By Emma Riglin

 

These past few months have been a very difficult time for all of us. From having to end a semester early, to having a non-traditional graduation, to struggling to find an internship after getting a job offer rescinded, my peers and I have faced a lot of unprecedented challenges—not to mention struggling with family and personal health issues. 

With these challenges came a lot of disappointment for me. I was pulled back home from my semester abroad after only two weeks and was rejected from internships and leadership positions that I thought I was a perfect fit for. I felt defeated. After facing so many rejections in a row, I started to take them personally. I started doubting myself as a student, professional, and person, discrediting all of my past experiences and achievements as a series of luck. I found myself questioning my future career.

I asked advice from anyone I could think of—professional mentors, former supervisors, professors, even my family and friends. They all gave me variations of the same advice: the reason you didn’t get this one is because there is something better coming your way. For a while I didn’t believe them, and for a while it seemed like they were wrong. And then, there truly was a silver lining. 

As I was applying for various positions and internships, I was reaching out to my former supervisors asking if they would still be willing to be references for me. A few days after emailing one of connections, she emailed me telling about an internship opportunity where I could work with her and her team again. I didn’t know much at all going into the application, but I went for it and hoped this application would finally result in the outcome I was hoping for. Flash forward to now: I have a paid internship despite a global pandemic and economic crisis working in the same office and with the same amazing team as I did last summer. 

This experience taught me a lot, not only about myself, but about the workplace. These are some of my main takeaways from going through this process: 

• Do good work, no matter what the job is. I wrote in the PRSSA Blog last summer about how my internship in the technology industry was unexpected—I had no prior knowledge about technology, but despite not always knowing about or understanding the topics I wrote about or researched, I worked hard and taught myself what I needed to know and my supervisors took note of that. 
• Never burn bridges. I started a new fall internship several weeks after my summer internship ended last summer, but I didn’t leave my first team high and dry. I was lucky enough to have a great relationship and rapport with the team members I worked with where I felt like I could express all of my concerns, but even if there was something I disliked, I never would have left the job with that as my last word. I believe that it is important to air your grievances, but communicate them in a kind, calm, way, and not when you have one foot out of the door. 
• Keep up with your relationships. I would have never gotten this opportunity this summer if I hadn’t maintained my relationships with my former supervisors. I’m grateful that they didn’t forget about me once I left the office—but it took both parties to maintain the connection. 
• When you face an obstacle, don’t discredit yourself. Just move on. I faced a lot of self-doubt during the past few months because I took every rejection personally. But by doing this, I was only hurting myself. Some of the best advice I got during this time was from my mentor, who told me that you can be the perfect person for the job in your mind, and even in others’ minds, and still not get it. It hurts, and it puts you down. It may not always seem right in the moment, but like the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens…and in my experience, it’s usually a bigger, better door. 
• Always ask for advice. One thing that really helped me through all of this was asking for advice from my family, friends, and mentors. The advice was always met with encouragement to keep trying and keep applying, and by doing that I ended up where I am today, which I am very happy with.  

No, these last few months have not been easy—for any of us. But I encourage anyone reading this, especially if you’ve been hard on yourself or had an opportunity that didn’t work out, to keep going because there really always is something better at the end of the tunnel. You may not see it now, but you will see it eventually. Keep pushing through and something great will come your way!