The best job rejection I ever got.

The union rep told me I didn’t get the job and what steps I could take to appeal the decision. 

I was less focused on what he was saying than on the fact that I could understand his rapid and rather bureaucratic French. 

We were talking in the elegant grounds of the château where I’d worked for a year as a ‘stagiaire’ or graduate.  

No photos of me at work at that château but here’s me with another one.

I’d missed out on a permanent job in the media section of an international organisation based in Paris. 

Sounds glamorous. Sounds promising. Sounds rewarding.

It would have been and I felt like I’d won a better prize— competency in a language that had captured my imagination since my first ‘bonjour’ in high school. 

A few other doors opened as well.

It meant I was free to meet my friends in India where I travelled for three unforgettable months. 

To return home to gain a master’s degree in international relations—that château’s influence—and teach English to international students.

The degree led to work in international development and rewarding work with partners around the world. The teaching turned out to be the best training for facilitation, which has rewarded me for the past 30 years. 

We learn fast when we’re young that failure is not rewarded.

Success means awards, trophies and recognition. Winning that prize, that scholarship, that job.

And sometimes it doesn’t. 

If I’d got the job my life would have taken a different direction. I didn’t and it took another. 

This isn’t a story about turning failure into success. It’s about what showed up instead.

What’s showed up for you when you didn’t get a job?

Thanks for reading this far!

Stay (fl)awesome!