Since I absolutely HAD to go to Harvard or Yale Law, my so-so LSAT score wasn't going to cut it. I didn't know what I was going to do if I couldn't get into a top school. If I had to go anywhere else, I didn't want to go at all.
After quite a bit of thinking and chocolate gorging, I realized something: I didn't want to go to law school. I realized that if I ONLY wanted to go to those schools and nowhere else, I wasn't so much interested in law, but prestige. I was only obsessed with prestige and money, which are terrible reasons to choose a profession. So after having taken the LSAT, gotten my recommendations, and all but filled out the applications, I simply dropped the matter.
I decided to go back to my first passion: Book publishing, which I wound up missing after all. I definitely did not miss reprints, so I figured on getting into another department, though I wasn't sure which. Publicity? Marketing? Editorial?
Either way, I figured it would be a piece of cake to land another publishing job, seeing as how it had been so easy the first time. I sent out my resume and got a call back right away from HarperCollins. I went in for a managing editorial opening and left feeling pretty good about it.
I was rejected.
I got called in for an interview at Harlequin next. I went it and felt good about that one.
I got rejected again.
All I could think was, Are you kidding me? That thought would resonate over the next couple of years.
Thank you for this post. I'm a second semester senior about to apply for Real Girl Jobs and I am terrified of this happening to me over and over again. But then again it is a part of life, and I appreciate this post for that reason. (As my parents tell me, I need to get used to it!)
ReplyDeleteVery true, especially in this crazy economy! I was terrified of it my senior year, too. Rejection is part of the process, unfortunately, but you'll definitely become stronger as a result. Good luck with the job hunt--I'm sure you'll do great!
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