Another rejection. A politely worded one – unlike many brusque and sometimes even insensitive ones earlier – but a rejection all the same.
Bruce was not the one to give up easily. In fact, his family, friends and his professors at college had nicknamed him NSD Bruce – for Never Say Die.
But as Bruce himself often admitted, there is a thin line between determination and pig-headedness, and he felt as if he was on the wrong side of that line right now.
It all started about a year back, after he had just graduated from college. Not exactly with flying colours, but no one could complain about his grades. Many of his friends had already gotten placed at reputed firms, and some had even cracked Big 3 consulting firms.
But Bruce had paid little attention to those highlights. He was determined he was going to start his career in the green industry.
His parents were supportive too. What was there not to support? The green and sustainability industries looked like the industries of the future, going by the sheer number of media articles about it. The sector seemed to be paying quite well – not as much as investment banks or software firms, but then Bruce couldn’t program for nuts and he considered all finance firms evil.
When he received the first few rejects from his applications to the various posts, he was not too concernbed. He did expect some challenges for a fresh guy out of college, while applying for jobs in fields such as solar and wind power, or in the fast growing electric mobility field. But when weeks extended to months and the number of rejections piled up from single digits to nearing three digits, he started worrying.
Most times, the rejection was because the company was looking for someone with experience.
The student is puzzled as green hydrogen is a very new field and thus hardly likely to have anyone with significant experience.
He finally manages to meet a college senior who had graduated the previous year and who was working in a green hydrogen company.
He asks him, “Did you have any experience in the green hydrogen industry when you got this job?”
“Of course not,” replies his senior.
“Then how did you get this job?”
“Ah, that,” he says, “I had a lot of experience writing resumes”