No Doesn’t Always Mean No, When Looking for Job
Years ago I was in the job market after being laid off as a Sales Engineer. It was a job that I really enjoyed so I was disappointed when I got laid off. The division that I was working for was spun off and immediately announced they were cutting 5,000 jobs. After being assured by some of my fellow co-workers that I wouldn’t be laid off because I was recently hired, the company invested in training me via an intensive 5 month training program and had relocated me to a new city. They felt the company would cut the more senior employees. They calmed my fears, however, they were wrong. One morning soon-after, my manager called me into his office and politely told me my job was “surplused”.
After being in the job market for about 4 months I thought I would be hired by another company as a Sales Representation. After interviewing on 5 different occasions and even doing a presentation during one of the interviews I got a rejection letter. I was shocked and quickly became annoyed. At first I was ready to move on but after having invested so much time and energy during the interviewing process I needed an explanation as to why I wasn’t offered the job.
I gave the Human Resources Manager a call and asked her what happened. She stated they decided they wanted someone with more experience. I said OK and told her I was disappointed and that I had the skills to do the job. After hanging up the phone, I then thought about my next step and decided to call her back with an offer. I called her back and told her, “if you guys are concerned about my experience, then hire me on a temporary basis for the next 60 days to monitor my performance. If you are not happy with my performance, I will move on, no questions asked.” She said OK and that she’d get back to me.
The very next day I was offered the job and was hired as a permanent full-time employee. The Human Resources Manager stated that they were impressed with my persistence and that was a good attribute to have as a successful sales rep.
I learned from this experience that no doesn’t always mean no, when looking for job or even in other situations. If you are ever rejected, sometimes it’s just a temporary setback. You can always go back and negiotiate to get a “yes”!
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