Life is full of disappointments, but all we ever see online is people celebrating their new jobs, wins, and the positives. Honestly, I do it myself as well. When I post on LinkedIn, I am sharing the positive experiences I have had with my team. I post the wins we have had, my leadership experiences through the year, and the events I attend. Rarely, if ever, do I share the disappointments and hardships. Recently, I have seen others begin to share their struggles with the job hunt, and it inspired me to share mine on my search to become a manager in Data Science. The job hunt is challenging, and often it comes with unanswered questions, ignored emails, and rejections.
From my own experiences, rejection can be the most challenging part, especially when the rejection comes with more questions than answers. In the past few years, I have dealt with my share of rejections as I applied for rotational programs, managerial positions, and more.
According to Glassdoor, most corporate job postings attract 250 resumes. Of those 250 resumes, only 4 to 6 candidates will get called in for an interview, and only 1 will get the job. Meaning your chances of rejection are pretty high. With that, TalentWorks states it can take 100 to 200 job applications or more before you get an offer.
Looking at the statistics makes me reflect on my own experiences of sending out hundreds of job applications before finding the right company that saw the value I could bring to the table. Coming up on two years in the same role has made me consider my options and where I want my career to head. Q3 of 2020 was when I began looking for something new. I applied to a competitive Leadership rotational program within my company. After a round of virtual video questions that I needed to answer, I was given an interview. I met with three individuals from the rotational program committee and had a great conversation with them. They asked me about my current position, career goals, and behavioral style questions of approaching different situations.
Ask for Feedback
Within a month, I heard back, and it was a no. Instead of blindly accepting the rejection, I reached out to the program lead to ask for feedback. I wanted to understand the motivation behind the decision and what I could have done better. Was there an area I needed to improve on before the next application in one year?
This tactic doesn’t always work. Some companies will not get back to you. Luckily, with this position, the program lead did reach back out. The interviewing panel loved my application and my background. My downfall? They had to make a hard decision between myself and another candidate. The other candidate’s career goal more closely aligned with that of the program, cementing my rejection. Sometimes they have to make hard calls, and it can come down to minor details.
Understand Your Career Goal
The good thing that came back from asking for feedback was a meeting on career advice. I was able to meet with the program lead and talk with her and HR on other options. In this call, she further discussed the program I had applied to, along with another technical program that would be opening up in 2021. She believed that the upcoming technical program would be closely aligned to my goal, and at the time, she was right. If I felt I still wanted to reapply to the rotational program I was rejected from; she encouraged me to do so in Q3 of 2021.
When I began my journey to find a new position, I was heavily focused on the technical. My goal was to become a technical fellow within my company. A technical fellow is the highest level you can become as a technical person without management and leadership. As I continued to traverse my career this past year and a half, I have been having many 1:1’s with different people from all types of backgrounds. I wanted to understand the different paths I could take. Between that and receiving feedback from my teammates, I began to adapt my career goal to align with my most vital skills. I shifted my mindset from technical development to Leadership Development. I wanted to begin to develop teams and grow talent towards a data centric vision.
As I continued to look for other positions to apply for, a new set opened up. A newly formed team within my company was looking for a data science manager. Having been a team lead for more than a year with a newfound career goal, I decided that I was ready to try out a management role. I updated my resume, wrote a strong cover letter with a mentor’s help highlighting my accomplishments and what I could bring to the team, and presented three references. These people included a business manager, a principal data scientist, and a director.
In my eyes, I had a great application and display of my skills. Feedback from my teammates included positive sentiments about my work and the type of manager I would be. But despite all of that, my application was rejected. I was never given a chance to interview and prove my skills because the hiring team was looking for someone at an engineering level 4, and I am a level 3.
Network and Be Vocal
Of everything I have applied to this year, I took this rejection the hardest. The only feedback on my application was that I was not at the level they were looking for despite my skills and background showing I could do the work. With no other feedback and a goal in mind, I did the next best thing. I networked.
I began setting up 1:1’s with management in different areas of the company. These 1:1’s were hour meetings to discuss my current role, career goals, and advocate for the position I was looking to hold in the future. I wanted to make sure others within the company were aware of what I wanted so they could help me find the right opportunities. If no one knows what you are looking for and you don’t advocate for yourself, how will you move forward?
This story doesn’t have a happy ending as it is not over. The discussions with the team I lead and others colleagues I work with encouraged me to continue along my path and fight for my career goal of being in leadership. I am still in my current role and looking for what is next, but I am advocating for myself and working with those within the business who can help me get there. I want to build my team, create our roadmaps, and develop my people. Until I can get someone to give me the role I want, I will continue being a leader in my current position and advocating for my colleagues.
As you face your rejections and fight to find your next role, remember:
- Ask for feedback on your application. They may not provide it, but it is worth at least asking for it.
- Understand your career goal. What is it that you want to achieve in the next year, five years, and beyond? Where are you looking to grow your skills? This will help you find the right opportunities that align to those goals.
- Find those who will help advocate for you and work with them. These will be the people that can help you get you to your next position. And be vocal! This is your time to speak about who you are and where you want to be. Make your goals known.
No one is perfect at handling rejection, and sometimes it can hurt, but find a way to learn from it and see what is right for you.
If you would like to read more, check out some of my other articles below!
Top 3 Reasons Public Speaking Can Help You in Data Science
Remote Work Can Make it Hard to Stand Out as a Strong Data Scientist
Why Taking Notes on Your Accomplishments Can Help Your Career