Facing Rejection Head-On

Rejection #2: Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge 2024

"The Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge is a statewide university competition hosted by Boise State University to develop and reward student entrepreneurs with promising ventures and small businesses. College and university students from across Idaho compete for money and services to advance their startup" (Boise State University).

Christopher, has had an incredible business idea for a few years now, but has not had the time, money or resources to invest in his business. He sought me to join his team as the Chief Marketing Officer for my presentation skills and creativity in our slide presentation. With hearing about the competition only days before the deadline with just an idea and a few mock-ups, we knew it was to be a challenge to enter the competition, but our hopes were high nonetheless.

Before: The day before the competition began, Christopher and I spent the entire day at the library until close. Here, we were able to come up with a strategic plan for what we were going to present in our slideshow. The competition began at 8:30 a.m. the next day and as night owls, we knew that was to be a struggle.

During: We arrived at a study room on campus to join the Zoom meeting for the competition. Immediately the nerves kicked-in. We were set to present our slideshow to two different panels of judges for 5 minutes with a 10 minute break in between each. Our first presentation through us for a whirlwind with the time slipping by without us getting through our whole presentation. We took note for the second session and felt more confident going into it with better understanding of what to expect. We got incredible feedback from one of the judges on what to focus on in order to get the business started. We felt hopeful and awaited the results the following day.

After: We were pretty disappointed at the results having not made it to even the second round, but we used this rejection as a learning experience and analyzed what worked and what didn’t work from our presentation. To our surprise, we had one of the judges from the competition reach out to us via email, stating that she had a tremendous amount of connections through Boise State and gave us information on how she started her own business. Through this experience, we were able to gain a tremendous amount of knowledge on how to get a business started and although we did not even get close to winning the competition, the rejection and just applying ourselves led us to new connections we didn’t even know were available without having joined the Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge.

Rejection #3: Social Rejection - Elevator Talk

One of the most awkward experiences is going on an elevator with strangers in complete silence. I had always wondered why this was. We cross paths with new people everyday but for some reason would rather keep our heads down, or in our phones, than make some casual conversation to break the silence.

As someone who lives in an apartment with an elevator, I decided to challenge this “social norm”. For the next few days, I would engage in conversation with whomever was in the elevator with me.

Before: As a social person, I thought this task was going to be fairly easy because I really enjoy getting to know people and having conversations. However, I quickly found out that this is not the case for everyone. Nonetheless, it took a few tries of going up and down the elevator to build the confidence to start a conversation. I had to figure out how to get past the “what floor?”

During: A girl came into the elevator holding multiple bags of groceries which I felt was the perfect opportunity to engage in conversation. I asked her if she needed any help taking her groceries to her apartment. She seemed surprised at my asking and said no, that she was used to carrying her groceries up, but is definitely excited to move out of the apartment. We then had a quick conversation of the dinner she was making later that night and then her floor came before mine and we both wished each other a great rest of the day.

After: After this experience, I decided it was much less awkward to have elevator conversations rather than just a silent ride. We cross paths with strangers every day yet would rather avoid engaging with each other either out of fear of rejection (making it more awkward) or simply because it is easier to keep our heads down and stay in our own bubble. Not every conversation will last long and the awkwardness is almost inevitable one way or another, but the connections we can make with others by caring enough to engage in conversation can go a long way.

Rejection #5 - Applying to jobs in person

I have a fully remote position and work at a local bagel shop. Unfortunately, with my new class schedule this semester, my availability in the mornings was not where I needed it to be. So I was not making as much money as I needed for rent, car payment, groceries, tuition, etc. I had applied to a few restaurant jobs online, but hadn’t heard back after even giving it a few weeks.

Most recently, all of the jobs that I have applied for have been through Indeed, Handshake, or another job application site virtually. What I personally have noticed, is that this takes away from the personal connection of handing in your resume in person which I believe gives higher chances of getting a job. So, for this experiment I decided to give the in person job application a try although much more intimidating.

Before: I updated my resume with my latest information, print out 5 copies, and set out to some local jobs that I was interested in. I went to Dawson Taylor Coffee Shop, Downtown Hound, The Shed and Papa Joe’s.

During: When I arrived at Dawson Taylor and walked in with my resume, I was a lot more nervous than I originally anticipated. Instead of asking if they were hiring right away, I ended up ordering a drink. 1) That was going to be my second coffee of the day and 2) I did not have the funds to be spending so much money on coffee. After getting the conversation started with the barista through ordering my drink, I got the courage to ask her if they were hiring and presented my resume to her. She told me that they just finished hiring a few people at this location, but if I was interested I could apply for the waitlist with my resume online. I told her thank you anyway and awkwardly awaited my coffee. I then walked next door to Downtown Hound, I was able to leave my resume, along with my availability and phone number on the back. The lady at the counter told me that her manager would be in contact with me when she is in the office the following day. I then went to The Shed and dropped my resume off with the manager. He told me that they are not currently hiring, but would be soon in the spring once their patio opens up so they may get in contact with me then. Lastly, I went to Papa Joe’s because of how close it is to my apartment building and to the university it would be such an ideal place to work. The waiter informed me that the owner was in and I could hand my resume directly to him. The nerves immediately kicked in as I headed over to where the owner and his wife were sitting. I gave him my name, resume, and wrote down my availability. He was very kind and told me that he would be getting in touch in the upcoming weekend.

After: Unfortunately, I did not hear back from any of these jobs, but that is just how life goes. We don’t always get what we apply for. I do still believe going in person is incredibly beneficial because it gives a face to your name rather than just an online resume. From this experience, I learned that I should have followed up with these places by phone call to see if there was any update on my application. This is something I am going to remember to do for next time as I am applying for more jobs upon graduation.

Rejection #7 - COMMencement Speaker (Communications Commencement Ceremony)

Interestingly enough, after having been rejected for the commencement speaker at our graduation, my academic advisor ended up reaching out to me asking if I had any interest in applying to be the COMMencement speaker at our ceremony for communications majors. I was very excited as I did not think I would have another opportunity to speak at my school.

For this application, I decided to keep it to myself and not share my application so that way I did not have to tell my loved ones that I was rejected twice. Although I have this rejection project, I know my family knows me well enough to know that I would have loved to be selected for such an incredible opportunity.

Before: Learning from my first application I knew that I should only record a few takes. I prepared a google doc with my speech and a shorted versions of it, specified to only communications majors for our ceremony.

During: I went to the same study room that I had gone to when recording my first commencement speech application and immediately got deja vu. I recorded a few takes and could feel myself stuttering and getting too nervous in the recording process, so instead of recording in the same study room I decided to go home and record in my room through a zoom video. This made the process a lot easier as I was in the comfort of my own home and had a new environment to do my speech in. I recorded it a couple of times and was happy with how it turned out. Short and sweet. I decided to not give it any overanalyzing and turned in what I had. I felt fairly confident, but didn’t want to get my hopes up.

After: To my surprise, I was selected as one of the two co-COMMencement speakers. I was absolutely thrilled. It is incredibly exciting to me that my first rejection lead to me getting the opportunity to speak at the ceremony for my specific major.

Rejection #9 - Deal or no deal Island application

One of my favorite game shows growing up was Deal or No Deal. This year was the release of the first ever Deal or No Deal island which is a mix of Deal or No Deal and Survivor all in one. My family and I have been watching this show together and now separately while I am away for school.

On the most recent episode the show gave a link to apply to be on the next season of Deal or No Deal Island. What a fun and exciting opportunity, why not apply? With the goal of getting rejected, at least I am putting myself out there. Of course it is something that I would love to participate in, would be incredibly nervous about actually being on tv, how many chances do we get to have the potential opportunity to audition for these types of things? I might as well give it a shot.

Before: The application process was interesting and long. Consisting of fun questions about your physical activity, hobbies, fun interests, photos, and a video submission about yourself. For this application, I told myself beforehand that I would just do one take and submit it (learning from my commencement video application).

During: To showcase my hobbies, I decided to juggle at the end of my application video. I also just wanted to have fun with it. The stakes were low and I reminded myself that I was auditioning for fun and that it would be an incredibly opportunity if I do get it, but nothing to stress myself out for in the application process. I had a lot of fun putting the video together and filling out the application. Knowing that in the unlikely chance I do get selected, I will definitely have to work on my physical fitness.

After: After submitting my application, I am happy that I put myself out there and at least have a chance at participating rather than no chance at all if I did not apply. I am uncertain when or if I will even hear back but I had a lot of fun in my application process and this might be a step in the right direction with taking applications with a positive look rather than stressing myself out with so many retakes.