“We’re looking for someone serious. Not someone who’s thinking about being at the beach all day,” he said as he looked me up and down, dismissed my résumé, and sighed heavily.
He really shouldn’t have said that. I was baffled.
Believe it or not, the manager of a company (which I’ll keep confidential for professional purposes) I interviewed for, said those words to me during an interview for an internship opportunity I once desired. You would’ve thought I showed up to that interview in a bikini, flip flops, and sunglasses. I was actually wearing ballet flats, black dress pants, and a blouse equivalent to one of the classy pieces Kerry Washington wore as Olivia Pope on the former ABC hit series Scandal. I could feel my face sinking and my body tense as I sat through the remainder of the interview. I felt so small and discouraged when I took the elevator ride down and exited the building. I didn’t get the gig but about two years later when a new manager took over, I was invited in for an interview and offered a job on the spot. Only by then, I was disinterested in the position and gracefully declined. When I originally wanted an internship with that company, I was an eager college student a few years away from completing my degree. I wanted to add some diversity to my résumé, so the internship seemed like a great opportunity. I’d already done one before, so I thought another would be a good idea. Plus, the additional internship I went for, paid well and as a formerly underemployed, underpaid, and overworked college student, I was motivated by making more money. I was also hypnotized by the glamorous office setting, employees in suits, men in suits – there’s just something stunning about a man in a suit and having the opportunity to enter into a new arena I’d never been in before. But it was good I didn’t get the position or accept an offer later. Lately, I’ve been thinking about what that former manager said and while those words were once discouraging, I now laugh when I think about them. That position was something I wanted but not one I needed. I also began thinking about every rejection, closed door, disappointment, and frustration I’ve endured and realized how profitable all of those things can be if perceived correctly. They all share three things in common: they push me to be better, redirect me towards my purpose, and get me closer to adding millionaire to my résumé. Imagine all the rejections, closed doors, and disappointments you’ve had in your own life and how they’ve shaped you. Can you glean anything meaningful from them? I recently shared this story with a few people and one person said, “He shouldn’t have said that, but don’t you make more money than him?” At that moment I thought, I believe I do. My goal was never to out-earn him or prove anything to him. I really should thank him, because if it wasn’t for him saying what he said and deeming me unqualified for that position, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I actually ran into him during a networking event years ago and I don’t think he remembered me, because he actually started hitting on me and a friend of mine. We weren’t interested of course, but it’s funny how life can bring you full circle sometimes. I’m forever grateful for what he said and for every rejection, frustration, closed door, disappointment, people who’ve tried putting me in boxes based on their limited perspectives, the people who stayed, the ones who walked away, and the ones who had to go, because each and every one of those things are building blocks for better. They’re profitable. When these things happen, they can make your story great. And I’m just getting warmed up.
By the way, there’s nothing wrong with going to the beach all day. I happen to enjoy it when I’m able to.