To maintain momentum during the marathon of a career change, how should one treat a rejection from an application for a new role?
Answer
Seeing it as data rather than failure
A career change is acknowledged as a long process, often requiring a year or more of focused effort, making patience and momentum critical. To sustain this long effort, the psychological response to setbacks like application rejections must be adaptive. Rejections should not be internalized as personal failures that derail the entire plan. Instead, they should be treated as valuable data points—information gathered about the market, the application narrative, or the required qualifications. Viewing rejections as data allows the individual to extract lessons and adjust strategy without becoming paralyzed by disappointment or fear of failure, thus preserving the necessary long-term momentum.
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