Last year I interviewed for a job and did not get it (obviously). The HR person I interviewed with was one of the worst examples of HR ignorance and arrogance I have ever encountered. The HR person was young and very self-important. It was obvious the "I have a job and you don't, and I am in the position of making or breaking your opportunities for employment" aspect of the HR - candidate dynamic had gone straight to the ego. But I sucked up and played the game and got through to the second and third round of interviews, which went well.

The hiring manager (in an executive level position) was very nice, she even actually phoned me to explain the only reason they didn't select me for the position was because the other top candidate had the exact client experience in the industry of their top client. She wanted me to know that I was perfectly qualified and a great candidate and a nice person, perfect for her team, but the other candidate had very specific client experience so it made more project sense to hire the other candidate. I understood, and I thanked her for personally following up with me. She told me she'd send me any other openings that might open up and encouraged me to keep applying at her company.

Good to her word, about six months ago she sent me a job posting and I applied, and received a standard rejection email from HR. Then, last week she sent me another email with a newly posted job and suggested I apply. I thanked her profusely and spent three hours carving out a thorough application. I mentioned the hiring manager who sent me the job postingUnder the "How did you hear about this position" section.

Today I received this email from the ignorant, arrogant HR person:

We received your application for [ABC job] at [XYZ, Inc.].

After reviewing your candidate file we discovered you were not selected for two previous positions at [XYZ, Inc.]. You will not be considered for the [ABC job]. This is your third strike. We have removed your candidate profile from our database. All future applications you submit to [XYZ, Inc.] will be similarly deleted. [XYZ, Inc.] feels you are not an appropriate fit for our company culture.

True, this wasn't a form rejection email, which is refreshing. When you spend significant time and thought on a job application it's nice to have a personal response. And I always appreciate candor and constructive advice. And I like that he didn't hide behind a generic signature, he took full responsibility for the rejection email by signing his name and three, count 'em three, lines of a job title. (Ever notice the correlation between age and job titles? The younger, more junior level the person, the longer and fluffier the job title.)

It's certainly the most blunt rejection letter I've received, so kudos there, too.  Message received, loud and clear. I'm not an [XYZ, Inc.] kind of person. If I were basing my opinion of [XYZ, Inc.] solely on the HR person, I would wholeheartedly agree that I am not an appropriate fit for their company culture.

However.

There is the matter of the woman who suggested I apply to the position. She is the polar opposite of the HR person. So I'm confused as to what [XYZ, Inc.]'s culture is. Is it the snide HR nitwit, or the pleasant, professional executive? Is she a lone wolf, a renegade who doesn't fit in at [XYZ, Inc.], or is the HR person an jerk wielding what little power he has over lowly job candidates who are no threat to him?

The executive is far senior to the HR guy.  If I were an angry, spiteful, sore loser I would forward the rejection email to her. But I'm not angry or spiteful. I'm the kind of person who routinely earned good sportsmanship awards and got extra civics points.

I could query her with my actual sentiment: Confusion. "Thank you for suggesting the [ABC position], I applied and was summarily rejected. Perhaps I was not the right fit for the position, and it seems HR feels that I am not the right fit for [XYZ, Inc.], either. I very much appreciate your efforts in suggesting job postings to me, but I am now confused as to whether or not I should proceed with any future openings."

Apart from the HR nitwit, I would very much like to work at this company so I don't want to burn any bridges or come off in any way unprofessional. Going over the head of an HR person with an overinflated sense of importance is never a good idea. I learned that lesson a long time ago. And the rejection email is very clear. There is no gray area nor room for interpretation.

Some will say, "Trill, you have nothing to lose. Forward the email to the nice executive who suggested you apply to the position. If take this HR ninny down in the process, so bet it. You're doing a lot of people at [XYZ, Inc.] a huge favor."

And I would agree with that point of view, but...coming off as a snarky backstabber is not the optimal image to cultivate when one is in desperate need of a job.

So. Another day, another job hunting farce. 


“Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?”

Another day, another seven, count 'em seven job rejections.

I'll have to refer to my spreadsheet and run the numbers, but I believe that's a one-day record.

Six of them used the same three sentences all HR departments send to rejected candidates. I know them by heart.

We wanted to follow up with you on the status of your application for the position of [whatever].  While we were impressed with your qualifications, we have decided to pursue other candidates who are a  closer match for the position.

Please feel free to apply for other open positions that you are interested in.

Apparently there are a lot of candidates with professional backgrounds that are a closer match than I am to the position of working a 4 AM shift of donning a hair net and and plastic gloves and putting pre-made frozen bagels and bread into ovens and removing them when the timer beeps.

Apparently there are a lot of people who are a closer match than I am to the position of opening boxes, counting items, placing an "x" in the received column and placing them on a shelf.

Apparently there are a lot of people who are a closer match than I am to an after hours position of cleaning and sanitizing a day care.

Apparently there are a lot of people who are a closer match than I am to managing the exact same type of clients I managed in my last job. (actually, that's probably true - there are a lot of us and most of us are unemployed)

The seventh, and most recent (hey, the day's not over, there could be another rejection headed my way!) offered insight as to why I didn't get the job.

Regarding your application for the position of creative services manager.  While we were impressed with your high level of qualifications, we have decided to pursue a more creative candidate

Okay, in my field that's a common rejection reason. Employers are often looking for a very specific "look" or creative methodology in a candidate's book of previous projects.

But get this: The company that rejected me today because I wasn't creative enough is a company that distributes industrial construction supplies - lag bolts, concrete saw blades,  bull pins, that sort of thing. Mind you, they do not manufacture, design or have anything to do with the items other than distributing them. Further, during the three interviews I had with them, it was stressed that the position is primarily updating existing materials (which consist primarily of product listings and price sheets). They don't want to reinvent their marketing plan because the existing "plan" works and since they have a good relationship with the state and federal construction purchasers. They supply materials to government construction projects, so the job requires handling two sets of pricing structures, government and non-government. The "government, and non-government" factor was repeated and emphasized several times during the interview process.

The irony is that during the interview process I kept thinking, "They don't really need a creative services or marketing person because they're happy with what they have and they don't want to change anything other than pricing."

I went in there brimming with ideas, but when I asked questions like, "Have you tried something like XYZ?" Or, "Do you target 123 audience?" They cut me off with, "We don't do that. We're very content with our current pieces. We really just need someone to manage the updates and make sure the sales team has current price lists."

And yet they rejected me because they are pursuing a more creative candidate.

Us job seekers are supposed to use rejections as valuable insight. We're supposed to glean wisdom and take rejections as advice on where we need to improve ourselves and our skill sets.

Okay, I'm not creative enough. I'm not creative enough to update price sheets, maintain two sets of price sheets (government and non-government) and make sure the sales team has current information.

It isn't even worth wasting one of my WTF free passes on this.

If they were an agency with clients spending $$$ and expecting trendy or sophisticated design and innovation, I would completely understand. Those types of jobs require someone with very distinct project and client background and a very particular vision and dynamic strategy. But these people don't even swutting manufacture anything. They order construction materials from manufacturers, put them in boxes and re-sell them to construction purchasing agents. Further, they don't want to change anything, by their own admission, they're "very content with our current pieces." And, they "really just need someone to manage the updates and make sure the sales team has current price lists." I could understand if they said, "We're pursuing a more boring candidate." Or, "We're pursuing a far less experienced candidate." Or, "We pursuing a candidate with government contract experience." But they didn't say that. They said they are pursuing a more creative candidate.

I can't let this stuff get to me, and I rarely do, but every now and then the rejections are so nonsensical that I think it must be me, it must be something I really do not understand, maybe there's a language barrier or maybe I just smell funny. But I need to learn what it is that I don't understand. Because I really, really, really need a job. 

Geeze, seven rejections in one day? Good grief. Anyone read anything about suicide rates among the unemployed lately? I stopped looking at that data because it was too upsetting to me. But if you're wondering why or how someone could kill themselves over a job rejection, now you know. It's frustrating, confusing and nonsensical.

I dunno. I really do not know what to do. Obviously I'm doing something very, very wrong in the job hunt and I would love (love) helpful personal insight and advice as to what I'm doing wrong, what skills I need to acquire, what personality traits I need to develop...anything.  

2012 is off to a rocking start! Four days into the new year and woot! I've received four rejection emails. Hey, at least it's easy math. A rejection for each day of the year. One lost hope, one broken dream for each day of the new year. Good thing I resolved to love myself because no one else does.

I appreciate speedy rejections. No prolonging of or clinging to a hope that's ultimately false. No deluded nights thinking, "Maybe they'll call tomorrow..."

But, what still surprises me - yes, after two years of job hunting I still get surprised - is that HR departments use the exact same script with almost no variance in the language. With notable few exceptions, in every rejection letter I've received, from a huge and broad spectrum of companies and industries, the text is exactly the same. It's like the Pledge of Allegiance or the Lord's Prayer, everyone says it exactly the same. I know it by heart.


We wanted to follow up with you on the status of your application for the position of [whatever].  While we were impressed with your qualifications, we have decided to pursue other candidates who appear to be a  closer match for the position.

Please feel free to apply for other open positions that you are interested in.

Thank you for your application and best wishes for a successful and bright future. 


I know, I know, I don't expect HR departments to "do" anything for rejected candidates. I don't expect a personalized letter citing specific reasons or insight as to why they don't want to hire me. I don't expect anything. I know companies are swamped with applicants and it's nothing shy of amazing when they even bother to acknowledge an application. Truly, it's an honor for rejected applicants to be acknowledged in any way. 

But it's surprising to me that every HR department in every company uses the exact same script when they do acknowledge an applicant they don't want to hire. I mean, I get it, why bother expending any thought or time on something as trivial and inconsequential as a form rejection email to a job applicant you don't want to hire?

But. Still. Every time I get a rejection email (at least once daily) I'm surprised it contains the same language. I dunno why. Maybe I'm harboring some latent hope that one day one of them will be different, one of those rejection emails will exhibit some trace of personality, indicate that more energy than a flick of an autosend button was expended, show some actual thought behind the words, some hint that the person behind the email is in possession of an ounce of originality. I know. I know. HR departments have better things to do with their time. And many HR jobs have been eliminated and the processes are automated and blah blah blah. I get it. But. The hope remains that one day one HR department will set themselves apart by sending a dismissive missive that's different.


Which speaks to my deeply rooted desire for something, anything, that's not standardized, automated and cliché. Yeah, it's not them, it's me. Which is probably why I keep getting rejection letters.