Nobody likes failing. It hurts our egos and ruins our self-confidence, especially if what we failed at was crucial, such as landing a job. However, failure is also an experience; these experiences will help you grow both in your career and as a person.
One way to keep a tally of the number of times you get rejected is through a rejection resume. And before you ask, this isn’t similar to a resume rejection letter. It’s something completely different from it.
You may ask: what is a rejection resume, and why should you write one? After all, it’s embarrassing to write the instances you got rejected from a job. To answer these questions, here’s an article discussing what’s a rejection resume, its benefits, and how to write one.
What is a Rejection Resume?
A rejection resume is a record of all the failures you’ve encountered in your career. These could be job application rejections, failed projects, or the instances you didn’t get a promotion. Coach Daron Roberts of the US National Football League was the first person to coin the term.
Why Should You Write One?
Writing a rejection resume gives you several advantages. These includes:
Helping You Remember Where You Began.
Sometimes, your current successes can be detrimental when trying to improve yourself. It blinds you from your faults and overblows your ego. But by writing a rejection resume, you remind yourself that you weren’t always successful and that you shouldn’t forget where you came from.
On the other hand, if you’re feeling down lately, having one can also help you see how far you’ve gone from where you started. Seeing this can help motivate you to continue on your current path, as you’ve already been through similar situations.
It Helps You Improve Yourself.
There’s no better way to improve yourself than by seeing what you did wrong in the past. A rejection resume allows you to evaluate your previous actions to avoid making the same mistakes the next time you look for traditional or online work from home.
Aside from being a way to evaluate yourself, a rejection resume can also help you solve your current career problems. You can apply the lessons you’ve learned from your experience to make a solution that’ll work next time.
Writing One Makes You More Resilient.
Another reason you should write a rejection resume is it improves your resilience to challenges in your career. According to studies, people who respond well to criticism and failures have a stronger sense of self-control, purpose, and vigor than those who don’t.
By writing your rejection resume, you train yourself to face your mistakes and be more resilient; as a result. Of course, being resilient and willing to try again isn’t enough to succeed. You must also learn from your mistakes and adapt next time.
How Do I Write One?
As its name suggests, writing a rejection resume is similar to writing your work resume. First, ask yourself why you’re writing one in the first place. Is it because you want to learn from your mistakes? Or is it because you want to see how far you’ve gone from where you first started?
Next, arrange your list of failures chronologically. If you’re just starting your career, you can include all the schools that rejected you before you graduated. You can divide it into different categories like education, experience, etc.
To make these events stick to your memory, be specific when and where these failures occurred. And don’t forget to update this as you gain new experiences or change your current goals.
From Failing, You’ll Learn.
It’s always disheartening to fail your job application, but these experiences still provide valuable lessons. One way you can remember these lessons is through a rejection resume. Hopefully, you now see why writing one is worth your time and how you can do it yourself.
