worked, but don’t expect a response from all employers.
One company I interviewed with did not send a letter of rejection, would not return phone calls or emails and did not want to talk to me on the phone. I traveled two hours each way to the interview. Lesson learned from the interview process is that you learn more about the employer after the interview and how they communicate rejection.
In the past I remember receiving phone calls from employers to let me know they did not hire me and thought it was brutal. Employers, if you are not informing the people you interview, it might come back to bite you in the future. A talented technical writer I know keeps a running list of companies that doesn’t send letters of rejection and places them in a do not contact list. This might be the person you are seeking in the future, but your best candidates wrote you off as you lack rejection-writing skills.
If you are applying for an opening at the company you are working at presently, and your employer can’t take a moment to thank you for your application and interest in the company, you might want to show them this blog posting. Rejection is a difficult message to deliver, but it important and courteous thing to do. It is a sign of respect. Note: I have not had this happen to me yet and have actually received a better working situation than the job I applied for and was rejected. Yet another reason to apply for job!
More than one of my rejection letters during my career was used as a reference to get a job or internship. What if you used your rejection letter to inquire about volunteering at a company you were rejected from to gain skills and explore a career field? There is nothing to lose if you don’t ask.
Now is the time to work on writing, public speaking, explore education and training opportunities. Use your next rejection letter to rebound yourself into the job market!
About Jannet Walsh
Working in media and public relations during recession-high unemployment rates in Florida at Workforce Connection, a regional workforce board, Walsh worked on workforce education, training and unemployment topics in Citrus, Levy and Marion Counties in Florida. She also wrote on topics related to workforce issues for both employers and job candidates as a columnist and was a contributor to the 2010 Great Communicator Award for an Institution awarded to Workforce Connection from the Ocala Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Society. Read full biography of Jannet Walsh.
Workforce suggestions? Please contact Jannet Walsh at jwalsh@wctrib.com for ideas on blog topics or workforce related topics.
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Native Minnesotan Jannet Walsh is a blogger, columnist, journalist, photojournalist, terrier owner, hula hooper and more! Contact her at jwalsh@wctrib.com Click here to view full biography. View her other blog at http://jannetwalsh.blogspot.com/.
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