Understanding and Managing Professional Rejection

REJECTED! 😭 😭 😭

How often has your heart sunk as you read that e-mail, or received that phone call.

Whether it’s a job application, promotion, grant or fellowship proposal, award or prize nomination – whatever it is, rejection can take a toll.

And, at least for me, many hundreds of rejections later, it’s never gotten “easy”. Easier perhaps, but never easy!

In my newest video, I cover key concepts for understanding and managing rejection in a professional context. I differentiate between useful and useless types of rejection. I cover the key concept of volatility with an illustrative example, and present a range of very simple strategies for managing and responding to rejection.

Please reshare if useful 🙏

🕒 Timestamps are as follows:

📌 (0:00) Rejection Montage
📌 (0:05) Professional Rejection Is Ever-Present
📌 (0:13) Rejection Means You Are Pushing Your Boundaries
📌 (0:21) Understanding and Managing Rejection
📌 (0:33) Professional Rejection Can Take Many Forms
📌 (0:55) Rejection Never Becomes Easy
📌 (1:02) Rejection Stings Because You Care
📌 (1:16) Rejection Can Be a Great Learning Opportunity
📌 (1:24) Useful Rejection Needs a Good Feedback Signal
📌 (1:39) Never Getting Rejected is a Useful Feedback Signal
📌 (1:55) Toxic Rejection is Not Helpful
📌 (2:14) Rejection for Hopeless Cases is Also Not Useful
📌 (2:25) Rejection Fables Aren’t Necessarily Helpful
📌 (2:49) Always Consider the Opportunity Cost
📌 (3:12) An Extremely High Rejection Rate is Not Healthy
📌 (3:23) Understanding Volatility is Key
📌 (3:35) Volatility is Most Impactful at Early Career Stages
📌 (3:46) Volatility Scenario: Repeated Applications
📌 (4:08) An Above Average Proposal Can Still Get Rejected
📌 (4:27) Strong Candidates Can Strike Out Three Times
📌 (4:50) Volatility is Somewhat Easier for Senior People
📌 (5:25) Early Success Can Be Brutal
📌 (5:48) Filtering Feedback From a Rejection is Messy
📌 (6:42) Better Managing Rejection
📌 (6:52) Increasing Your Numbers
📌 (7:30) Avoiding “Dead on Arrival” Applications
📌 (8:15) Recycling and Repurposing
📌 (8:48) Minimizing Loose Ends
📌 (9:08) Managing the Toll of Rejection
📌 (9:16) Quarantining Personal Time from Rejection News
📌 (9:31) Delaying Processing of Rejection
📌 (9:53) Bond With Others in the Same Boat
📌 (10:15) Rejection Can Get Easier, Somewhat
📌 (10:25) Experience Gives Perspective
📌 (10:50) Rejection Will Always Be There
📌 (11:01) Rejection Will Always Sting at Least a Little Bit
📌 (11:09) Make Sure You Celebrate Your Wins and Successes!