Translating Rejections!

Recently, someone I had interviewed with and then discussed the potential salary with, emailed me back saying 'I'm sorry we're not taking this forward. You seem to be overqualified for this job'. 

I read that email 5 times trying to figure how in the world I'm overqualified for the job that specifically demanded that the candidate needed 3-4 years of writing experience. And then it hit me like a speeding truck!. I was being told politely that the salary scale I'd discussed was something they couldn't meet.

This led me to want to translate the other rejection emails I've received over the years. 

And they went something like this:

1) The 'International' rejection:

It starts off by making you feel all hopeful inside. They thank you for your application and then they add that bit of praise for your hard work and experience. 

"After going through your CV we were very impressed with your qualifications and experience".

And just when you're feeling like, 'This is it! All my hard work is about to pay off!', they pull the metaphorical trigger and kill your half dead spirit.

"However we will not be moving forward with your application at this point. 

At this stage we felt that there were other applicants whose skills and experience matched the requirements of this role more closely".

After getting about 58 identical responses such as these, I translated them into what they really meant. 

"Dear candidate from a third world country,

We went through your cv and at first we were surprised that you actually had hopes of even getting an interview with us, but then we had a good laugh at your naivety and decided to send you this automatically generated response.

Although you feel you have the experience, the brains and the education, we will not hire you because you're a non (fill in whichever nationality is applicable), you need us to sponsor your visa (Ha! Nice try!), everything you read about racism is actually true. So goodbye and please don't try again because we're never going to hire you no matter how qualified you might be."

2) The silent rejection: 

I'm sure a lot of people get no response to their emails. This might be for two reasons:

1) You applied for the wrong job or the profile was genuinely not a good fit.

2) No one actually read your application and it just disappeared down the black hole that is LinkedIn.

My sympathies, if you've ever been at the receiving end of, well, nothing.

3) The bad first date:

These are the worst because they make you feel like they've had the best time talking to you and that you're the one they've been waiting for all their lives.

Then they end the call with, "So, we'll get in touch with you and arrange a Skype call with the team tomorrow. You're free tomorrow right?"

And you, in all your foolish hope, tell them enthusiastically that yes, you're free indeed. But all the while, you're rearranging and cancelling all your engagements for the next day because you're finally one step closer to getting that job you want. You text them your Skype ID and you wake up early the next day to wait for a message that, unfortunately, will never come.

You end up feeling like that guy you ditched after a first date by saying you'll call him, and you wonder if this is karma.

Either way, the bad first date is the worst rejection of all three.

Well, there you go, the top three rejection tactics and what they actually mean. 

But a hopeful few like me keep working and keep adding to our profiles, hoping that one day we'll actually get to meet the company of our dreams.

That's all folks! 

#recruiting #jobs #jobseekers #rejections #recruiters