From Constant Job Rejections to Getting Hired — What Changed in One Weekend

For years I was rejected for jobs, even though I did everything “by the book.”

Until one weekend, everything changed. From that moment on, I suddenly felt like I could choose which job I wanted…

I was in my mid-thirties, had a university degree, and I just couldn’t land a job. I applied for everything. I was called in for interviews often, but I never got hired. I was always number two or three on the list.

It made me pretty desperate. I was a single mother, and I could never really afford to buy my daughter new clothes. Christmas and birthday presents cost me a fortune—and I paid for them by cutting back on food.

The same pattern, over and over again 

Besides all the targeted applications I sent in response to newspaper ads, I also regularly visited recruitment agencies to ask if they had any temporary work for me. That always followed the same pattern.

“Do you have your CV with you?”
“No, not at the moment.”
“Then please come back with your CV so we can see if we have something that matches it.”

The next day I would return with my CV.

“No, I’m sorry, we don’t have anything that fits.”

An unexpected invitation

At one point, my daughter and I were invited to a birthday party of one of her classmates. There was an attorney there who seemed to like me. But honestly, I didn’t really like him at the time.

The mother of that classmate, Alexandra, called me later.

“Albert would like your phone number, can I give it to him?”
“Why? I’m not interested in him at all.”
“Just let me give him your number. You’ll see—your life is going to change.”

Fine.

A different kind of Saturday

Not long after, Albert invited me to spend an afternoon in the city: shopping, if I felt like it, and maybe grabbing a drink and some food together.

Alexandra said: “Just do it, trust me.”

I asked: “But isn’t it a bit inappropriate for me to accept this? Won’t he expect something in return?”

“No, not Albert,” she said. “And even if he did expect something, you don’t have to worry about that. You need to let go of this idea of ‘something for something.’ If someone gives you something, it should be because they want to—because they choose to—not because they expect something back.”

So I accepted Albert’s invitation.

That Saturday, we went shopping.

I bought a completely new outfit: trousers, a t-shirt, a sweater, a pair of boots—everything in line with the latest fashion. And Albert paid for it.

I absolutely loved it. And I looked really good in those clothes.

Afterwards, Albert treated me to a dry sherry and French onion soup. I hadn’t had anything like that in years.

I found it a fantastic little adventure.

The Monday everything shifted

The following Monday, I put on my new outfit and went to the recruitment agency.

No: 

“Can I first see your CV?”

In fact, no one asked for it at all. I was given three job openings to choose from.

The recruitment consultant called the client: 

“I have a very suitable candidate for you, a real top pick.”

I was invited for an interview.

The moment everything changed

The selection process would consist of two rounds. And because I had always ended up as candidate number two or three, and never got the job, I asked: 

“I’d like to know how I stand compared to the other candidates.”

The hiring manager replied: 

“At this point, it’s between you and one other candidate.”

In a split second, I slammed my fist on the table and said:

“And now I want this job.”

I thought: I am NOT going to be number two again. Not this time.

The hiring manager burst out laughing.

“You’re hired!”

Looking back

I didn’t stay at that job for very long in the end—that’s another rather unusual story I might tell you some other time.

But still… isn’t it something, that in my new outfit I suddenly didn’t even need to hand over my CV anymore? Suddenly it didn’t seem to matter what my qualifications were. I just looked good…

So in hindsight, the CV had basically been a way to filter me out.

Later I discussed this with my close friend Lena. She said it wasn’t the outfit itself that got me the job, but what the outfit did to me. According to her, it made me feel more confident.

That might very well be true.

What do you think?

Do you think it was mainly about how I looked, or how I felt?

What matters more in a situation like this: qualifications or appearance?

And if this story reminds you of someone, feel free to share it.

Photos: Vitaly Gariev