Marieke Vonk

Department: Man and Communication
Website: www.mariekevonk.com

The Rejection

When looking for a job, it’s almost impossible not to get them: rejection letters. Often we take them personally. But should we? With almost 600,000 job seekers in the Netherlands, we respond en masse to any vacancy. And in return thousands of rejection letters are sent. Marieke Vonk analysed those letters and found that they are quite similar, regardless of the applicant or job description. She bundled the collected letters and her analysis in a thick book, titled ‘Re:Sollicitatie’, to prove her point: “There are 300 other people besides you, receiving exactly the same letter. Not to mention the thousands of rejections that are only slightly different. So don’t worry: it’s nothing personal.”