If You're Not Getting Rejected Every Day, You're Probably Not Going Big Enough

My most useful professional experience was about eight years ago when I was trying to break into the world of VC-backed startups. I applied to hundreds of jobs: low-level VC roles, startup jobs, even big tech companies. But I got rejected by every company. Big companies even rejected me directly, or gave me a courtesy interview before rejecting me. VC firms tell me they want people with venture capital experience. Startups at the time were laying off workers. The economy was bad (especially where I was looking - consumer internet) and my resume was weird (computer programmer, small self-employed startup, degrees in philosophy and mathematical logic).

What makes this period so useful is that it helps me develop a real thick skin. I've come to realize that employers aren't really rejecting me as a person or my potential - they're rejecting a resume. As it became impersonal, so did my strategy. I ended up atBessemerGot a job (thanks to their willingness to take a chance and not just look at resumes), which led to funding for my first VC-backed startup, and things have only gotten better since.

One advantage of finding a job is that your"return"Almost always a max function (best of all attempts), not an average. The same is generally true for raising VC funding, doing business development partnerships, hiring programmers, finding good consultants/mentors, and even blogging and marketing in general. In the last week alone, I've been rejected by someone probably once a day. Once, a friend who wanted to help called me to comfort me. But he seemed surprised when I told him:"Don't worry - it happens every day - we'll keep trying"。

If you're not getting rejected every day, your goals aren't ambitious enough.