Overcoming rejection

Reject Rejection

You’re sure to experience some form of rejection in your career. Here’s how to deal with it

Wteam at school? Didn’t get accepted at the college of your choice? Didn’t get the job you applied for or overlooked for promotion at work?

Rejection is a natural part of life that you will need to learn to deal with no matter whether you’re just getting started on your career path or already moving up the ladder of success.

One way to look at it is that, if you get rejected, nothing has really changed in your life. If you applied for a scholarship, job, or promotion and didn’t get accepted, your situation in life is still the same – not worse. You didn’t have the scholarship, job, or promotion before you applied, and you don’t have it now. So, you have absolutely nothing to lose by applying for whatever career move you chose and possibly everything to gain.

The situation only gets worse if you let your mind make it so and by the stories you tell yourself – “I’m unemployable. I’ll never get that promotion. No one wants me.” Better to think about it this way – “I have spent my whole life without that scholarship or job. I know how to handle things without it.”

We all talk to ourselves, by some estimates up to 50,000 times a day. Most of that self-talk is also about ourselves, and research has shown that up to 80% of that is negative. The key to dealing with these thoughts is to know that you have a choice whether or not to listen to them – and that just because you’re thinking these things doesn’t make them true. When you become aware of negative thoughts, let them pass through your mind quietly, paying them no attention. Then replace them with more positive thoughts. Talk to yourself like a winner instead of a loser.

Successful salespeople know that every “no” brings them closer to a “yes’.” Some prospects will say no, but some will say yes. For them, it’s a numbers game. You just have to stay committed and keep “carrying on carrying on.” Don’t give up, just say “next!” knowing that there will be many more opportunities when you keep striving for them.

Have high intentions for your goals but low attachments to the outcome. Do whatever it takes to reach your goals and to create the outcomes you’re seeking. Sometimes things don’t always work out by the date you want, but just keep moving in the direction of your goals, and better than you ever imagined.

The Journey to Success

Kelsea Williams, BEDC Communication & Development Jacobs’ Journey into Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is rapidly for graduating students. This is certainly true for Mya Furbert Jacobs, a senior secondary student at The Berkeley Institute. Eager to learn more and get her entrepreneurial career started, Mya signed up for the Summer Student Entrepreneurship Bermuda Economic Development for young people between the ages of 16 – 25 years, the Summer Student Entrepreneur Programme is aimed at helping young people develop their entrepreneurial skills.

The SSEP combines entrepreneurship education with real-life entrepreneurial experience. It is a fun, interactive, fantastic opportunity for students to test the waters and decide if entrepreneurship is really for them. This is exactly what Mya did when she signed up for the 2020 SSEP cohort. Ten students are given two weeks of training, which helps to foster an entrepreneurial mindset and provide the tools and knowledge needed to take their businesses to the next level. spend the following six weeks running their businesses, selling their goods and services to the public.

During the 2020 SSEP, Mya started an all-natural skin care, hair care, and lash business called MFJ cosmetics. Although reserved in nature, Mya absorbed the knowledge from the programme and applied her newfound skills and experience to growing her budding business. During the six-week programme, she grew her clientele, business owner and entrepreneur. I was overwhelmed with excitement to see where it would go,” she says. “I was a little worried that I would not be successful. A few weeks into it, I had seen myself grow, and my business sold out of products within a few days. I was so grateful that I got this opportunity, and I am so thankful to BEDC.”

Thrilled with her growth, BEDC invited Mya to take part in the Youth Pitch category of its Annual Rocket Pitch Competition, held in November as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Rocket Pitch is a competition where hopeful entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas for a chance to win up to $5,000 in prize money and startup services.

Mya took all she had learned from SSEP and transferred it into a winning pitch in the competition held on November 18, 2020, at the Hamilton Princess Hotel. She placed second in the Youth Pitch category and took home $3,000 and a host of startup services for her business. Mya has not only grown her business, she has also gained the her business to new heights.

Mya says, “I had never thought that I would get the opportunity to go onto Rocket Pitch and present to a larger group and win a sum for my business. When I was announced as the secondplace winner, I was so proud of myself for moving forward and entering and for trying. The most important skill to have as an entrepreneur is the ability to never give up. Businesses and entrepreneurs have their ups and downs, and it is vital to stay focused and never give up on a dream you believe in.”

The BEDC team is tremendously proud of Mya and her commitment to the growth of her business as well as her personal growth. Mya is a great example to other young people looking toward entrepreneurship as a career choice. The BEDC nurtures the entrepreneurial spirit, and the SSEP and Rocket Pitch programmes are just two examples of great pathways to success. For more information on the Summer Student Entrepreneur Programme, the Rocket Pitch Competition, and the other bm or call 292-5570.