Woman Responds to Job Rejection Email with a Meme, Gets Offered Interview

Being rejected from a job you really want is a tough pill to swallow. While we're dealing with a ton of negative feelings that range from anger, bitterness, depression, and a sudden urge to live out in the wilderness as a recluse who sustains themselves off the fat of the lang, there are some helpful tips one can take to ensure that they process it in a healthy manner.

However, over-thinking things can also lend to self-seriousness, and how one conducts themselves in the face of adversity, as corny and afternoon school special as it might sound, is the true definition of a person's character.

And it appears that the way TikToker @swedishswan handled a rejection letter from a company she really wanted to work at made her prospective employers have a change of heart.

She says in a now-viral video on the popular social media platform that after receiving several job rejection emails, she didn't know what to do. "I really kind of wanted this job, so I took a lesson from Gen Z," she said.

So instead of sending back a traditional "thank you for the opportunity" form email, or verbally writing out ways she could improve or ask for an explanation as to why/how she could improve and what made them render their decision, she cut straight to the heart of the matter with a meme.

It's one you've probably seen while scrolling through the internet: it's a strange painting by artist Medellin, Colombia artist and sculptor Fernando Botero of Pope Leon X. The bulbous, round portrayal of humanity is a trademark of Fernando's work, but for some reason, this picture of the Leon X went viral after it was uploaded by Imgur user @firstwarrior on December 12, 2014.

The meme is a simple one: the text "y tho" is laid over the painting, a reference to a simplified version of asking "why though" which is typically employed as a pithy rejoinder to a comment deemed as off-topic of pointless in online discussions.

Whoever read her response seemed to have enjoyed her response and then called her in for an interview, and it could have to do with what businesses are looking for. TD Magazine reports that 78% of managers said that character matters most to them in a job candidate, with only 39% ranking skill-set as an invaluable trait.

It could be that whoever was in charge of recruiting at the job @swedishswan wanted to believe that personality is talent. They could've appreciated the way she was persistent in trying to get the position while injecting a bit of charm and levity into the situation.

TikTokers who commented on the post seemed to agree with some saying that if they were fielding potential candidates for an interview that the meme would definitely work on them. Others said that responding to rejection letters is how they landed their current positions as well.

Others thought that she demonstrated she was a good fit for the "culture" of the job, and others stated that it was a "hack" to get into the hearts of millennials who are in leadership positions at companies now.

What do you think? Have you ever secured a job by responding to a rejection letter? If you were on the receiving end of that meme, would you be more interested in the candidate as a result?