it's April happy internship rejection season I know what you're thinking I'm
getting rejected that's not exactly something to be happy about and I agree
getting rejected sucks but I also know that rejection is just a part of the
game it's part of life I have been rejected more times than I can remember
and I believe that rejection equals growth so rather than let your
internship rejections keep you down it's time to learn something from them
and move onward and upward in today's video I am coaching you on how to deal
with internship rejection you applied you've been rejected got it now stay
tuned for what to do next hey there I'm Jenna Rein from theinternhustle.com
and this is Initiative Muscle Monday helping you to start each
week with an intentional step toward a successful future let's do this now in
these videos and over on theinternhustle.com I often talk about my
awesome internships that I had with the Chicago Bulls and Priority Sports and
Entertainment and Ohio State Athletics but did you know that I was also
rejected when I was seeking out internship opportunities with the US
Olympic Training Center and the Columbus Blue Jackets the Cleveland Browns and
the Gatorade Sports Science Institute that's just to name a few
fear of rejection is a big reason why people don't go after the internships
that they want in the first place but life isn't very fun or rewarding if
you're living in fear you miss out on a lot of opportunities that way on the
other hand maybe you aren't one of the people that's living in fear of
rejection maybe you did apply for all of the internships on time and you had the
perfect cover letters and even had some strong referrals well despite all of
that sometimes things just aren't meant to be and because I can almost guarantee
that you're going to be rejected from one if not many internships let's break
down how I want you to handle your post-rejection next steps
the golden rule always be gracious now first things first you're going to reply to
the employer the same day that you hear from them yes they just gave you a "sorry,
not this time" but thank them again for their
time and the opportunity that you had to apply now if you'd be interested in
future opportunities with this company then let them know that you'd love to be
considered and keep that door open you never know what's gonna happen next they
may have an intern drop out and you're the next person on their list or maybe
that person that you interviewed with moves on to another company and they
think of you for an internship opportunity there instead bottom line
don't burn any bridges and stay in touch with the people that you meet along the
way now before you close out that email I
also want you to ask for feedback sometimes the reason that you didn't get
an internship is pretty straightforward for instance maybe someone else had an
edge on you because they had a referral from someone within the company this
happens and the same scenario could be flipped to work in your favor someday so
just shake it off for now however it is possible that you didn't get the
internship this time around because you were lacking specific skills and these
can be hard or soft skills and in both cases it's important to understand what
they are so that you can work on improving them I encourage you to ask
for feedback because feedback is a gift when you reply to thank them for their
time ask them if they have any constructive feedback for you as well
you may not want to hear it but you will have a big advantage once you learn what
you need to work on going forward and finally move on to the next one just
play Jay-Z's song a few times you know the song on to the next one on to the next
one okay I have a terrible voice and I'm not
gonna sing for you but play it dance it out and then move on to the next one
just pick any song that you're feeling and I mean it dance it out I do it and I
immediately feel a change in my mood and once your mood has improved just
remember you're not always going to win on the first try and that's okay you're
going to learn from this and you're going to come out stronger on the other side
re-energize and approach your internship search from a new angle
great you applied to 15 different internships online guess what everyone
applies online so how can you approach things differently I actually have a
video all about this to give you some ideas so go check out five creative ways
to land an internship right after this one on my YouTube channel and all
you need is one yes so get creative and get that yes
and what happens if you don't get the internship for this summer well the
world is not going to end there are actually a number of other ways that you
can wisely spend your summer without an internship and in next week's video I'm
going to show you how to be intentional with your summer and still make the most
of it no internship no problem it's all about finding ways to improve yourself
gain confidence and get ahead it's competitive out there but overall you
need to stay positive and don't let the internship rejection kill your pursuit I
also happen to know that some of the best things can happen as a result of
internship rejection if you follow my story at all you'll know that I was
rejected from one internship that I wanted so badly and then hired for a
full-time job by one of that company's co-founders just a few short months
later so stay positive and keep hustling if this video gave you some new insights
today please give it a like and share it with a friend or two and then hit that
red subscribe button below so that you don't miss out on future videos
and leave me a comment to let me know what you'd like to see a video on next
in support of your hustle I'll see you next Monday