Blog

In March 2010 I applied for a job. This was an organization I really wanted to work with.

From the moment I learnt what they stood for, something resonated in me and I wanted to be a part of it.  So when I found out there was a new project starting I applied. In fact I applied for 2 other jobs at the organization.  Although I wasn’t an expert in the field, I felt that I could transfer my skills and experiences and do well at it. 

My applications were acknowledged:

“Thank you for your application and for expressing interest. If further information or action is required of you, a Manager from our HR department will contact you. Given the significant numbers of applicants we receive we are unable to respond to telephone enquiries.”

I looked out eagerly for a response, for many days.

After 6 weeks I received the news:

Thank you for your interest in our company and your recent submission to <position>.  We have reviewed your resume/CV and have decided to pursue other candidates who match more closely the profile we are looking for.  We encourage you to review other open positions under our career site.

🙁 So that wasn’t for me.

I moved on in my mind, I forgot about it.

Can you relate? It may not be a job, it may be another type of opportunity or desire. You wished and hoped and prayed and did what you could. But you weren’t successful, then you just ‘forgot about it’.

It’s not always easy to digest. Some people bounce right back and say, ‘oh well, I guess there’s something else better for me’.  Others feel the brunt of the rejection in a deep way, and take it very hard. And there are many other reactions and responses in between.

There is a time and season for everything and it’s not always easy to discern what time it is in a particular area of our lives. I don’t have an answer, though I can very much relate to the question.

Please allow me to tell you the rest of the story.

Two months after applying, I got an email from the Program Manager asking if I was available for a quick call regarding “the above mentioned position”.

I did a phone interview a week later.  The suboptimal phone sound quality, the un-accustomed French and Indian accents of the interviewers and their use of some jargon I wasn’t familiar with, in my mind, rendered me a no-go candidate. Yet I stayed encouraged, at least I got an interview!

A follow up video interview confirmed to them that I was the candidate to hire.

I went from, “I forgot about it” to being on a flight 6 months later, to take up a new position in Montreal, Canada.

When I pause to SitAWhile and remind myself of this experience it brings a wave of encouragement and renews my strength because there are still other things that I am hoping for.  I know things will fall into place at the right time because there is a time and season for everything.

What about you? Is it difficult to keep hoping?

Only you can tell of your past situations where you ‘forgot about it’, when you kind of stopped hoping. And only you have the benefit of looking back and gaining strength and perspective because you see how it worked out. That is God’s favour.

Maybe you have forgotten the things you had forgotten about :-).

Now is the time to schedule time to pause and SitAWhile to look back, and to remember. I promise, you will be encouraged when you do because you’ll see that through the dark valley you actually made it through. You are still here.

It will be well, even if you have forgotten about it.

What have you forgotten about?