24 May Rejection is Redirection – Our Clients Journey

How Repeated Job Rejections Led Me to a New Path

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably been where I was—not once, but many times. You polish your CV, write heartfelt cover letters, complete application forms and agonise over your personal statement ensuring it aligns with the shortlisting criteria , show up to interviews prepared and hopeful… only to receive another email that starts with, “We regret to inform you.” It stings. After a while, it feels personal.

When I came to coaching, I was emotionally drained from the constant cycle of hope and rejection. I thought I needed strategies to improve my applications or answers to help me “perform better” in interviews. What I didn’t expect was that coaching would help me realise something deeper: rejection wasn’t just bad luck or a sign of inadequacy. It was redirection.

Sitting With the Discomfort

My coach didn’t rush to fix things. She created space for me to talk openly about the frustration, the self-doubt, the creeping thoughts of “maybe I’m not good enough.” She helped me see that it was okay to grieve these lost opportunities. Only by acknowledging the pain could I begin to move through it.

She also encouraged me to get curious—not about the companies or the recruiters, but about myself. “What did I really want from these roles?” she asked. “What part of me was trying to be heard or seen?”

That’s when things started to shift.

Looking Beneath the Pattern

Through our sessions, I began to see a pattern: I was chasing jobs that looked good on paper, jobs I thought I should want—ones that aligned with my degree, my past experience, or others’ expectations. But deep down, I wasn’t excited about any of them. In fact, part of me felt relieved when I didn’t get them. That realisation hit hard.

Coaching helped me turn rejection into a mirror. It reflected not just what I didn’t want, but what I hadn’t yet allowed myself to pursue.

A New Path Emerges

With my coach’s support, I explored interests and values I had sidelined. I admitted out loud for the first time that I’d always been drawn to working more directly with young people—helping them grow, supporting them through change. That’s when a lightbulb went off: what if I trained to become a teacher myself?

It felt wild, even impractical at first. But the more I leaned into it, the more aligned it felt. I researched teacher training, spoke to people in the field, and enrolled in training. Every step felt energising; something I hadn’t felt in job hunting for a long time.

From Rejection to Alignment

Looking back now, I can honestly say: those job rejections were some of the best things that happened to me. Not because they didn’t hurt, but because they forced me to pause, reflect, and reroute. Each “no” cleared space for a bigger “yes” to something more aligned with who I am and how I want to contribute.

If you’re in the thick of rejection, we see you. It’s exhausting, and it’s okay to feel disappointed. But don’t stop there. Use this moment to ask bigger questions:

• What am I chasing, and why?
• What excites me that I haven’t given myself permission to explore?
• What if this rejection is life redirecting me toward something better?

You may not find the answers overnight, but trust that they’re waiting for you. Sometimes, the path we’re meant to walk only becomes visible after enough doors close. And when that new path appears—it’s worth every step.