Last week, I had an audition with a company that hires trainers. A recruiter from that company had been asking me for months to audition with them and I have to admit that I was flattered. As soon as I walked into the room to audition, I knew it wasn't the place for me. My intuition warned me of this, but I wanted the experience anyway.

The problem was the recruiter. She was an older woman, maybe in her mid- to late-sixties, who, judging by her skin, her teeth, and her voice, had probably smoked since she was ten. She was very, very interested in the gentleman that was auditioning at the same time I was. She was flirting with him, laughing loudly (then coughing) at everything he said to her. He was probably thirty or thirty-five years younger than she was and seemed uncomfortable at her flirtations. I felt sorry for him.

She pretty much ignored me throughout the whole process. When she did focus on me, it was with a strange defensiveness or fakeness that made me think she was either covering something up or lying about something. Her manner showed that she disliked me from the moment I walked into the room and I don't know why. This woman was creepy. I couldn't get out of that room fast enough.

I thought my audition went great. They sent me a tip sheet to help me with the process. The sheet gave an outline of everything that needed to go into the speech and also listed what it was they were looking for. I nailed every one of those tips. I have lots of experience in this, so it was a piece of cake. I felt as though I was right on. Apparently, the flirting recruiter disagreed.

Several days later, I got an email from another recruiter at this company saying that they were not interested in hiring me. I didn't fit what they were looking for and who knows what that was because, like I said, I felt as though I did everything they wanted. This did not upset me because I didn't want to work for this company anyway. During that meeting, I found out a few things that really turned me off.

For one thing, I would have to pay them a large sum of money to go through their training. What is the focus of the training? Selling their product! Yes, I am serious. Of course, they didn't tell me this when they were "wooing" me to audition with them. If I had known that, I would have skipped the audition altogether.

Another thing I found out is that they are not flexible. They never let their trainers drive anywhere - they will always fly. Now, most people would probably be fine with that, but I would prefer to drive - yes, even if it is from one side of the country to the other. Think about it. With all of the hassles at the airport, including lost luggage, cancelled and delayed flights, wait times, and the extremely slim, slim chance that someone would do something stupid on the plane, oh, say, like blow it up, I prefer to drive, thank you. Besides, there is so much to see in this beautiful country of ours that I would feel like I would be missing out if I flew. (And wouldn't that save their company money?)

The third disadvantage was something that did not sound right to me. The recruiter told me that I would never be able to teach a seminar in my own area because they have to "fly in the expert". What??? My intuition said that wasn't true. There is another reason that they don't want their trainers teaching in their own city, but she won't be honest with me, so I didn't pursue it. (Wouldn't it be cheaper if they hired people to teach in their areas? Just wondering.)

The last disadvantage was the job required lots of traveling and a ton of hard work for very little pay. I knew that part going into it. I was more interested in getting the experience, but was not so interested in being away from my family for too long.

This is why I was not upset when they rejected me. My intuition said I wouldn't make it, and it was right. Who knows whether it was because I wasn't good enough or whether it was for some other reason. I know I'm good at what I do because I am constantly getting hired and re-hired by companies and organizations that pay me very well. All I know is that I'll take what I've learned from this situation, implement it, share it, and then move on.

For anyone who is going through a rejection process, try these tips:

1. Make a list of all of the pros and cons of the situation. After looking at that list, is this something you still want?

2. Is there another situation that might serve you better? If there is, go after it.

3. Remember that it might not be about you. It could be someone else's personal agenda, and you don't want to get tied up in that.

4. What did you learn from this situation? What can you take from it? There might be a good lesson in it for you.

5. How can you improve your part of the situation? (For instance, in my situation, I can practice more - I want to get better.)

6. What does your intuition say about it? That's where the true answers are.

Remember, we all go through rejection. It's a process that helps us to grow. Just keep in mind that the rejection itself is not as important as what we do with it.

Wendi Moore-Buysse
http://www.wendimoore.com