NB: Originally posted on Deaf Blawg
How does one handle rejection? I said in my post last week that I’ve sent off loads of applications for training contracts. I’ve already received rejections, believe it or not.
First one was by a letter dated 5 August 2004. It stated:
I refer to your application to us for a Training Contract to which we gave proper consideration. I regret to inform you that you have not been successful, but I would like to thank you for your interest and wish you well in searching for a training contract elsewhere.
Yours sincerely
PARTNER
I sent the recruitment partner an email on 7 August to ask for some feedback:
Further to your letter dated 5 August 2004, I would be grateful if you could provide some feedback as to why I was not successful in obtaining an interview.
I understand that you deal with a great number of applications every year, but this is the second time I have applied to your firm without success.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Robert B Wilks
He’s on holiday at the moment, so I have to wait for his response.
I then had a rejection via email this morning from a City firm. I was aghast because I only sent the application last Monday. Considering they literally get thousands of applications, how is it possible to have sifted through all of them in under a week? It makes me wonder whether they have really looked at the applications. Have they just looked at our educational qualifications and rejected on that basis? I had two Bs and a C for my A Levels; most City firms want at least two As and a B. It could be that. Or is there something more sinister going on? I declared I was Deaf on the application form (it asked if I had any disabilities and would I need adjustments to be made) and that I would require communication support. Could they have rejected me on that very basis? The rejection email said:
I am sorry I am not able to give you a more positive reply and I hope you will find a suitable position with another firm in the near future.
Yours sincerely
Recruitment Manager
I decided to ask for feedback, using the same format as the one above. I was deliberating whether to ask the question:
I decided not to, but this begs the question, should I? I had a chat with Alison about this on MSN, and she thought that it would be a pointless exercise because they would be aware of the DDA 1995 and would never admit to it. I agreed, so I didn’t include it. What do you think?
Alison suggested also that I write an article for the Law Society Gazette on this issue. I’d be happy to, but what do you think?
I had a reply to this email just a few hours later:
I am sorry I am not able to give you a more positive reply.
Best of luck in the your future applications.
Kind regards
Graduate Recruitment.
Thanks, that’s really helpful. How am I meant to know what I’ve done wrong on the application form? How do I improve on previous application forms?
This leads me the conclusion that the whole trainee solicitor recruitment process is totally useless. They recruit two years in advance which has a detrimental impact on people’s lives when they finish university. Look at me, I finished university last summer, and I’m having to apply for training contracts to begin in September 2006. You read right, 2006! I’ll be a married man by then, and as my fianc?e doesn’t want to live in London, this means that we’ll have to live apart if I get a training contract in London. Doesn’t seem fair, does it? I don’t understand the point of recruiting two years in advance. Do you?
I will keep you posted of what happens over the next few months. Will I get any interviews or be invited to any selection days? Will I be successful at all?
