When going through my papers a few weeks ago, I found my interview notes for a job I applied to back in 2013. The role was Engagement Coordinator for the Students Union of a top 5 British university that shall remain unnamed. Sadly, their SU had been – for a number of years – in the bottom 5 unions in the country as ranked by students. The interview task was a presentation outlining how we could improve the rankings and increase student engagement.
Now, you can’t propose a solution unless you know what the problem is. So I did my research.
Twelve handwritten pages. TWELVE. And this does not include the six pages of notes on the university, the role, the job description, etc. Twelve pages of task-specific notes.
Add the nearly 4 hour train journey from Liverpool to the interview location, where I gave my presentation (cut short due to time restrictions, but that was my fault) and did the interview.
Did I Get the job? LOL, NOPE. I was told I had come across as too negative during my presentation. “Fair enough” I said, “Thank you for your feedback!”
I learned a few things back then, and concluded a few others when I rediscovered my notes. In no particular order, here they go:
- Job hunting is a full-time, ungrateful, and exhausting affair.
- You can spend days/weeks working on an application/interview presentation/role-specific research and still not get the job or an acknowledgement of receipt or a “Thank you for attending. We’ll be in touch soon” email, etc.
- You can interview for some high class organisations and be HIGHLY disappointed. So don’t always believe the hype. This is true for all industries.
- Learn to condense your answers, presentations, etc. My presentation was cut short and it was my fault. I should have gone straight to the point – here’s what I‘m proposing. Instead I ended up talking more about the problems I found than the solutions I was suggesting. My hopes were they will see the full presentation when evaluating us after the interviews anyway. Not sure that’s how it happened.
- Some companies don’t want to hear what they are doing wrong. During the rejection call, I was not told I didn’t have the experience or skills, or that the solutions in my presentation wouldn’t work. I was told I was negative. Well, I decided to check and the SU in question is still among the bottom occupants of the ranking table. Make of that whatever you will.
- Fresh out of University, any job seems great. It’s that Young, Dumb and Broke syndrome we’ve all suffered from at one point or another (shout out to Khalid btw, that song is a tuuune!). Beware! Every step you take in the job market affects your future work life. Unless pressed by circumstance, DO NOT settle.
- Rejection is not the worst thing that could happen in the recruitment process. Every application, every interview, every task, every step in the recruitment process earns you experience. Learn the lessons and start over.
- Rejection can be a blessing. Had I gotten the Engagement Coordinator job I would be on a £19000 pa salary, living in the countryside, in a position where achievable change was limited by the University’s own organisation and governance. Instead here I am – in central London, with decision making authority,
earning a whole lot more, and managing a team of lovely people.
My current job came along 5 weeks after that rejection call… So don’t let yourself be discouraged. Keep hustling, keep working on yourself, your skills, your network, your experience, your CV. Do your research well, be prepared, keep it brief and to the point.
Better things are coming!
Career Clichés 