My favorite rejections: Atlanta

When I earned my Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, I had precious few opportunities to interview for jobs. When I earned my MBA from Emory University, I had many more opportunities to interview, and therefore to be rejected, for jobs. Here are a few of my favorite Atlanta rejections:

• I introduced myself to an executive from the international marketing division of a major soft drink company after he spoke to our marketing class. I asked if I could send him my resume. He agreed and handed me his business card. I mailed off my resume with an enthusiastic cover letter. A few weeks later I received my resume back in the mail, with all the active verbs circled. In the white space, the executive wrote “Good.”
• During the final semester of my MBA program, I interviewed with a major American greeting card company. I thought it was a great fit because I had already worked in printing, writing, and cartooning prior to earning my MBA. The recruiter told me to give him a few weeks, but that I would hear from him one way or the other. I waited seven weeks. When I finally reached him by phone, he chortled, “Well, if you haven’t heard from us by now, surely you must have figured out that we’re not interested.”
• After earning my MBA and still without a job offer, I landed an interview with a small marketing firm just outside Atlanta. I didn’t own a car and I had to rent one just to get there. The interview seemed to go well; I offered smart, solid answers to all the questions posed by my interviewer, the woman I would be working for. I arrived home that afternoon feeling like I had nailed it. The next day my rejection letter was already in my mailbox. Astounded, I phoned my interviewer’s assistant to ask her what had happened. She reported that my would-be boss was intimidated by me and afraid that I’d show her up.