No, no, no, no, no......

By Yameng Zhang

I went to career fairs, those info sessions and professional networking events. I tweaked my resume frequently and customized every time. I did researches before I talk to them. But, no, no, no, no, no……

This is not the way it should be. I thought I prepared long enough, good enough, but it was a NO. I started to wonder if this is just the way it is. The doubt stopped me from job searching for a while until I realized it is not an obligation for a company to hire me just because I prepared. Searching a job is not as easy as apartment hunting, if I have to compare it to something; the first thing come to my mind would be dating.

We work out and dress up to look attractive, then we ask for other people’s number, we go on dates, and sometimes, there is no call back afterwards. See? It is the same as job searching. We put on attires, go for those career networking opportunities, we handout our resume, hopefully, go to interviews, and there are times we will receive emails that says “no”. 

I thought I would take my evening complaining about how hard to find a job, but that won’t change anything. So, instead, I accept the fact that I am not perfect.

I have flaws and I assume everybody does. There are times that the flaw becomes the deal breaker. I don’t like being a leader so I have never been one before, English is not my first language, I am not good at writing or public speaking, I have no experience in working at big companies, I have no award of any kind, I can barely tell how much contribution I have made to my past employers. Yes, there surely are some companies can’t deal with people like me. After listing my flaws, I realized they are not just flaws, they are my things, the things that I can hardly get over with. Just like I can’t accept being with a guy who doesn’t like dogs, companies can have reasons to say “no” to me. 

“No” doesn’t mean what I have done is in vain, it can mean the companies and I just don’t fit for the moment. Just like the fact that sometimes people don’t ask out the perfect one for a second date, having a “no” on a job offer is not a denial. So, I forgave the companies, in fact, I forgave myself for being rejected. But, no, I will not forget them because I need the “no”s to get myself the “yes”.